Lt. Gen. Mark Landes assumed Command of First Army on 6 September 2024. A Tennessee native, he has served the United States Army for more than three decades as an Infantry officer and senior leader. Commissioned upon graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1990, he has built a distinguished career leading Soldiers in mechanized, light, airborne, and Stryker formations across the globe.
Throughout his service, Lt. Gen. Landes has commanded at every level from company to division and deployed multiple times in support of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Haiti. He most recently served as the Commanding General of First Army Division East at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he oversaw the training, readiness, and mobilization of Army Reserve and National Guard units across the eastern United States.
Lt. Gen. Landes’ career includes a wide range of operational and international assignments. Early tours took him to Germany, Hawaii, and Georgia. As a field grade officer, he played a key role in the Army’s first Stryker brigade, helping field and deploy the new platform as part of a modernized combined arms concept. He later served as an instructor at the Australian School of Infantry in Singleton, New South Wales, strengthening professional ties with a key ally.
He commanded 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment during operations in Iraq’s Diyala Province, and later led 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division through a combat deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His brigade conducted operations across Logar, Wardak, and Bamyan Provinces.
Lt. Gen. Landes has also held several high impact strategic roles, including serving as Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army and as Deputy Commanding General (Support) of the 1st Armored Division. In 2018, he assumed command of the Security Force Assistance Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he oversaw the establishment of the Army’s Security Force Assistance Brigades-units designed to advise, assist, and support allied and partner nations.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and a U.S. Army War College Fellowship at Yale University.
Lt. Gen. Landes’ awards and decorations reflect a lifetime of service and leadership, including the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, and Army Staff Identification Badge.