Cedric Terry Wins is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. Major General Wins was the last commander of

RDECOM The Combat Capabilities Development Command, (DEVCOM, aka CCDC) (formerly the United States Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM)) is a subordinate command of the United States Army Futures Command, U.S. Army Futures Comma ...

, in the U.S. Army Materiel Command, and the first commanding general (CG) of Combat Capabilities Development Command ( DEVCOM), in the combat development element of

U.S. Army Futures Command The United States Army Futures Command (AFC) is a United States Army command that runs modernization projects. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The AFC began initial operations on 1 July 2018. It was created as a peer of Forces Command (FO ...

. In all, some 13,000 people work in some Science and Technology (S&T), or (RDT&E— research, development, test, and evaluation) capacity for DEVCOM. Wins was the first Black superintendent of

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

(VMI), a position he held until February 2025.

Education

Wins is a 1985 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) with a bachelor's degree in economics. At VMI, he played on the basketball team. He was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team in 1982, and Second Team All Southern Conference in 1985. He finished his college career as one of the five top scorers in VMI history. Wins ’85: Always be Humble.
VMI Alumni Agencies. Wins was commissioned a

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

officer in July 1985. After his Field Artillery Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Wins continued with the

U.S. Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. Wins earned an M.S. in national security and strategic studies from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

, and an M.S. in management from the

Florida Institute of Technology Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Approxim ...

Assignments

Before his assignment as RDECOM commander, Wins served as Director, Force Development in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8. During his 30 years of service, Wins has held leadership and staff assignments in the 7th Infantry Division (Light), Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8. Additionally, Wins has been stationed at

Fort Ord, California Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

; the 2nd Infantry Division,

Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which commands all United States Army forces in South Korea. It is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys in the Anjeong-ri of Pyeongtaek, Pyeongtaek, South Korea.Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. The DA is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized. It is led ...

and the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...

, The Pentagon; the 4th Infantry Division,

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

, Texas; Strategic Planning, J-8, U.S. Special Operations Command,

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida; and the Requirement Integration Directorate, Army Capabilities Integration Center,

Joint Base Langley-Eustis A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGra ...

, Virginia. His deployments include: *Task Force Sinai, Multinational Force and Observers, Egypt *Operations Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 21st Infantry (Light) *Program Executive Officer, Joint Program Executive Office – Afghanistan Public Protection Force *Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom *Deputy Commander, Police, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Training Mission – Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom Wins retired from the Army on November 6, 2019, after 34 years of service.

Awards and decorations

His awards and badges include: * Distinguished Service Medal *

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(with One Oak Leaf Cluster) *

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

* Meritorious Service Medal (with One Oak Leaf Cluster) *

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

(with Two Oak Leaf Clusters) *

Joint Service Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious se ...

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

(with One Oak Leaf Cluster) * Parachutist Badge *

Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and t ...

Army Staff Identification Badge The Army Staff Identification Badge is an identification badge awarded by the Chief of Staff of the Army to officers, warrant officers, and enlisted soldiers assigned to authorized positions at Headquarters, Department of the Army.

Virginia Military Institute

On November 13, 2020, Wins was appointed interim superintendent of

(VMI), succeeding J. H. Binford Peay III, who resigned as superintendent after a state investigation into allegations of racism at VMI. On April 15, 2021, the VMI Board of Visitors voted unanimously to appoint Wins as the Institute's 15th superintendent, the first African American to hold the position in the Institute’s 181-year old history. In February 2025, the board voted not to renew Wins' contract.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wins, Cedric Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Virginia Military Institute alumni Florida Institute of Technology alumni National War College alumni United States Army generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal