Lieutenant General Raymond T. Odierno
The American operational commander in Iraq assumed day-to-day control of war operations last December 2006 and command of III U.S. Corps in May 2006.
Odierno grew up in northern New Jersey , attended the United States Military Academy at West Point , and graduated in June 1976 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. Later, General Odierno attended North Carolina State University and the Naval War College, receiving Masters degrees in Nuclear Effects Engineering and National Security and Strategy, respectively. He is also a graduate of the Army War College.
Odierno’s initial tours took him to U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany where he served as platoon leader and survey officer of the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery, 56th Field Artillery Brigade as well as aide-de-camp to the brigade’s commanding general. Following completion of the Artillery Officer Advance Course, General Odierno was assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he commanded Service Battery, Alpha Battery, and served as Battalion S3 in the 1st Battalion, 73rd Field Artillery. Additionally, during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he served as the executive officer first for the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery and then the Division Artillery, 3rd Armored Division.
Odierno went on to command 2nd Battalion, 8th Field Artillery, 7th Infantry Division followed by command of the Division Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division. Significant staff duties includes arms control officer, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Chief of Staff, V Corps, United States Army Europe; assistant division commander (support), 1st Armored Division; Deputy Commanding General, Task Force Hawk, Albania; and director, Force Management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, U.S. Army, Washington D.C. He was then assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, as the commanding general of 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) from October 2001 to June 2004 during which he deployed the division to Operation Iraqi Freedom from March 2003 to April 2004.
His most recent assignment brought him to the Pentagon in Washington D.C. as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from November 2004 to May 2006.
Odierno’s awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with five oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with three oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. ♦