Brig. Gen. Patricia R. Wallace just became the first female leader of the Army Reserve’s 80th Training Command, one of the largest educational operations in the Army.

A decorated officer whose medals include the Bronze Star, Gen. Wallace took charge Saturday following a ceremony at the Defense General Supply Center in which she relieved Brig. Gen. Steven D. Hayden.

She leads a force of more than 6,000 Army Reserve soldiers and 270 civilians who provide 1,700 training courses a year for 85 units in 37 states, Puerto Rico and Germany. The command deploys instructors in 150 subjects.

Gen. Wallace brings more than 32 years of service to her new role, including previous service as the 80th’s chief of internal review and as operations officer for the 97th Training Brigade, an element of the 80th.

She began her military career in 1990 with two years of enlisted service.

After active service, she joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps while at the University of Indiana-Bloomington where she earned her bachelor’s in criminal justice and a master’s in public administration.

Among her myriad assignments, she also has led the U.S. Army Reserve’s Pacific Command and served as the executive officer and public affairs officer for the 1st Infantry Division in Kuwait.

She also has taken numerous courses involving the military, including studies at the Army War College.

The command Gen. Wallace now heads is based on Strathmore Road in the county, and is the latest iteration of a unit that traces its roots to World War I when it was the 80th Division.

Nicknamed the “Blue Ridge Division” because the initial troops came from mountain areas of Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the division fought during World War II and in other conflicts, including Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The division was reconstituted in 2008 as a training command.

Among other duties, it provides military education to non-commissioned officers at Fort Dix, Fort McCoy and Academy Camp Parks, according to the division’s website.

Among other elements, the 80th includes the 94th Training Division based at Fort Lee; the 100th Training Division based at Fort Knox, Ky.; and the 102nd Training Division based at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.