MG Kenneth Kamper
FORT SILL — Maj. Gen. Kenneth Kamper, who was suspended four and a half months ago from his position as commanding general of the U.S. Army Fires Center of Excellence and of Fort Sill, was relieved of command last week.
Kamper was temporarily suspended on Feb. 3 as part of an investigation by the Department of the Army’s Inspector General into allegations of repeated violations of hunting rules on base, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Military.com.
Some complaints alleged Kamper did not follow the proper approval process and skirted local rules, according to two Army officials with direct knowledge of the situation.
Leadership with the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, fired Kamper because of “loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command,” Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith confirmed in a June 13 statement.
Kamper, an artillery officer, will remain at Fort Sill until he is reassigned, Smith said.
Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, deputy commander of the Fires Center of Excellence, continues to serve as interim commander until Kamper’s replacement is selected. Smith said Kamper’s removal “should not have any significant impact” on operations or missions at the Army post, which encompasses nearly 94,000 acres and sits on the north side of Lawton.
Fort Sill is home to approximately 20,000 troops and is central to the Army’s artillery and other long-range weapons training, including the Patriot air defense missile system, the weapons platform on which Ukrainian troops began training here in January.
Kamper is a two-star general officer rank and the highest permanent peacetime rank in the Army. He had been the commanding officer of Fort Sill since March 2020.
Kamper was commissioned as an artillery officer in 1989 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
His military education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the Military Academy, a Master of Arts from the U.S. Naval War College, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
He has commanded at the battery, battalion, and brigade levels as well as the Operational Test Command. Prior to his assignment to Fort Sill he served as the deputy commanding general for the III Armored Corps at Fort Hood, Texas.
Kamper’s combat and operational experience included deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2005 and 2006-2008, Operation Atlantic Resolve, and Operation Inherent Resolve from 2014-2015 and 2017-2018.
His awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, and Ranger Tab.