Two colonels took leadership positions on Fort Stewart and of the 3rd Infantry Division during a ceremony in Marne Gardens this morning.

Col. (P) Robert P. White became deputy commanding general for support and Col. John H. Hort will be the deputy commanding general-rear while the division is deployed to Afghanistan.

The post and division's current commander, Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, and his headquarters unit are expected to deploy in the coming weeks and are expected to be gone a year.

In his most recent assignment, White served as the deputy commander for the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, at Fort Leavenworth. He will deploy with other soldiers

White is a graduate of Claremont McKenna College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1986. He received his commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation.

He holds a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

White is a two-time Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. He served in armor units in both Germany and stateside, and commanded at both the battalion and brigade levels.

Hort previously served as the chief of plans at Forces Command.  

Hort is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and administration. He was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant upon his graduation.

He holds a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Hort is a two-time Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran where he commanded the 3rdBrigade Combat Team, 4thInfantry Division and served as a Military Transition Team leader with the 9th(Mechanized) Division of the Iraqi Army.