Guy Sands-Pingot

Guy Ludvic Sands-Pingot is an American brigadier general of the United States Army. He served as Commander of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command located at Fort Wadsworth, New York from 3 December 2005 through 6 December 2008.

Early military career and background
A native of New York City, Sands was born on October 27, 1957. He attended public schools graduating as a Regents Scholar from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York in 1974. Sands was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant in 1978 from the Fordham University ROTC where he was a member of the elite Pershing Rifles drill team Company D-8 after graduating from The City College of New York with a BA in Political Science with a specialization in Russian Area Studies. He went on active duty with assignments in the Berlin Brigade, (among them as 1st Platoon Leader, A Co. 3/6 Inf, where his unique personality led to many adventures for all concerned) followed by assignments as a Tactical Officer at the US Army Ranger Training Brigade before being posted to Korea where he served on the General Staff of the 2nd Infantry Division and later as Commander of the United Nations Honor Guard Company.

Returning to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1984, he was selected to serve as a Senior Platoon Trainer, and completed his active duty service in 1988. He then accepted a fellowship to study international economics at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. After graduating he joined the New York Army National Guard, where he commanded the 142nd Infantry Detachment (LRS) (Airborne) until he was recalled to active duty during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm with the 48th Infantry Brigade of the Georgia Army National Guard.

Following release from active duty, he was selected for Special Forces training with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, and he underwent training at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center & School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, completing the Special Forces Officer Qualification Course in 1993.

Special forces training, Bosnia, and Kosovo
After completing Special Forces and Russian language training, he was accepted for assignment in the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in 1994. For the next six years he served in a variety of key civil-military positions with special focus in the Balkans, the first assignment being with the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) during the Bosnian Civil War throughout 1995 and later with the NATO Implementation Force (IFOR) and Stabilization Force (SFOR).

On the civilian side he worked in various managerial level positions in Bosnia with the Department of States Train and Equip Program for the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina Army, and afterward with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Bosnia. In October 1998 he was selected to serve as a senior planner for the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission which he stayed with until evacuating from Serbia to the Republic of Macedonia in March 1999 for the duration of the NATO Air Campaign.

Following this assignment he returned to Kosovo in a civilian status in order to serve as the Chief of Plans and Liaison for the newly established OSCE Mission to Kosovo. He was subsequently named by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo as the International Administrator of one of the Municipal Districts of Kosovo and later served on active duty as Deputy J9 at the Headquarters of KFOR in Pristina, Kosovo.

Service in Afghanistan and Iraq
Returning to the United States following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, he assumed Command of the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion located in Danbury, Connecticut. This was followed by study at the Army War College in 2003.

Following promotion to colonel and graduation he assumed command of the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in July 2003, he subsequently mobilized and deployed to the Central Command Area of Operations as the Commander of the Combined Joint Civil Affairs Task Force (Task Force Victory) which provided all civil-military operations throughout Afghanistan from September 2004 to July 2005.

He was subsequently appointed to his current position as a Department of the Army civilian in order to serve as Operational Programs Oversight Officer for the Technology Management Office in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army. He was nominated and confirmed to the rank of brigadier general in November 2005 in order to assume his current position as Commander of the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in Staten Island, New York in December 2005.

In addition to his Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College, he holds advanced post-graduate degrees in Political Economy from Fordham University, International Relations from Troy State University, and International Economics from St. Andrews University, as well as having completed graduate work at Oxford University, and the University of South Carolina where he is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Political Science.

Most Recent Service in Afghanistan and Homeland Defense
In December 2008 he was selected and appointed to serve as a Senior Executive civilian government official as the assistant Inspector General for Inspections within the newly created Office of the Special Inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction. In this position he assisted in standing up this new congressionally created agency charged with reporting to the American people where over $50 billion of reconstruction money has been spent in Afghanistan since 2001. This position took him throughout Afghanistan during 2009 and resulted in the publishing of numerous reports of inspections on various projects.

In May 2010 he was selected to serve as the Deputy to the Commanding General of US Army North/Fifth Army at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas and appointed as a Tier-2 level member of the Senior Executive Service. He and his wife Valentina and their daughter, Maria-Margaret reside in San Antonio, Texas.

Time at IMCOM

Awards and decorations
His awards include the Special Forces Tab, Combat Action Badge, Legion of Merit (1 OLC), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (1 OLC), Joint Service Commendation Medal (5 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (1 OLC), Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal (1 OLC), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal (2 OLC), Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal (2 OLC), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, United Nationals Special Service Medal (5 OLC), NATO Medal (2 OLC), Air Assault Badge, and Parachutist Badge.