Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the

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 ...

and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odierno commanded United States Joint Forces Command from October 2010 until its disestablishment in August 2011. He served as Commanding General, United States Forces – Iraq and its predecessor,

Multi-National Force – Iraq The Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), often referred to as the Coalition forces, was a military command during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and much of the ensuing Iraq War, led by the United States of America (Operation Iraqi Freedom), United ...

, from September 2008 through September 2010.

Early life and education

Raymond Thomas Odierno, of Italian descent, was born on 8 September 1954 in

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

, the son of Helen and Raymond J. Odierno. He grew up in Rockaway, New Jersey, and attended Morris Hills High School, graduating in 1972, followed by 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 gro ...

at West Point, where he graduated in June 1976 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree. He later received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in nuclear effects engineering from

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univer ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in national security and strategy from the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Career

Odierno was commissioned as an officer upon his graduation from West Point in 1976. Over his career, he was stationed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, Saudi Arabia,

the Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whol ...

, and the US.

Iraq War

Odierno served three

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metropo ...

in Iraq between 2003 and 2010. He commanded the 4th Infantry Division during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, with headquarters at

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it had ...

. According to Thomas E. Ricks, the Division employed aggressive tactics under his leadership; according to a 2008 profile of Odierno in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', the Division followed an "iron-fist strategy" under his command. Odierno replaced Peter W. Chiarelli as commander of Multi-National Corps – Iraq in 2006. As commander, Odierno promoted the

Iraq War troop surge of 2007 The Iraq War troop surge of 2007, commonly known as the troop surge, or simply the surge, refers to the George W. Bush administration, George W. Bush administration's 2007 increase in the number of U.S. military combat troops in Iraq in order to ...

as an alternative to the then-prevailing military strategy. His tactics as commander were less "confrontational" than those he had employed as commander of the 4th Infantry Division. Odierno oversaw the surge from December 2006 to March 2008. In September 2008, Odierno took over from

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior to ...

as commander of US forces in Iraq. According to then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Odierno's experience as commander during the surge suited him to succeed Petraeus. Later that year, Odierno announced a "subtle shift" in US military operations in Iraq, whereby the United States would seek the approval of Iraq's government before engaging in combat.

Army leadership

On 30 May 2011, Odierno was nominated to be Army Chief of Staff. He was confirmed to take over from General Martin E. Dempsey on 7 September 2011, and sworn in as 38th Army chief of staff later that day. In 2014, Odierno submitted a budget request for 520,000 active-duty soldiers, and said that the bare minimum was 450,000, which would, however, be at a "high risk to meet one major war". As chief of staff, Odierno said in a 2015 interview with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fou ...

'' that he was "very concerned" about a decline in the United Kingdom's military spending. In August 2015, Odierno retired from the Army after 39 years of service.

Post-military activities

In January 2017, Odierno was named chairman of

USA Football USA Football is the national governing body for amateur American football in the United States. It is an independent non-profit based in Indianapolis, Indiana. USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive ...

, a national organization that promotes youth football. He was named chairman and alternate governor of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

's Florida Panthers on 12 October 2017. In January 2019, he was selected to serve a three-year term on the College Football Playoff selection committee. In July 2021, he was selected as a member of the board of trustees at

Assignments

Source:

Promotions

– Class of 1976

Officer assignments

Awards and honors

Odierno received the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award in 2009. In 2012, Odierno received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Personal life

Odierno and his wife had three children and four grandchildren. His son, retired U.S. Army Captain Anthony K. Odierno, is an

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق ( Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

veteran who lost his left arm to a

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

. Odierno died on 8 October 2021, from cancer at the age of 67. In January 2022, funeral services were held privately followed by interment at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

Sources

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External links

* * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Odierno, Raymond 1954 births 2021 deaths American people of Italian descent College Football Playoff Selection Committee members Florida Panthers executives Military leaders of the Iraq War Military personnel from New Jersey North Carolina State University alumni People from Dover, New Jersey United States Army Chiefs of Staff United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army generals United States Army War College alumni United States Military Academy alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Deaths from cancer in North Carolina