New commander leads school house for Army special operation forces at Fort Liberty
FORT LIBERTY — A new commander is in charge of overseeing the training and development of Army special operation forces soldiers at Fort Liberty.
Brig. Gen. Guillaume ”Will” Beaurpere turned over command of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School to Brig. Gen. Jason Slider during a ceremony Friday.
Slider arrives from his most recent assignment as deputy commander of operations for the French army’s 3rd Division through an Army personnel exchange program.
Beaurpere, who has led the command since August 2022, will head to Tampa, Florida, as the next chief of staff for the U.S. Special Operations Command.
The Special Warfare Center oversees the Special Forces assessment and selection course, training for Special Forces and special operation forces and foreign language training, with more than 100 courses for civil affairs, psychological operations, Special Forces, allied and sister service students.
Under SWC are the school, the Special Forces Warrant Officer Institute, the Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the 1st Special Warfare Training Group, the 2nd Special Warfare Training Group and the Special Warfare Medical Group.
Outgoing commander
During his time as commander of the Special Warfare Center and School, Beaurpere led more than 3,200 soldiers and civilians, which included 1,100 students from the joint force, said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, who oversaw the command change.
During Beaurpere’s time as commander, 839 Special Forces soldiers, 404 civil affairs soldiers and 461 psychological operations soldiers completed SWC’s qualification course, Braga said.
“Your team created an incredible culture that embodies the transformation required for us to overcome the challenges we face now,” Braga told Beaurpere.
He said Beaurpere helped update SWC’s 2030 transformation guide, which also provides guidance for National Guard and Reserve teammates; and “significant modifications were made to the qualifications course incorporating large-scale combat operations.”
Beaurpere also helped stand up SWC’s irregular warfare academy and update the psychological operations warfare school to account for lessons learned in the Russian and Ukranian war and future warfare with robotics and unmanned systems, Braga said.
“You’ve been a true master of the Army and continue to lead the way as a proponent of irregular warfare,” Braga told Beaurpere.
Beaurpere thanked his family, command team, staff, cadre and the soldiers and civilians in SWC.
“I firmly believe that shaping up the future force is the most rewarding job,” he said.
Beaurpere said SWC is “strategically driven” to transform “leaders of character” and stewards of Army special operation forces “who must be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”
“Dominating our role means no fail commitment to assessing, electing and training the best Special Forces, psychological operations and civil affairs soldiers for USASOC and the total Army,” he said.
New commander
Beaurpere told Slider that the job is rewarding, and said Slider has the right credentials for overseeing SWC’s leader development and advanced skills training.
“I’m excited for the way ahead in the next chapter of this very precious institution, and I know the unit is now in very capable hands,” Beaurpere said.
According to Slider's biography, he enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 1990, before completing the Army’s Officer Candidate School in 1992.
His previous assignments have included commanding 1st Special Forces Command teams and brigades since 2004; serving as deputy commander for the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade; serving as chief of staff for the 18th Airborne Corps and being commander of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade from 2016 to 2018 and chief of staff of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
“To the leaders and soldiers of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, past and present, since 1952, this command has trained and produced the finest special operators on the face of the planet,” Slider said. “My promise to you is that the standard continues here today and into the future.”
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: New leader at John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Liberty
