Indiana National Guard Promotes Burke to Brigadier General
Indiana National Guard Brig. Gen. Robert D. Burke
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA Knightstown resident and Indiana State Police officer has reached the one-star rank of brigadier general. Indiana National Guard Brig. Gen. Robert Burke, most recently the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, received his new rank from family members and Maj. Gen. Courtney P. Carr, Indiana’s adjutant general, during the ceremony attended by scores of Hoosier Guardsmen and Indiana State Troopers.
Burke, who has served with the Indiana National Guard and State Police since 1993 after a three-year active-duty Army tour, will move to a full-time military position overseas serving with NATO Multinational Corps – Northeast in Poland.
Indiana’s newest general officer, a two-time combat veteran, also deployed to Afghanistan in 2004. In 1989, he completed his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Norwich University in Vermont and commissioned as a second lieutenant from ROTC.
Hoosier Guardsmen assigned to the 76th under Burke’s 44-month reign participated in high-profile exercises including eXportable Combat Training Capability program in 2016 and Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana in 2017. Also during his tenure, the 76th was the first National Guard brigade to lead Pacific Pathways in 2018.
Burke’s received the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal among many others. He’s served as the 38th Infantry Division’s operations officer and has commanded two battalion-sized formations.