The officer who organized the Army’s initial response to contamination of the Navy’s water system from a spill at the Red Hill fuel storage facility is now a general. Col. Phillip “Cain” Baker, the 25th Infantry Division’s deputy commander for support, was promoted to brigadier general Friday in a small ceremony at the Schofield Barracks attended by family and friends.

A father of three who began his Army career as a helicopter pilot, Baker led aviation units during several deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Red Hill mission was an unexpected departure from his day-to-day job at Schofield Barracks but one that he said defines his time in Hawaii.

After the Nov. 20 spill at the underground Red Hill facility, the Navy initially reported the fuel was contained. But thousands of gallons of fuel made its way into the Navy’s Red Hill water well, and within days military families reported that their tap water tasted and smelled strange.

The Navy initially downplayed residents’ concerns, insisting the water was safe to drink. It now acknowledges the fuel contaminated its water system, which serves 93,000 people on Oahu.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet’s investigation into the incident released last week found “the lack of critical thinking, intellectual rigor, and self-assessment by key leaders at decisive moments exemplified a culture of complacency and demonstrated a lack of professionalism that is demanded by the high consequence nature of fuel operations.”

The Navy’s water system serves several bases and military housing areas, including the Red Hill housing area and the Aliamanu Military Reservation. Though Red Hill housing and AMR use Navy water, they are administered by U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii and have residents from all military branches.

Both communities were hit especially hard due to their proximity to the contaminated well. As the severity of the contamination became clear, U.S. Army Pacific Gen. Charles Flynn ordered the immediate creation of a task force. Baker was tapped to lead it and by Dec. 3 was hastily assembling Task Force Ohana.

“Once mobilized the response that we owe to the families down there was our No. 1 thing that we focused on,” Baker told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

He mobilized 250 soldiers from 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, to go door-to-door delivering drinking water and coordinated the distribution of an additional 32,000 gallons of water from the Wahiawa well on Scho­field Barracks for AMR and Red Hill residents.

The task force quickly grew, bringing in medical and support personnel from commands across the island. Soldiers and civilian specialists began conducting medical screenings, helping families find temporary lodging and providing hot meals.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Ryan, 25th Infantry Division commander, was in Japan when the crisis began and returned to Hawaii on the first available flight to oversee response efforts, but Baker continued to play a key role. Residents praised the Army’s response but also noted frustration with the conflicting information the Army and Navy seemed to be putting out amid the crisis.

Army officials have avoided publicly criticizing Navy leaders, but internal Army emails obtained by the military news website Task &Purpose offered a glimpse of the frustration some soldiers felt behind closed doors. In a Dec. 6 email, a senior Army officer wrote that a Navy town hall held the day before “did not go well as the residents were not happy with the lack of urgency, sincerity, empathy, and answers provided by Navy leadership.”

The following day, the officer wrote that “there is still a messaging gap between the Army and the Navy as the Navy is stating the water is safe to drink, (bathe), cook, and wash clothes in and the Army does not agree at all and deems the water unsafe to use.”

Though many are returning to their homes, Baker said the military’s responsibility to service members and families affected by the disaster remains.

For his part, he has returned to his regular duties. Despite becoming a general, Baker will continue to stay in his current position at the 25th Infantry Division as deputy commander for support operations for at least another year.

“Yeah, the promotion happened, but what’s really happening is the stability of leaders here,” Baker said. “So we continue to march forward on.”

The 25th Infantry Division has been as the center of the Pentagon’s long-discussed “Pivot to the Pacific.” In October the division conducted the first-ever Joint Pacific Multinational Training Center to certify the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team as ready for deployment. Previously, certifications have required units to travel to the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, La., or Fort Irwin National Training Center in California.

“The fact that we’re providing the capability in a training expertise here, forward in the region, that’s never existed before,” Baker said. “When you put that in perspective, and all the partners that we joined and to be a part of that last year … what has happened here is almost revolutionary.”

The Army has been transitioning from the counterinsurgency operations that defined its past two decades to the prospect of larger-­scale conflict as tensions simmer with China and Russia.

“The world is a dangerous place, and our soldiers need to be ready. Cain is the kind of leader who ensures our units are trained and equipped to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Ryan during Friday’s ceremony. “It’s an honor to join him and his family to mark this significant milestone. I am grateful the Bakers will continue to serve our Army and our soldiers.”

Baker told the Star-Advertiser he is in no rush to leave.

“I love Hawaii, my family loves Hawaii,” he said. “This is a community, and we take very seriously our community or our partners. … We don’t take it for granted what we have here in this island chain.”