By Barbara A. Preston | Posted November 10, 2022
More than 100,000 U.S. troops are supporting NATO allies in European countries that surround Ukraine, according to “Face the Nation.” Montgomery Township’s Brigadier General John Walker Lubas is one of them.
Lubas hails from Belle Mead, where his family still lives. A baseball field on Route 601 is named for his grandfather, Theordore J. Lubas, who served as mayor of Montgomery Township at one point.
William "Bill" Lubas of Belle Mead (left) pins his son — Montgomery High School graduate John Walker Lubas — to reflect his new rank of Brigadier General during a promotion ceremony at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, on August 31. The general's wife is on the right.
Brig. Gen. Lubas landed in Romania with the 101st Airborne Division in October – on the edge of NATO territory. He appeared on “Face the Nation” in a Black Hawk helicopter somewhere near the border of Ukraine, over the Black Sea Coast.
“We’re about 250 miles from the front line of Russian troops,” Brig. Gen. Lubas told “Face the Nation.” “We are ready to transition from our current locations ... to combat ... on order.” They were somerwhere close to Russian-held territory in Ukraine and Crimea, according to the news report.
The 101st Airborne was last headquartered in Europe during the WWII D-Day Landings (with then Gen. Dwight Eisenhower), according to the program. “U.S. and Romanian NATO forces were conducting a joint air and ground assault, with live fire tank and artillery rounds.
Bill Lubas of Belle Mead, the general’s father, e-mailed the “Face the Nation” news clip to The Montgomery News. “I recently read there only 133 Brigadier Generals in the United States Army,” Bill, the proud father, said. "I wonder if Montgomery ever had a prior Brigadier General?"
In the United States Armed Forces, a brigadier general is a one-star general officer in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force. Lubas was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in August during a ceremony in front of 101st Airborne Division Headquarters, Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
At the ceremony, Major General David M. Hodne said, “John Lubas is a singularly exceptional officer and example for us all. Our entire army will benefit from his promotion.”
Brig. Gen. Lubas is a distinguished member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and a 2022 ROTC Hall of Fame inductee. He has multiple combat deployments with the 75th Ranger Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division, one to Iraq and 12 to Afghanistan.
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Brig. Gen. Lubas is a 1993 graduate of Montgomery High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His father says, "I am very proud of John's accomplishments. All his promotions were below the zone (early). He has always been one to focus on; the mission."
"John's mother died when he was 16. Sandee [had] waged war on breast cancer for seven years. She was a military brat, she ran a very tight ship. We all knew the drill, the circumstances, the penalties, and of course ... the rewards. So much of all the parts of each of my three [children] were instilled by her. We know Sandee looks over and after John. She still guides each of them." ■
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