Col. David H. Carstens assumed command of U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden in Germany Jan. 12.

Carstens was a Distinguished Military Graduate of Kent State University ROTC and received his Regular Army Commission in 1988. He is a graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer Basic and Advanced courses, U.S. Army Airborne and Air Assault Schools, the Counterintelligence Officers’ Course, Joint Forces Staff College, the College of Naval Command and Staff, U.S. Naval War College, and the Senior Service College Fellowship Program.

His previous assignments include duty as the collection and jamming platoon leader and assistant infantry brigade S2 with the 6th Infantry Division (Light); Infantry Battalion S2, Infantry Brigade Combat Team S2, and MI Direct Support Company Commander, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry); MI Company and Brigade Intelligence observer/controller at the Joint Readiness Training Center; G2 Operations Officer, Eighth United States Army, Republic of Korea; S3, Task Force 202nd MI (CI/HUMINT), Kandahar Afghanistan; Fusion Cell Chief, Combined Forces Land Component Command, Baghdad, Iraq; and Joint assignments at both the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency. Col. Carstens also commanded the 524th MI Battalion (CI/HUMINT) in the Republic of Korea, and comes to U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden from Heidelberg, where he served as the Executive Officer to the Deputy Commanding General for U.S. Army Europe. 

Col. Carstens’ awards include the Bronze Star with an oak leaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with an oak leaf cluster, the Joint Service Achievement Medal and the Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters.

Col. Carstens holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Kent State University, a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and recently completed a fellowship at the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., where he focused on climate change and its impacts on national security.

(As of Jan. 12, 2012)

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