Edwin Hess Burba Jr. (born September 13, 1936) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

who served as commander-in-chief of the

United States Army Forces Command United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...

from 1989 to 1993. His father was also a general officer who served as deputy commander of

First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Kore ...

from 1968 to 1970, and died in a plane crash.

Military career

Burba was born in

McAlester, Oklahoma McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census,Shuller, Thurman"McAlester" profile ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History an ...

on September 13, 1936 (one of two 4-star generals born in McAlester, the other being Bennie L. Davis, commander of Strategic Air Command). He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

and graduated in 1959, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant. He has also earned a Master of Science degree in International Affairs from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

, and is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advance courses, the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multina ...

and the National War College. Burba served two tours in Vietnam, and has commanded at all levels from platoon to major command, to include the

United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infantr ...

and the 7th Infantry Division.Global Payments, Inc. bio
/ref> As an army officer, he served as Chief of Field Training at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and U ...

. Prior to assuming command of

, he was Commanding General of the Combined Field Army, ROK/US. He retired from the army in 1993.

Decorations

Burba's awards and decorations include the

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

with 13 Oak Leaf Clusters, and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. He has also earned the

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

, Ranger tab and the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

Post-military

After retiring from the military, Burba worked as a Senior Mentor with the army's Battle Command Training Program, has sat on the Board of Advisors for the National Infantry Foundation, and the Board of Directors of Global Payments, Inc. He is the 2003 recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Award from the Association of Graduates, the United States Military Academy alumni association.Association of Graduates bio
/ref> Burba and his wife Trish have three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burba, Edwin 1936 births Living people United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from McAlester, Oklahoma Elliott School of International Affairs alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal National War College alumni