Promoted despite controversy.Maj. Gen. Robert T. Clark Lieutenant General Robert T. Clark is a retired United States Army general. His last assignment as the Commanding General, Fifth United States Army (later United States Army North) which he commanded from December 5, 2003 to December 2006. was commander at Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee and is home to the 101st Airborne Division. The fort is named in honor of BG William Bowen Campbell, the last Whig Governor of Tennessee. , Ky., in 1999 when Pfc. Barry Winchell Barry Winchell (31 August 1977—6 July 1999) was an infantry soldier in the United States Army, whose murder by a fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, became a point of reference in the ongoing debate about the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy enforced by the military regarding was bludgeoned to death by a fellow soldier who believed he was gay. But that wasn't reason enough to block Clark's promotion. Despite passionate pleas to delay his confirmation by Winchell's parents and unprecedented action by several senators, Clark was promoted to lieutenant general, the Army's second-highest rank, by due U.S. Senate on November 18. He will assume command of the Fifth U.S. Army in Texas. C. Dixon Osburn, whose Servicemembers Legal Defense Network The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is a non-profit legal services, watchdog, and policy organization in the United States. SLDN is dedicated to ending discrimination and harassment of gay and lesbian U.S. strongly opposed Clark's promotion, said in a statement that he was disappointed but remained optimistic. "For the first time in history ... senators have closely scrutinized an officer's record on preventing antigay harassment," he said. |
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