CMP Welcomes Maj. Gen. Munera as Guest Speaker at JROTC Awards Ceremony
March 9, 2023
On March 25, 2023, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) will host the JROTC Three-Position National Championships awards ceremony – recognizing the top sporter and precision air rifle JROTC teams and individuals from across the country.
The match is set to be held March 23-25 at the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center, located on the grounds of Camp Perry in Port Clinton, Ohio. The National Championship is the culminating event of a junior air rifle series that began in September with over 6,000 junior cadets who competed in the Postal Championships before moving on to Regional Service Championships in February. Leading individuals and teams from the 900 athletes who competed in the regional events were invited to move on to the two-day competition in Ohio, where winners will be crowned National Champions.
The JROTC awards ceremony, a formal occasion to celebrate the hard work of the 225 young cadets who made it to the National event, will be held at Kalahari Resorts Convention Center in nearby Sandusky. Along with dinner and awards, those in attendance will be addressed by special guest speaker, Major General Antonio Munera.
Maj. Gen. Munera has accumulated a successful military career that has spanned over 30 years. A native of Fairfax, Va., he received a Regular Army commission in May 1991 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in History and a master’s degrees in Theater Operations and Strategic Studies. His military education includes the Chemical Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, the School for Advanced Military Studies and the U.S. Army War College.
On Sept. 20, 2022, Munera joined the U.S. Army Cadet Command at Fort Knox, Ky. As the Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Munera will lead Cadet Command’s mission to select, educate, train and commission college students to be officers and leaders of character in the Total Army as well as to form partnerships with high schools conducting JROTC programs.
With his many accolades and positive influence, the CMP is honored to have Maj. Gen. Munera as the esteemed guest at the 2023 JROTC Nationals awards ceremony.
The JROTC Three-Position series is jointly conducted by the U.S. Army Cadet Command, TECOM (Training & Education Command), the Naval Service Training Command and AFOATS (Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools). Learn more about the 2023 JROTC Nationals on the CMP website at https://thecmp.org/youth/jrotc/.
More About Major General Antonio Munera:
Maj. Gen. Munera has served in a variety of command and staff positions over his career. His previous assignments include: Platoon Leader, Executive Officer and CBRN Officer in the 101st Airborne Division; Detachment Commander in the XVIII Airborne Corps; Infantry Company Commander and CBRN Officer in the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; Company Commander in the United States Army Technical Escort Unit (CBRNE); Chief of Plans for the 20th CBRNE Command; Branch Chief in the Joint Requirements Office for CBRN Defense, J8, Joint Staff; Commander of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant; Commander of the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB), 1st Infantry Division; Security Sector Reform Chief as part of the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq; and Senior Military Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.
He served as the 30th Chief of Chemical and Commandant of the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School from June 2017 to April 2019 and as the Deputy Commanding General for the United States Army Cadet Command from May 2019 to May 2020. Most recently, Maj. Gen. Munera served as the eighth commander of the 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Command.
Munera deployed in 1999 as part of Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo, where he served as a Company Commander in the 82nd Airborne Division; in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as the Plans Officer for the 75th WMD Exploitation Task Force; and in Iraq in 2015 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, advising the Iraqi government on security sector reform.
Maj. Gen. Munera is married with two adult children and a grandchild.
Seeing this announcement brings back wonderful memories. As soon as I saw MG Munera’s picture, I KNEW he had to be the son of LTC (Ret.) Tony Munera, who I had the honor and pleasure of serving under in 1978-1979 when he, then a Major, was serving as the Battalion XO of 2d Battalion, 48th Infantry (Mechanized) assigned to the 2d Brigade, 3d Armored Division at Coleman Kaserne, In Gelnhausen, FRG. At the time, I was a relatively new Second Lieutenant assigned as a Rifle Platoon Leader of Third Platoon, Bravo Company, 2/48 Inf. Then Major Munera, and his wife Barbara, MG Munera’s mother, were GREAT people and much loved and respected throughout the battalion and the brigade. MG Munera would have been around just 4-5 years old at the time so I can’t even be sure if I ever met him at any of the many family-oriented social events held by the battalion. But, with parents like Tony and Barbara, he must be a great guy.