General Rank Promotion, Lt. Gen. Ned Simms
Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:20 pm
Copy of the Recommendation citation sent to the ACWGC Cabinet -
"Lieutenant General Ned Simms has very capably and animatedly served as the Commander of the Union Army Eastern Theater since January 17th of this year, thus satisfying the time in command requirement as stipulated in both Club Rule 4.1 and UA General order No. 2. He has long since superseded the 800 OBD Point threshold for the rank, currently having 1575, and has been an active member of this club on both sides of the mason Dixon Line! (In regards to his OBD Points, Ned lost some 770 points when he transferred to the Union Army in the summer of 2005!)
"He very quickly settled in with the Army of the Shenandoah, where within a short time he became a DC and AotS adjutant. By November of that same year he had become Commander of the VI Corps picking up his first Outstanding Service Medal in October of 2006. In the spring of 2007 he took over the XIX Corps. He was awarded his second Union Army OSM that autumn. In January he had stepped down as XIX Corps Commander and assumed command of 1/VIII. In mid-December of 2010 he received the Union Army's Distinguished Service Order. Along the way Ned has accumulated a remarkable 82-267-34-12-33 combat record.
"But these things, as impressive as they may appear, do not adequately reflect Ned's abiding love for this club, nor his continual and constant concern for its welfare. As his immediate superior officer it falls to me to make the official recommendation for his promotion, and it is an exercise that I find completely satisfying and privileged to complete! Ned is forthright, reflective and frank in both his advises and replies to me, traits that I have come to respect and value. Yet he has never once sought to undermine, denigrate or disparage any legitimate issue in the course of his duties, nor has he shrunk from accomplishing those tasks that I have set before him. Much of the recent improvement within the operation and administration of the Union Army's Eastern Theater field armies is due to his watchfulness, support and advises to the commanders involved. Ned is an intelligent, experienced and insightful officer, one in whom I feel most fortunate in having within the Union Command Staff and one upon whom I greatly depend.
"I realize that within this promotion the ACWGC will witness something of a rarity, a former CSA officer who has successfully walked the long road to a four-star rank in the Union Army. Yet he has done so, and in my mind is fully deserving of the promotion before him. I humbly ask the Cabinet to approve the promotion of Lieutenant General Ned Simms to that of his full generalcy."
