By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

Brig. Gen. Glenn Walters has never lived in Hays. Truth be told, the high-ranking Marine official has only had time to visit the city on a handful of occasions throughout his lifetime.

The son of a former Hays resident, Walters works in a world removed from small-town, Midwestern life.

As deputy director for resources and acquisition for the Force Structure, Resources and Assessment (J8) Directorate of the Joint Staff, Walters spends his days in the Pentagon amongst the heads of the nation's military.

His roots remain firmly planted in Kansas, though.

His father, Bill Walters, was born and raised in Hays, although he currently lives in Virginia, and many of his aunts, uncles and other extended family members still live in the area.

As his father was a CIA official, Walters said he spent much of his childhood in foreign countries: Karachi, Pakistan; the Republic of Cyprus off the coast of Turkey; Athens, Greece; New Delhi, India; and Okinawa, Japan.

"Emotionally, I guess Hays is my hometown," Walters said, "even though I grew up overseas."

It's been about four years since he was last able to make a trip back "home," he said. In his defense, his days are busy.

Walters assumed his current job -- looking at funding and coordinating acquisition strategies for airplanes, tanks, ships, guns and any other piece of machinery the military might purchase -- in July.

But it was a long road to the Pentagon.

He graduated from the Military College of South Carolina in 1979 with the rank of second lieutenant, the lowest rank in the U.S. Marine Corps, six places below brigadier general.

He was immediately assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Lejeune near Jacksonville, N.C., before attending flight training in Florida.

While in the Marines, Walters participated in many tours in the Pacific and honed his flight skills piloting various attack helicopters, while slowly climbing the chain of command.

One of his many notable achievements, Walters participated in the first transatlantic crossing of a tiltrotor aircraft.

In July 2006, Walters co-piloted one of three V-22 Ospreys from New River, N.C., to Farnborough, England, home to the biennial Farnborough Airshow.

His 29 years of military service led to his elevation last month from colonel to brigadier general, in a ceremony at the Army Navy County Club in Arlington, Va.

"It's a surprise to me as everybody else," Walters said of the promotion. "A great career is making lieutenant colonel."

Walters said the military's selection board picks eight to 10 generals a year, and only two or three of the spots are reserved for aviators.

His promotion was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July.

"There was a spot open for me," he said. "It happened very quickly. Not many family members got to attend (the promotion ceremony)."

Now, Walters spends 12-hour days at the Pentagon and attends regular meetings with Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Walters had previously served in Operation Desert Storm and earlier in Operation Earnest Will, during the Iraq-Iran hostilities in the 1980s.

He admits that, while he loves his current job, he is anxious to get out from behind a desk and help serve his country yet again.