Peter W. Chiarelli

General Peter W. Chiarelli

Peter W. Chiarelli (born March 23, 1950 in Seattle , Washington ) is a former general in the US Army . Between August 2008 and January 2012 he served as the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the Army , before that he was Commander of the Multi National Corps Iraq from January 2006 to December 14, 2006 and then served as Special Assistant for Developing the Commander's Regional Military Capabilities of US Central Command , General John Abizaid . From March 2007 to August 2008, he was the Senior Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates .

Military career

Training and first uses

Chiarelli graduated from Seattle University with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1972 and received his officer license as a second lieutenant on September 21, 1972 through the ROTC program . After graduating from the tank officer basic training he was from March 1973 to June 1975 as a platoon commander of a platoon and later as first officer on the staff of the headquarters of the 3rd Squadron , 5th US Cavalry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division in Fort Lewis , Washington used . During this time he was promoted to First Lieutenant on September 21, 1974 . From June 1975 to December 1977 he served first as an intelligence officer ( S-2 ) and, after his promotion to captain on September 21, 1976, as commander of A Troop ( company equivalent), 3rd Squadron, 5th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, 9th US Infantry Division. From January to July 1978 Chiarelli then completed the advanced infantry officer training at the US Army Infantry School in Fort Benning , Georgia, and then from August 1978 to June 1980 at the University of Washington in Seattle , Washington, where he studied with a master’s degree of Public Administration for International Relations and Economics. He then worked as an instructor and later as an assistant professor at the US Military Academy in West Point until June 1984 . In March 1984 he was promoted to major and studied from July 1984 to June 1985 at the US Naval Command and Staff College , a facility of the Naval War College , in Newport , Rhode Island . He graduated with a master's degree in national security and strategic studies.

Staff assignments and major commands

From June 1985 to October 1987 he was an operations officer (S-3) of the 3rd Battalion , 33rd US Armored Regiment, 3rd US Armored Division of the 7th US Army in Germany. After another assignment in Germany, this time as an operations officer of the 2nd Brigade , 3rd US Armored Division, 8th US Army from October 1987 to June 1989, Chiarelli served from July 1989 to June 1990 as assistant operations officer of the 1st US Corps in Fort Lewis , Washington. During this use he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on March 1, 1990 and also took over command of the 2nd Battalion, 1st US Infantry Regiment of the 9th US Infantry Division at Fort Lewis from June 1990 to August 1992. Chiarelli then studied again, this time from August 1992 to June 1993 at the National War College in Fort Lesley J. McNair , Washington, DC In June 1993, he took over the post of Operations Officer (G-3) of the 1st US Cavalry Division in Fort Hood , Texas , resumed a staff post until May 1995. From May 1995 to April 1996 he then served the post as deputy operations officer and director for planning, training and mobilization of the III. US Corps at Fort Hood and was promoted to colonel on June 1, 1995 . With command of the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd US Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Chiarelli took over command of the troops again from May 1996 to July 1998.

General Staff Service

This was followed by a staff assignment as executive assistant and after promotion to Brigadier General on September 1, 1999 as executive officer of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe , General Wesley Clark , in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , Belgium , of NATO . Upon his return to the United States , he served from August 2000 to August 2001 as assistant division commander in support of the 1st U.S. Cavalry Division at Fort Hood. From August 2001 to July 2003, he served as director of operations, readiness and mobilization in the office of the deputy chief of staff for operations at the US Army headquarters in Washington, DC.In January 2003, Chiarelli was promoted to major general and took over after his tenure in the United States Department of Defense in March 2004 the post of Commanding General of the 1st US Cavalry Division and commanded it from March 2004 to February 2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom . He held this post until his promotion to Lieutenant General on November 22, 2005.

The role of Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sánchez as indirectly responsible for the Abu Ghuraib torture scandal led to his transfer to the US Corps and denied promotion to general. After handing over command, he commanded the 5th US Corps in Germany. However, when the corps made preparations in November 2005 to take over command as headquarters ( Multi-National Corps Iraq ; MNC-I) in Baghdad, Chiarelli was deployed as forward commander. However, Sánchez and with him the corps' troop flag remained unusually in Germany.

Chiarelli gave this command on December 14, 2006 to Lieutenant General Raymond T. Odierno and his subordinate III. US Corps . He was then transferred to the headquarters of the US Central Command and served under General John Abizaid as Special Assistant for Regional Military Capability Development. On March 13, 2007, he was nominated for the post of Senior Military Assistant by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and took over this post a little later.

In April 2008, Chiarelli was nominated for the post of Vice Chief of Staff of the Army , which he took over on August 4, 2008 and held until January 31, 2012. He was succeeded by Lloyd J. Austin III .