CMP Announces Lt. Gen. Gary Cheek as the 2026 JROTC National Awards Guest Speaker
March 26, 2026
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is excited to announce Lieutenant General Gary Cheek, U.S. Army (Retired), as the honored guest speaker during the JROTC Three-Position National Championships awards ceremony.
The formal event will be held March 28 at the Kalahari Resorts Convention Center in Sandusky, Ohio – recognizing the top sporter and precision air rifle JROTC teams and individuals from across the country.
General Cheek is a 38-year veteran of the United States Army. His notable assignments during his service include Director of the Army Staff in the Pentagon, Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Central Command and as a brigade commander in Afghanistan. He is also a graduate of the United States Military Academy, the School of Advanced Military Studies, the Army War College and the U.S. Army Airborne and Ranger schools.
After his military career, General Cheek served as the inaugural Director of the Bass Military Scholars Program at Vanderbilt University and is now a member of the CMP Board of Directors, assisting as treasurer.
The JROTC National Championship awards ceremony is the culminating celebration of a series that began in September with the JROTC Postal Championships, leading to regional Service Championships in February in Ohio, Alabama, Utah and Missouri before reaching the National competition.
The National competition will be held at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center in Ohio, featuring two days of qualification firing at three positions (kneeling, prone and standing) followed by an eight-person final for sporter and precision athletes to determine overall winners.
Learn more about the event and follow scores in real time at https://thecmp.org/youth/jrotc/.
More About Lieutenant General Gary Cheek:
Lieutenant General Gary Cheek, U.S. Army (Retired), was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery in May 1980 following his graduation from the United States Military Academy. His first assignment was 1st Battalion, 13th Field Artillery, 24th Infantry Division, and later served in 2nd Battalion, 28th Field Artillery, VII Corps Artillery, U.S. Army Europe as a battalion staff officer and commander of Battery A.
He went on to serve as an Exchange Officer at the Canadian Field Artillery School in New Brunswick, Canada, followed by the Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. He eventually returned to Fort Stewart, Ga., where he served as a division plans officer and Executive Officer for 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery.
After serving at West Point as the Field Artillery Branch Representative, General Cheek commanded 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 3rd Infantry Division before serving as the Senior Fire Support Observer/Controller at the National Training Center. Upon completion of the U.S. Army War College, Cheek was assigned as the commander, Division Artillery, 25th Infantry Division, and later as the commander of Combined Task Force Thunder, CJTF-76 in Afghanistan.
Other assignments included:
- Joint Staff J-5 as a strategic planner for the war on terrorism
- Army Staff as the Deputy for Strategy, Plans and Policy, G3/5/7
- Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, Headquarters Dept. of the Army
- Commanding General of Warrior Transition Command, Falls Church, Va.
- Director of Military Personnel Management, G1, Headquarters Dept. of the Army
- Deputy Commanding General, Third Army/U.S. Army Central
He retired in 2018 and was elected to the Board of Directors of the Unites States Field Artillery Association (USFAA) in 2020. In 2024, General Cheek was inducted into the USFAA’s Hall of Fame.
General Cheek is married to his wife, Leslie, and has two adult sons: Blakely and Christopher.