Colonel Edwin C. Speare was commissioned an Armor Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School Class 17-71, 9  July 1971. His first duty assignment was as a Platoon Leader, B Troop, 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Assistant Adjutant, 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington; Commander, 24th Administrative Services Detachment, Camp Coiner, Korea; Adjutant/Headquarters Detachment Commander, 6th Personnel and Administration Battalion, Camp Coiner, Korea; Commander, 101st Adjutant General Company and Chief, Enlisted Personnel Management Branch, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Commander, Mount Clemens Army Recruiting Area, Mount Clemens, Michigan; Commander, 187th Personnel Services Company, Mannheim, Germany; Deputy Adjutant General, 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Bad Kreuznach, Germany; Chief, Enlisted Distribution Branch, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command, Alexandria, Virginia; Chief, Enlisted Professional Development Branch, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, The Pentagon, Washington D.C.; Assistant Chief of Staff, G1 & Adjutant General, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Riley, Kansas; Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, 19th Theater Army Area Command, Taegu, Korea; Chief, Enlisted Accessions Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, The Pentagon, Washington, D.C.