Army names new Fort Riley commander to replace fired officer

? The Army on Thursday named a new commander at Kansas’ Fort Riley to replace an officer fired three days earlier, just weeks before soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division deploy to Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin takes the helm of the division on the 17,000-troop base and replaces Maj. Gen. Wayne Grigsby, who is the subject of an Army investigation and was removed from command Monday for what the Army cited as a loss of confidence in his ability to lead.

The Army hasn’t released details of its investigation involving Grigsby. A senior Army official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case, said Monday the probe does not involve other law enforcement agencies.

Martin, 53, is a 1986 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and most recently commanded the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

Martin, who deployed to Iraq twice as a commander during the Iraq war, also has been stationed at Kansas’ Fort Leavenworth as deputy commanding general of the Army’s Combined Arms Center-Training, which manages the branch’s training programs.

Brig. Gen. Jeffery D. Broadwater, who will take command of the National Training Center, currently is deployed to Afghanistan.

Martin received a master’s degree from the University of Louisville. He also graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.