Courtesy Photo Col. Chad Bates, center, poses with his parents, Wayne and Shary Bates of Hillman, at his promotion ceremony in Virginia.

Recently at Fort Belvior in the U.S. Army’s Cyber Warfare Command Center, Lt. Colonel Chad T. Bates was promoted to Colonel by the Center’s Commanding General Stephen Fogarty.

Col. Bates is the son of Wayne and Shary Bates of Hillman. They flew to Virginia to be part of the ceremonies, as well as their son Brett Bates and his wife, from Dallas.

Col. Chad Bates is a graduate of West Point, has two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in Geoinformation Sciences from George Mason.

He served in Kosovo along with another tour in Iraq and received the Bronze Star and several other medals in his over 25 years of service to our country. The most recent award he received was the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Col. Bates has been involved in Cyber Warfare for many years and plans to be stationed at the Pentagon.

He has been married to his wife Rebecca for nearly 25 years and has four children. His family is very proud of his accomplishments and especially his dedication to our nation’s security.