Arkansas
Former AGFC director dies
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT/Edited News Release) – Loren Hitchcock, who was Arkansas Game and Fish Commission director for almost two years during 2011-12, died May 28 at his home in Higden. He was 70.
Hitchcock started his career with the AGFC as a game warden in 1985. He became chief of the Enforcement Division in 1989 and was named deputy director in 2001 (he held both titles until he became a deputy director exclusively in 2003).
When AGFC Director Scott Henderson announced he was resigning his position Sept. 1, 2010, Hitchcock was tapped as interim director. He was promoted to director Jan. 20, 2011, and retired from the agency Oct. 27, 2012.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be asked to lead the dedicated, professional staff at our agency,” Hitchcock said when he became director. “It is with these wonderful people that we can build a new era of efficiency and professionalism at Game and Fish. We’ll work together as a team to take advantage of the opportunities we have ahead of us to tell Arkansans about the wonderful opportunities that exist in Arkansas’s incredible outdoors, and the role this Commission plays in managing those resources.”
Hitchcock led the Enforcement Division’s role in the passage of the Amendment 75 Conservation Sales Fund in 1996. He was lead administrator in the agency’s acquisition of a large conservation easement – 16,000-acre Moro Big Pine Natural Area Wildlife Management Area in Calhoun County – plus 4,000 acres in fee title property in Searcy County for elk restoration.
He also negotiated with Chesapeake Energy in its acquisition of mineral rights and natural gas exploration on WMAs in the Fayetteville Shale play. The deal brought $32 million in mineral lease bonuses, plus gas royalty payments, to the AGFC.
Loren “Gib” Hitchcock was born to Margaret and Gilbert Hitchcock Oct. 9, 1953, in Batesville, where he was raised. He graduated from Arkansas State University in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He’s survived by his partner, Shawna, as well as two sons, two stepdaughters and eight grandchildren.
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Temperatures will climb to the upper 90s today and heat index values will get close to 105° this afternoon. There are heat advisories today for part of west and southwest Arkansas.
Today will bring a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms late in the day in Central Arkansas.
Friday will also bring a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms with very hot weather.
Rain chances increase and temperatures drop this weekend when a cold front moves through Arkansas.
Arkansas
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Explore Fort Smith Historic Site, where westward expansion, federal justice and Native American history shaped life on the American frontier.
A former Arkansas Tech University graduate and commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command is being remembered with two posthumous honors recognizing his lasting influence on the nation’s military intelligence operations.
The late Maj. Gen. Gary W. Johnston, a 1987 Arkansas Tech graduate and Russellville native, was honored during a dedication ceremony June 25 at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where the Army officially named a newly consolidated military intelligence complex the Major General Gary W. Johnston Consolidated Mission Facility.
Johnston also was posthumously inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame for helping reshape Army intelligence through the integration of emerging technologies, including big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The new facility serves as a central hub for U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) operations at Fort Huachuca, known as the “Home of Army Intelligence.” It houses some of the Army’s most critical intelligence personnel and brings together units that had previously operated from aging buildings spread across the installation.
Army officials said the previous arrangement created operational challenges, including limited secure workspaces, outdated infrastructure and additional security requirements. Beginning in 2018, INSCOM launched an effort to consolidate those missions by renovating two existing buildings into a 16,300-square-foot intelligence operations center designed to improve collaboration and security.
The facility now houses INSCOM G3’s Detachment 52, elements of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, representatives from the Ground Intelligence Support Activity, an emerging Foundry program element and other intelligence organizations.
Among those attending the dedication were Johnston’s wife, Brig. Gen. Amy Johnston, daughter Lauren Woodworth and granddaughter Arabella Woodworth.
Maj. Gen. Rhett R. Cox, commanding general of U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, said the building represents more than a new workplace.
“As we dedicate the U.S. Army INSCOM Major General Gary W. Johnston Consolidated Mission Facility, we do more than just open a new facility… we consecrate a tribute to his indelible legacy,” Cox said. “This facility will stand as a constant reminder of his service, his vision and his unwavering commitment to our nation and to the soldiers he led. It will inspire future generations of intelligence professionals to emulate his example of leadership and selfless service.”
Retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Kevin Boughton, former INSCOM command chief warrant officer, said Johnston envisioned closer collaboration between the Army’s intelligence training and operational communities.
Boughton said Johnston believed the distance between the Intelligence Center of Excellence and INSCOM’s operational units “shouldn’t be measured in miles,” but instead by “a seamless flow of data, doctrine, and talent” where operational experience and institutional knowledge move freely between soldiers in the field and those training the next generation.
Johnston graduated from Russellville High School in 1983 before earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Arkansas Tech in 1987. Through the university’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, he received his commission as a U.S. Army officer.
During a military career spanning more than 34 years, Johnston served in command and staff assignments ranging from platoon level to senior leadership within the Army and Department of Defense. He deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
In 2015, Johnston became the seventh graduate of Arkansas Tech’s Army ROTC program to attain the rank of general officer. He was promoted to major general in 2017.
He concluded his military career as commanding general of U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, overseeing approximately 17,500 personnel operating in more than 40 countries.
Army leaders credited Johnston with helping modernize military intelligence by laying the groundwork for the establishment of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command, which was formally created in 2022 after his retirement. He also led development of what became the Army Intelligence Data Platform, designed to incorporate advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning into intelligence operations while supporting future large-scale combat operations.
Johnston also promoted data science education within the military intelligence community by partnering with George Mason University to provide specialized training for Army warrant officers.
Colleagues remembered Johnston not only for his strategic vision but also for his leadership style. Despite working in one of the Army’s most demanding operational environments, they described him as a source of humor, kindness and encouragement whose focus remained on the soldiers, civilians and contractors carrying out the intelligence mission.
Johnston retired from active duty in 2021 and died in January 2022.
His latest recognitions add to previous honors from his alma mater. Johnston was a member of the inaugural Arkansas Tech Army ROTC Hall of Honor in 2017 and was inducted into the university’s Hall of Distinction in 2019.
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