Army’s Feltey Nominated for Third Star, V Corps Command at Fort Knox

Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Feltey, now leading the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, would gain a third star and take over V Corps if the Senate confirms him.

First Published: July 16, 2026, 12:46 PM ET

Army Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Feltey was nominated for a third star and command of V Corps at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the Department of War said.

The nomination advances Feltey, the current commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, to the grade of lieutenant general, according to war.gov. The announcement came in the department’s general officer list released on July 16, 2026 at 4:18 PM ET.

A lieutenant general wears three stars and typically commands a corps or leads a major headquarters, a step above the two-star major general grade Feltey now holds. V Corps serves as the Army’s forward-deployed corps headquarters in Europe, overseeing rotational units and exercises alongside NATO allies. The command reactivated in 2020 after being inactivated years earlier, restoring a corps-level presence on the continent.

The move carries stakes for the Army’s leadership pipeline and for allied deterrence in Europe. A confirmed Feltey would direct planning and readiness for U.S. land forces operating near NATO’s eastern flank. Soldiers under the 1st Cavalry Division would see a change at the top of their command, while V Corps would gain a leader drawn from one of the Army’s largest divisions.

The promotion is not final. Under the Constitution, general and flag officer appointments above certain grades require Senate confirmation, according to senate.gov. The nomination must clear the Senate Armed Services Committee before a floor vote, according to armed-services.senate.gov.

For the average American reader, the appointment shapes how U.S. ground forces are led at a time of heightened tension in Europe. Corps commanders influence where troops train, how quickly units deploy and how the Army coordinates with partner militaries. Those decisions affect service members and their families stationed at home and abroad.

Has this happened before? It has. The Army routinely elevates division commanders to three-star corps commands as part of its standard officer progression, and the Senate confirms dozens of general officer nominations each year. Feltey’s path from a two-star division command to a three-star corps post follows a well-worn route through the service’s senior ranks.

The next decision rests with the Senate. The Senate Armed Services Committee will review the nomination before the full chamber votes, though a date for that action has not been announced.

V Corps has marched through some of the Army’s defining chapters, as its history shows. The corps landed at Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, spearheading the American assault on Normandy during World War II. It later helped anchor U.S. defenses in West Germany through the Cold War and deployed forces during operations in the Balkans and the Middle East before its inactivation. Its 2020 reactivation returned a storied headquarters to the field, and the officer confirmed to lead it inherits a lineage that has repeatedly stood at the center of American land power.