Christopher T. Donahue | |
---|---|
Born | August 13, 1969 |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1992–present |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Commands held | XVIII Airborne Corps 82nd Airborne Division NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan Delta Force 75th Ranger Regiment |
Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan Iraq War Operation Inherent Resolve |
Awards | |
Alma mater | U.S. Military Academy Naval War College Harvard University |
Christopher Todd Donahue [1] (born August 13, 1969) is a United States Army lieutenant general who has served as the commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps since March 11, 2022. [2] He most recently served as commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Throughout his career, Donahue served in staff and command positions for both United States Army and Special Operations units. [3]
Donahue graduated from Pennsylvania's Chambersburg Area Senior High School in 1987, and then attended Wyoming Seminary. [4] [5] In 1988 he began attendance at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1992 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Infantry Branch of the United States Army. His first assignment was rifle platoon leader with 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth Army in South Korea, followed by service at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as company executive officer. Donahue then received assignment as rifle company commander in the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment in Camp Kobbe, Panama. In 1998 Donahue transferred to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as assistant operations officer, rifle company commander, and headquarters company commander. [6] He was then assigned to Washington D.C as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 2002 Donahue volunteered for and completed a specialized selection and operator training course for assignment to the army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, publicly known as Delta Force, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He would serve numerous leadership positions as assistant operations officer, squadron operations officer, squadron executive officer, troop commander, selection and training detachment commander, operations officer, squadron commander, deputy commander and unit commander. [7]
Donahue earned a master's degree from the Naval Command and Staff College, Naval War College and completed an Army War College Fellowship at Harvard University in 2013. [8]
Donahue's deployments include Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Freedom Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve. He planned, rehearsed and operated during classified operations in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa.
Donahue's most recent assignments include: Director of Operations, Joint Special Operations Command; the Commandant, United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning; Deputy commanding General (maneuver) of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson; Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism, J-37 Joint Staff; Commanding General, NATO Special Operations Component Command/Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan, Resolute Support Mission, 2019–2020; and the Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division from 2020 to 2021. [9]
In February 2022, he was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general and assignment as commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps, succeeding Michael Kurilla. [10] [11]
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Donahue, who was a captain at that time, was on Capitol Hill accompanying Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, to whom he was an aide. Myers was scheduled to meet Georgia Senator Max Cleland for a courtesy call before his Senate confirmation hearing to be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. [12] [13] [14] Later-on, Donahue received first-hand intelligence report that a hijacked plane had hit the south tower of the World Trade Center and informed Myers of the hijacking and the current situation. [14] [13] [12] At one point Donahue also lent his cell phone to Myers who used it to call General Ralph Eberhart, the Commander-in-Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, to get further information regarding the situation. Immediately, Donahue and Myers proceeded to The Pentagon. [14] [13] [12] When Myers' Lincoln Town Car had almost arrived at The Pentagon, Donahue informed Myers that he saw smoke arise from The Pentagon and at that point they learned that The Pentagon had also been hit by one of the commercial aircraft that was hijacked that day, later identified to be American Airlines Flight 77. [12] [13] They arrived at The Pentagon a few moments after the plane had hit, and immediately rendezvoused with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. [12] [14] [13] Myers was designated as Acting-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the attack, because Chairman General Hugh Shelton was en-route to Europe for an upcoming NATO summit, and Donahue remained with him throughout the day. [13] [14] [12]
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's Contingency Corps." Its headquarters are at Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
Lieutenant General Thomas R. Turner II is a retired United States Army officer, who served as the commander of the 101st Airborne Division and United States Army North, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
Lieutenant General Robert T. Clark is a retired United States Army officer. His last assignment was as the Commanding General, Fifth United States Army which he commanded from December 5, 2003 to December 2006.
William E. "Kip" Ward is a retired United States Army three-star general who served as the inaugural Commander of United States Africa Command from October 1, 2007 to March 8, 2011. During his long career in public service, he has taught international affairs and relations at West Point, US Military Academy; served as Commander of Stabilization Force, Operation Joint Forge, Sarajevo, Bosnia; was appointed the Secretary of State's Security Coordinator to the Israel - Palestinian Authority; Deputy Commander, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany; and many other progressively responsible assignments. He later retired and served as President and chief operating officer of the logistics, IT, and engineering business, Vectrus.
