A new senior enlisted leader of the Army Reserve has been selected, the Army Reserve Command announced Thursday.
Command Sgt. Maj. Ted L. Copeland, who has a military police background and more than 30 years in uniform, is the 13th command sergeant major of the Army Reserve.
Copeland's most recent assignment was command sergeant major for 79th Sustainment Support Command in Los Alamitos, California.
"His mission mandate will be simple; use all the tools in the box to unleash the power of this team as we build and sustain the most capable, combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the history of the United States," Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of Army Reserve Command, said in the announcement.
As Reserve command sergeant major, Copeland will be the principal adviser to Luckey on enlisted issues, and he will advise Luckey and other senior Army leaders on policies and regulations related to managing the 200,000 Army Reserve soldiers and their quality of life, equipment, uniforms and other matters.
In the role, Copeland follows the Reserve's interim senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Wills, who succeeded Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas, the 12th command sergeant major of the Reserve.
A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, Copeland enlisted in the Army as a military policeman in 1984.
He has held leadership positions at every level from team leader to CSM.
Copeland's assignments include the Law Enforcement Activity Company, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; 55th Military Police Company, Camp Market, Korea; 342nd Military Police Company, Columbus, Ohio; Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 391st Military Police Battalion, Columbus, Ohio; CSM of the 391st Military Police Battalion, 300th Military Police Brigade, 4th Brigade, 75th Training Division (MC), and 311th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) command sergeant major.
Copeland's mobilizations and operational deployments include Saudi Arabia for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Turkey; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2007-2008 and Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012-2013.
He is a police sergeant in his civilian career and has an associate's degree in criminal justice from Vincennes University. He has also graduated from the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy and the FBI National Academy.
Copeland's awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Reserve Achievement Medal (seventh award), National Defense Service Medal (second award), Southwest Asia Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and Service Medal, Korean Defense Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait).
Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. She has been an editor at Military Times for 20 years, covering issues that affect service members. She previously worked as an editor and staff writer at newspapers in Columbus, Georgia; Huntsville, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; Monterey, California and in Germany.
