Lawrence Anyanwu, one of the 109 Nigerian-born soldiers, currently serving in the U.S. Army, has been promoted to the rank of colonel, making him the first Nigerian in active service to attain the rank in the U.S. Army.Two other Nigerians who have attained the rank are in the U.S. Army Reserve. One of them is Col. Igwekala Njoku, a scientist, who is currently in the U.S. Medical Corps.
The U.S. Army’s latest promotion of officers to the rank of colonel was said to be particularly tough as only 38 per cent of eligible officers were promoted, compared to previous years when up to 50 per cent of eligible officers usually got promoted.
Anyanwu, who is from Amorji-Ogbe in the Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo, is currently on duty tour in Kuwait, serving as Deputy Director, Resource Management in the Third U.S. Army’s Central Command in the Gulf Arab state.
He was said to have also distinguished himself in military operations in Hungary and Bosnia in 1995 and in Kuwait in 2005, from where he made visits to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2011, Anyanwu was again sent to Kuwait and Afghanistan in support of Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom, respectively.
The Nigerian-born serviceman, said to be noted for his level-headedness and outstanding performance in military assignments, had also served as battalion commander of the Training Command Battalion at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.
Anyanwu, a graduate of the U.S. Army War College with a master’s degree in strategic studies also holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in engineering technology.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1986 as a private, after spending two years studying finance and banking at the Imo State College of Technology in Owerri.