Major General Vernon B. Lewis, Jr. was commissioned a Field Artillery Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School,Class 28-51, 24 March 1951, from the Fort Riley Ground General School. His first duty assignment was as Forward Observer, 6th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Forward Observer/Fire Direction Officer, 75th Field Artillery Battalion, Korea; Battalion S-3, 560th Field Artillery Battalion, Fort Polk, Louisiana; Battery Commander, 457th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion, 11th Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Battery Commander Heavy Mortar Battery, 503d Airborne Battle Group, Germany; Battery Commander, 3d Battalion, 6th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Executive Officer/Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 320th Airborne Field Artillery Battalion, 82nd Airborne, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Sector Advisor, Binh Thuan Province, II CTZ, Vietnam; Staff Officer, Troop Operations Division, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Pentagon, Washington D.C.; Battalion Commander, 2d Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam; Chief, Field Artillery Committee/Combat Support Group, Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; Commander, 82d Airborne Division Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Chief of Staff, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Director of Operations and Intelligence, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Fort Monroe, Virginia; Assistant Commandant, Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Director of Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. | At the time of his induction, Colonel Lewis was serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of MPRI, Alexandria, Virginia.