[044] Lt. Col. Kast Leads MTSU Military Science Department

Release date: Aug. 12, 2009


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Military science contact: Lt. Col. TK Kast, 615-898-2470 or tkast@mtsu.edu


Lt. Col. Kast Leads MTSU Military Science Department


(MURFREESBORO) — Lt. Col. Tharrel “TK” Kast became the newest professor of military science at MTSU July 1. The announcement, made in March, came from former department leader Lt. Col. Michael T. Walsh, who was promoted to full colonel Aug. 6.
Kast, who visited MTSU March 23-26 to get acquainted with the program, is coming “home” from Fort Bragg, N.C., where he has been operations officer in the 1st Theater Sustainment Command.
“I’m excited to be here,” said Kast, a Pensacola, Fla., native, but who lived in Spring Hill when he worked for NCR. “I love the job (professor of military science) and what Mike’s done while he has been here.”
While sitting in Walsh’s office in March, he reached for a photo taken in November 2008 of alumni who have been promoted to general officers through the years. MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee had invited the group to campus to be part of the Salute to Armed Forces.
“One of these kids out here will put on the stars. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Kast said, pointing outside the door of what has become his office in Forrest Hall and in anticipation of the young men and women who will enter the building. “These are the future Army leaders. We have cadets here who will be in the National Guard, Reserve and active duty.
“With my past experience in all three components, I think I can talk to these guys and tell them where they’re at.”
On Aug. 7, Kast presided at the department’s commissioning ceremony, one of his first official acts on the job. He told those attending that under his leadership, he hopes to keep MTSU’s ROTC program, which has been strong under the watch of Walsh and others, among the nation’s elite, and continue the string of producing general officers from the MTSU cadet corps.
Kast and his wife, Robin, a native of Hixson, Tenn., have a son, Clayton, 18, and a daughter, Shelby, 12. Their son, who visited MTSU last fall, has been accepted at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.

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Note: A high-resolution (.jpg) photo of Lt. Col. TK Kast is available. To obtain, call Randy Weiler at 615-898-5616 or e-mail jweiler@mtsu.edu.