Ivan Bolden, Chief of Army Partnerships for the U.S. Army, has been recognized as a recipient of ADC’s 2019 Military Leadership Award. With an active-duty and civilian Army career spanning 45 years, Bolden has demonstrated exemplary leadership through his work with Fort Polk Progress, La., as well as more than 25 Army installations and their communities.
Bolden and other Defense Community Award honorees were recognized Monday during the Defense Communities National Summit.
Bolden spearheaded the Army’s Community Partnership and Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA) Programs, which have developed partnerships between active Army and National Guard installations and defense communities. These partnerships have reaped benefits for both the Army and defense communities, including enhanced readiness, cost savings, and increased access to land assets to meet civilian community goals.
Bolden has promoted successful partnerships across both the Department of Defense enterprise and defense communities across the country. He founded the Joint Services Partnership Committee to increase collaboration between the services. He also was instrumental in working with Congress to amend 10 USC 2670, extending IGSA term limits from 5 to 10 years and creating incentives toward defense community partnerships.
“The successes we have achieved in the Fort Polk region with IGSAs are a direct result of the personal attention and confidence that [Bolden] placed in our community partners,” said Mike Reese, chairman of Fort Polk Progress. “His actions and selfless desire to promote partnerships will have a permanent and lasting effect on building and sustaining our defense communities across the nation.”