David Ellsworth Grange Jr. was a lieutenant general in the United States Army.
Benjamin Randaulph "Randy" Mixon is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army who last served as commanding general of United States Army Pacific. Prior to that, Mixon served as the commander of the Multi-National Division North in Iraq.
Joseph Leonard Votel is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who was commander of United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019. Before that, he served as commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
Malcolm Bradley Frost is a retired United States Army major general who last served as Commanding General, Center for Initial Military Training, United States Army, Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Eustis, VA. MG Frost most recently served as Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Frost's previous assignment was Deputy Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC from March 2014 to March 2015. In March 2014, Frost completed his assignment as Deputy Director for Operations at the National Military Command Center, J3 the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. Prior to that, he completed an assignment as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (G3/5/7) for the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC). and commanded the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Larry Wyche, is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. He last served as the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. Prior to his last assignment, Wyche served as the Special Assistant to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. He has also served as commanding general of the Combined Arms Support Command, commanding general of the Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE) and Senior Mission Commander for Fort Lee, Virginia.
"We are Warfighter Logisticians and Supporters, prepared to give the shirts off our backs and boots off our feet, to support the fight. We will never say no, as long as there is one gallon of gas to give, or one bullet to give"
John Francis Campbell is a retired United States Army general who was commander of the Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces – Afghanistan. He was the 16th and last commander of the International Security Assistance Force. Prior to this, he served as the 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He is currently a member of the board of directors of IAP, and BAE Systems, and serves on the advisory board of Code of Support Foundation.
Michael Ferriter is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. He served as commanding general of the United States Army Installation Management Command/U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management from 2011 until 2014. During his career he has participated in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and served three tours of duty in Iraq. On June 19, 2018, he was named president and CEO of the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio.
James Charles McConville is a retired United States Army general who served as the 40th chief of staff of the Army from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as the 36th vice chief of staff of the Army from 2017 to 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (G1).
Major General Lynn A. Collyar is a retired general officer in the United States Army and served as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command between from 2012 to 2014. Prior to this assignment, he served as the 35th Chief of Ordnance and Commandant of the U.S. Army Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and Fort Lee, Virginia.
Christopher Gerard Cavoli is a general in the United States Army who serves as the commander of United States European Command since 1 July 2022 and Supreme Allied Commander Europe since 4 July 2022. He previously served as the commanding general of United States Army Europe and Africa from October 2020 to June 2022, and before that as the commanding general of United States Army Europe from January 2018 to September 2020.
Jack Brodie Farris was a United States Army lieutenant general who commanded the military ground forces during Operation Urgent Fury, the United States invasion of Grenada in 1983; at the time of his retirement in 1991 he was deputy commander of the United States Pacific Command in Hawaii.
Ronald Patrick "Ron" Clark a United States Army lieutenant general who serves as the senior military assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense. He previously commanded United States Army Central from 2021 to 2022. He also served as Chief of Staff, United States Indo-Pacific Command. He previously served as the commander of the 25th Infantry Division, and, before that, as Chief of Staff, United States Army Pacific.
Richard E. Angle is a United States Army major general who currently serves as Special Assistant to the Director of the Army Staff. He previously served as deputy commander of the Joint Special Operations Command and as the commanding general of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) from August 12, 2021 to June 21, 2023.
Charles A. Flynn is a United States Army general who serves as commanding general of United States Army Pacific since 4 June 2021. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Training (G3/5/7) of the Army Staff from June 2019 to May 2021. He is the younger brother of Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, Donald Trump's first National Security Advisor.
Michael Erik Kurilla is a United States Army general who serves as the 15th commander of United States Central Command since 1 April 2022. He previously served as the commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps and before that as the chief of staff of United States Central Command.
Patrick B. Roberson is a United States Army Major General, serving as the Deputy Commanding General of