Brigadier general named to head military command in Arlington Heights

The new head of the U.S. Army's 85th Support Command, which is based in Arlington Heights, is Brig. Gen. Kris A. Belanger, who is coming from her last assignment with the 80th Training Command in Richmond, Virginia.

Belanger, who currently resides in Greer, South Carolina, assumed the command Aug. 15, but will officially be installed in a 9 a.m. ceremony Saturday, Oct. 21, on the 85th Support Command parade field at 1515 West Central Road.

Belanger, who has been in the military 27 years, will replace Brig. Gen. Frederick R. Maiocco Jr., who relinquished the command July 9 as he prepared to lead the 7th Mission Support Command in Germany. That's where Army Reserve forces are assembled for European deployments.

The 85th Support Command is part of a model multicomponent structure with First Army, and has nine brigade support elements and 46 Army Reserve battalions with 4,000 soldiers assigned and dispersed across the continental United States and Puerto Rico. The command maintains readiness for these soldiers ahead of pre-deployment, and post-deployment training and validation.