Gary Edward Luck (born August 5, 1937) is a retired four-star

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the

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 ...

. Following his retirement, he was a senior advisor to the

United States Joint Forces Command United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray Odi ...

prior to that command's inactivation. He is currently a Senior Fellow for the

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

in support of the Pinnacle, Capstone, and Keystone programs.

Education

Receiving a bachelor's degree in engineering from

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in 1959, Luck also holds a master's degree from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

and a doctorate in business administration (Operations Research and Systems Analysis, a/k/a ORSA) from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

. In addition, Luck has attended numerous military schools and courses, to include the Armor Basic and Advanced Officer courses, Army Aviator training, 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 multinat ...

, and the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

.http://scs.georgetown.edu/departments/35/us-strategic-leadership-center-at-georgetown/about-the-program/faculty

Military career

Luck is a combat veteran of both 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 ...

and the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and has held a variety of command and staff positions throughout his army career, to include: Chief of Staff, 8th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, Europe; Director, Force Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, HQ Department of the Army; Assistant Division Commander,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

; Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea; Commanding General,

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

(1989–1990); Commanding General,

U.S. Army Special Operations Command The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the largest ...

; and Commanding General,

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

during

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

(1990–1993). His last military assignment before retiring from active duty was as Commander-in-Chief,

United Nations Command (Korea) United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...

/Combined Forces Command/

United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...

. During this time the United States and North Korea nearly went to war over North Korea's development of weapons-grade plutonium at the

Yongbyon nuclear facility The Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center is North Korea's major nuclear facility, operating its first nuclear reactors. It is located in Nyongbyon County in North Pyongan Province, about 100 km north of Pyongyang. The center produc ...

and threat to withdraw from the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

. Luck warned President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

that a renewal of the

Korean conflict The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea ...

would cost "A million, a hundred billion, and a trillion," meaning 1 million American casualties, $100 billion in economic costs to the United States, and $1 trillion in industrial damage to South Korea. The crisis was ultimately defused by the successful negotiation of the USA-DPRK

Agreed Framework The Agreed Framework between the United States of America and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (북미제네바기본합의서) was signed on 21 October 1994, between North Korea (DPRK) and the United States. The objective of the agreeme ...

, but North Korea eventually acquired nuclear weapons. General Luck, then a major general, served as officer in charge of Operation Pocket Planner in November 1987, where members of the

United States Army Special Operations Command The United States Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) (USASOC ( )) is the command charged with overseeing the various special operations forces of the United States Army. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, it is the largest ...

responded to the Atlanta prison riots.

Post-military life

Since his retirement from the Army, Luck has served in a variety of senior advisory positions in support of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

, overseeing exercise control during Exercise

Millennium Challenge 2002 Millennium Challenge 2002 (MC02) was a major war game exercise conducted by the United States Armed Forces in mid-2002. The exercise, which ran from 24 July to 15 August and cost (equivalent to about $M in ), involved both live exercises and com ...

, and as an advisor to then-Commander of

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

, General

Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including the ...

, prior to the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was sent back to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in early 2005 in order to investigate various areas of operation, identifying any weaknesses and reporting back to commanders at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

with a confidential assessment on what could be done to install

democracy in Iraq Democracy for the government of Iraq has been a long sought after goal by politicians, activists, and revolutionaries. It is considered to be a new, "fledgeling process" or phenomenon in Iraq, commonly afflicted by corruption, civil and ethnic con ...

and to set a date for the withdrawal of American and

coalition forces ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

. That same year, Luck was also the 2005 recipient of the

Doughboy Award Order of Saint Maurice was established in 1996 in the pattern of the Cavalry & Armor Association's Saint George Award, Order of St. George Medallion and is awarded by the National Infantry Association and the certificate is signed by the United St ...

from the

National Infantry Association The National Infantry Association (NIA) was established in April 1982 at Fort Benning, Georgia as the Infantry Association, operating as a titular organization for the subscribers of “Infantry” magazine. In 1994, it was incorporated as the ...

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luck, Gary E. 1937 births Living people Kansas State University alumni United States Army aviators Florida State University alumni George Washington University School of Business alumni United States Army generals Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal Commanders, United States Forces Korea