Benjamin Saunders Griffin (born 11 August 1946), was a four-star

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in 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 ...

. He served as the Commanding General,

United States Army Materiel Command U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) is the primary provider of materiel to the United States Army. The Command's mission includes the management of installations, as well as maintenance and parts distribution. It was established on 8 May 1962 and wa ...

from 5 November 2004 to 13 November 2008. Prior to this assignment, he served as the Department of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8. He retired from the Army after over 38 years of service.

Early life and education

Griffin is a 1964 graduate of

Greensville County High School Greensville County High School is a public high school located in Emporia, Virginia Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been t ...

in his hometown of

Emporia, Virginia Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been the county seat of Greensville County since 1791. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

. He attended

Louisburg College Louisburg College is a private Methodist-affiliated two-year college in Louisburg, North Carolina. History Louisburg College has its roots in two schools: Franklin Male Academy, which was chartered in 1787, re-chartered in 1802 but held its fir ...

in North Carolina before enrolling at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

and receiving a bachelor's degree in Business Management in 1969. Griffin later earned a master's degree in Business Administration from

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

in 1981. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Advanced Course,

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, and the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

at 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 ...

Career

Griffin began his career when he was commissioned as an Infantry officer in July 1970 following graduation from

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

. He served two tours at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the 82nd Airborne Division: in the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment as a rifle platoon leader and company executive officer, and in the 3rd Battalion (Airborne),

325th Infantry Regiment The 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment is a light infantry parachute insertion fighting force of the United States Army. The subordinate units of the regiment constitute the bulk of the infantry elements assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Com ...

as a commander of Company C and a S-3 Air (Operations) officer. General Griffin also worked as a G3 operations officer, Headquarters, 82nd Airborne Division. Griffin's overseas assignments included a tour in South Korea as a Company Commander and Brigade S-2 in the 2nd Infantry Division. He served two tours in Germany in the 8th Infantry Division as Secretary of the General Staff and Mechanized Infantry Battalion Executive Officer in the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 87th Infantry. He was also Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment. His later assignments included: Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Army in Washington, D.C., and Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light) in Alaska. In August 1994, he served as Executive Officer to the Commanding General,

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 ...

Fort McPherson, Georgia Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. A ...

. Following his assignment in Georgia, General Griffin took command of Joint Task Force 6,

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss h ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He then served as the Assistant Division Commander (Support), 1st Cavalry Division in

Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

, Texas. In July 1997, he became the Director of Force Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans in Washington, D.C. General Griffin returned to Fort Hood from June 1999 to October 2001 to command the 4th Infantry Division.

Personal life

As of 2011, General Griffin was an Executive Fellow with the Institute for Defense and Business and a fellow of the Institute for Strategic and Innovative Technologies.

Awards and decorations

General Griffin's awards and decorations include:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Benjamin 1946 births Living people Louisburg College alumni Old Dominion University alumni Mercer University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)