The Indiana National Guard has announced that IWU alumnus Wayne Black will become the first black general in the guard's history, according to the Army Times.
Black, who has an MBA from IWU, has served in the Indiana National Guard since 1996. He graduated from the Military College of South Carolina (known as The Citadel) and has served with the Guard in Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In his current rank and position, Colonel Black is the construction and facilities management officer at Indiana National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Indianapolis, according to Blackanthem Military News.
In civilian life, he is employed at RR Donnelley in Crawfordsville, Indiana as a manufacturing supervisor.
"Col. Black is a proven leader. I have absolute trust and confidence that he will serve in this capacity with honor and distinction," said Major General R. Martin Umbarger, Adjutant General of Indiana, in an article in the Crawfordsville Journal Review.
Black has also been active in the Indiana community. In 2007, he was the keynote speaker at a Memorial Day ceremony at Crawfordsville's Oak Hill Cemetery.
"As a veteran of the Desert Storm/Desert Shield war and a current member of the Indiana Army National Guard, I can truly say, in the words of Lee Greenwood, that I am proud to be an American," he said at the ceremony, as quoted in the Journal Review. "Like many military service members before me, I am honored to represent and serve this great country of ours. I hold high the values and ideas of this nation and I am more than willing to protect and defend it."