Charles Christopher "Hondo" Campbell (August 24, 1948 – February 8, 2016) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer who served as the 17th Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM). He previously served as FORSCOM's Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff from April 26, 2006, to January 8, 2007. He assumed the commanding general assignment January 9, 2007, and completed it on June 3, 2010.

Early life and education

Campbell was born in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, where his brother, James H. Campbell, III, is an attorney. He earned his commission through

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, from which he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. His initial assignment was as an instructor at the Infantry Training Command (provisional), United States Army Training Center Infantry in Fort Ord,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Military career

After Special Forces training, Campbell went on to teach tactics at Forces Armeé National Khmere Training Command, Army Advisory Group, Phouc Tuy Training Battalion, United States Army, Vietnam. He subsequently served as an A-Detachment Executive Officer and Commander in Vietnam. His succeeding commands include a Combat Support Company in the 2d Armored Division, Fort Hood,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

; an armor battalion in the 3d Armored Division – 2/67AR, United States Army Europe and a heavy brigade in the 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. He was also the Commanding General of the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado and the Commanding General, Eighth United States Army, South Korea. Campbell's staff assignments included service as Operations Officer, 3–63 Armor, Augsburg, Germany; Chief, Exercise Branch, 3d Infantry Division, Wuerzburg, Germany; Plans and Operations Officer, Combined Field Army, Republic of Korea; Senior Task Force Observer/Controller and later Deputy Commander, Operations Group, Combat Maneuver Training Center
Hohenfels
Germany; Chief of Staff, 2d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Eighth Army, South Korea; Assistant Division Commander, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; Chief of Staff, I Corps and Fort Lewis, Fort Lewis, Washington; Deputy Commanding General, Third Army, Fort McPherson, Georgia; Chief of Staff, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; Chief of Staff, United States Central Command; and Chief of Staff, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea. Campbell received a Master of Military Art and Science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He attended a wide variety of military schools, including the

School of Advanced Military Studies The School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) is one of four United States Army schools that make up the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This "enormously rigorous" graduate school compr ...

in 1986, as well as the Army War College in 1991. He retired from the army on June 3, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the last active general officer who had served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Campbell died on February 8, 2016, at the age of sixty-seven in Shreveport, where he returned after retiring from the military to live with his wife, Betty Dianne Campbell.

Military awards and decorations

His military awards and decorations include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Charles 1948 births 2016 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Louisiana State University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal People from Shreveport, Louisiana Louisiana Republicans 20th-century American Episcopalians Military personnel from Louisiana Sigma Alpha Epsilon members