Raymond T. Odierno
Raymond T. Odierno (born September 8, 1954 ) is a former general in the US Army . He was Chief of Staff of the Army from September 7, 2011 to August 14, 2015 .
Before that, he was commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq from September 2008 to September 2010 (since January 2010 United States Forces Iraq ) and before that from May 2006 to July 2008 he commanded the III. US Corps , which was stationed in Baghdad from December 14, 2006 to February 14, 2008 as Multi-National Corps Iraq and was thus directly subordinate to the Multi-National Force Iraq .
Military career
Odierno grew up in the north of the US state of New Jersey , attended the US Military Academy in West Point and graduated with a Bachelor of Science and an officer license as a second lieutenant in June 1976. He later earned two master's degrees from North Carolina State University and Naval War College , one in nuclear engineering and the other in national security and strategy . Odierno is also a graduate of the US Army War College .
First uses took him to Germany, where he served in the 7th US Army as platoon leader of a platoon and as an inspection officer of the 1st Battalion , 41st US Field Artillery Regiment , 56th US Field Artillery Brigade. He later held the post of aide-de-camp of the general in command of the brigade . After completing the advanced artillery officer course , Odierno became the artillery of the XVIII. US Airborne Corps transferred to Fort Bragg , North Carolina . Here he served as the battery chief of the Alpha Battery and as an operations officer ( S-3 ) of the 1st Battalion, 73rd US Field Artillery Regiment. During Operations Desert Shield / Storm 1990/91, Odierno served first as Executive Officer (XO) of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd US Field Artillery Regiment and then as XO of the Artillery Division of the 3rd US Armored Division . He then took over command of the 2nd Battalion, 8th US Field Artillery Regiment, 7th US Infantry Division and then the divisional artillery of the 1st US Cavalry Division .
In staff assignments, Odierno served as an arms control officer in the office of the US Secretary of Defense ; as Chief of Staff of the V US Corps , at the time part of the 7th US Army , in Germany; as assistant division commander in support of the 1st US Armored Division ; In 1999, he served as the deputy commanding general of Task Force Hawk in Albania under General Wesley K. Clark and as director of force management in the office of the deputy chief of staff for operations and planning at the US Army headquarters in Washington, DC
Subsequently, Odierno took over from October 2001 to June 2004 in Fort Hood , Texas , command of the 4th US Infantry Division . During this time he served with the division in Iraq from March 2003 to April 2004. In December 2003, his troops picked up Saddam Hussein .
After this troop command he returned to the Pentagon and served there as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , under Generals Richard B. Myers and Peter Pace , from November 3, 2004 to May 1, 2006. In addition, he took over the post of Senior Military Advisor to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and accompanied her on state visits.
On May 15, 2006 Odierno took over as commanding general of the III. US Corps , which was stationed in Baghdad as Multi-National Corps Iraq from December 14, 2006 and was thus directly subordinate to the Multi-National Force Iraq . In February 2008 he was nominated for the post of Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (VCSA). On February 14, 2008, Odierno in Baghdad handed over the tasks of the Multi-National Corps Iraq to Lloyd J. Austin III. and the subordinate XVIII. U.S. Airborne Corps .
With the resignation of Admiral William J. Fallon as commander of the US Central Command , this position became unexpectedly vacant in March 2008. Thereupon General David H. Petraeus was nominated as Fallon's successor in April and confirmed by the US Senate in July . At the same time, Odierno's nomination for the post of VCSA became obsolete, as he was to take over as General Petraeus' post as commander of the Multi-National Force Iraq in August or September . This was confirmed by the US Senate in July. On July 16, 2008 he handed over command of the III. US Corps to Lieutenant General Rick Lynch .
On September 16, 2008, Odierno took over command of the Multi-National Force Iraq in Baghdad from David Petraeus . After all allied states of the Coalition of the Willing withdrew their troops in the course of 2009, the command was renamed United States Forces Iraq . Odierno passed this command on to Lloyd J. Austin III on September 1, 2010 . Odierno himself took over the post of commander of the US Joint Forces Command on October 29, 2010 . His task at this command post was the dissolution of the unit due to financial constraints. He officially completed this assignment on August 31, 2011.
Awards
Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :
- Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4 ×)
- Army Distinguished Service Medal (2 ×)
- Defense Superior Service Medal
- Legion of Merit (6 ×)
- Bronze star
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Meritorious Service Medal (4 ×)
- Army Commendation Medal
- Army Achievement Medal
- National Defense Service Medal (2 ×)
- Southwest Asia Service Medal (4 ×)
- Kosovo Campaign Medal (3 ×)
- Iraq Campaign Medal (5 ×)
- Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
- Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
- Armed Forces Service Medal
- Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Promotions
Badge of rank | rank | Date of carriage |
---|---|---|
Second lieutenant | June 2nd 1976 | |
First lieutenant | June 2nd 1978 | |
Captain | August 1, 1980 | |
major | 1st December 1986 | |
Lieutenant Colonel | February 1, 1992 | |
Colonel | September 1, 1995 | |
Brigadier General | July 1, 1999 | |
Major General | November 1, 2002 | |
Lieutenant General | January 1, 2005 | |
general | September 16, 2008 |
Web links
- Official biography on defense.gov (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ General Officer Announcements (DefenseLink.mil, February 5, 2008)
- ↑ III Corps transfers authority to XVIII Airborne (MNF-Iraq.com of February 11, 2008; English)
- ↑ Gen. Petraeus named as next commander of Mideast command ( AP report from April 23, 2008; English)
- ↑ Odierno hands over post (Killeen Daily Herald, July 19, 2008; English)
- ↑ Website of the US Joint Forces Command ( Memento of the original dated February 2, 2001 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Odierno, Raymond T. |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Lieutenant General; Commanding General of the Multi-National Corps Iraq |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1954 |