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Major General George Francis Close, Jr. is a retired senior US Army officer, currently acting as a senior corporate and government executive. He has been recognized for leading and developing organizations in the US, Middle East, and in major strategic military commands.
In 1998, Close was awarded the Outstanding Alumni award from Dedham High School. [1]
| 1999 | Johns Hopkins/Syracuse University (Baltimore, MD) | Military security policy and strategy |
| 1998 | Center for Creative Leadership (Colorado Springs, CO) | Organization leadership |
| 1988–1989 | The National War College (Washington, D.C.) | Military and strategic leadership |
| 1979–1980 | United States Marine Command & Staff College | Military security policy and strategy |
| 1972–1974 | Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) | Bachelor of Science (B.S.), business management |
Close began his military career in 1974 as an infantry battalion commander (lieutenant colonel) of the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. He was later transferred to Washington, D.C., to be a senior aide-de-camp to the Secretary of the Army.
In 1989, after graduating from the National War College, Colonel Close was assigned to the 6th Infantry Division [2] as an infantry (airborne) brigade commander. Two years later, Close became a division chief with JROC (J7 Joint Requirements Oversight Council). In 1993, as a brigadier general, Close was commissioned to the Office of the Secretary of the Army as senior military assistant.
In 1994, Assistant Division Commander Close provided operational and command leadership to the Army's 10th Mountain Division and served as the deputy joint-task-force commander. He coordinated a 22,000-man joint tasks force to Haiti [3] and integrated the operations of 13 countries and 7 US agencies, which set the conditions for the restoration of democracy in Operation Uphold Democracy.[ citation needed ]
In 1995, Close served as director of operations (United States Southern Command, US Army) and led the training and operations direction of all US military air, land and sea forces stationed in Latin and South America and the Caribbean. He was simultaneously the Director Joint Interagency Task Force South, [4] responsible for the coordination of US drug interdiction efforts throughout the region.
In 1997, promoted to major general, director for operational plans and interoperability, Close was responsible for the integration of all deliberate military war plans, the joint training, doctrine and education of the Armed Services, and the joint lessons-learned system.
From 1997 to 2000, Close served as the executive in charge of Joint Vision 2020 which called for overseeing military preparedness for future global responsibilities. Close established the U.S. Military's Joint Training System through application of technology which has dramatically improved US joint war fighting.[ according to whom? ]
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 Bragg, North Carolina.
The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgia and is composed of a regimental headquarters company, a military intelligence battalion, a special troops battalion, and three Ranger battalions.
Operation Uphold Democracy was a military intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940.
The Iceland Defense Force was a military command of the United States Armed Forces from 1951 to 2006. The IDF, created at the request of NATO, came into existence when the United States signed an agreement to provide for the defense of Iceland, which has only limited defense forces.
Commandant is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police rank. It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp.
Wayne Allan Downing was a four-star United States Army general born in Peoria, Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962 and held a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University. He also served on the board of directors at a private military company, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).
Combined Joint Task Force – 76 (CJTF-76) was a US led subordinate formation of Combined Forces Command – Afghanistan (CFC-A) headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan. It was active from the time CFC-A stood up to the time the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) took full command of the coalition military operations in Afghanistan in October 2006. CFC-A reported in its turn to United States Central Command. While CFC-Afghanistan was supposed to have inactivated sometime after November 30, 2006, CJTF-76 remained as a headquarters for ISAF's Regional Command East. CJTF-76 was replaced by Combined Joint Task Force 82, led by the 82nd Airborne Division, in the middle of 2007.
Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – North (CJSOTF–N), also known as Task Force Viking, was the U.S. joint task force responsible for the northern front during the initial period of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. It secured Kirkuk, Mosul, and the northern oil fields; prevented 13 Iraqi Army divisions from defending Baghdad or reinforcing defensive operations against American and British troops advancing in the south, and thwarted Turkish efforts to subvert Kurdistan.
Robert William Cone was a United States Army four-star general who last served as the commanding general of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). He assumed command of TRADOC on 29 April 2011. He previously served as the commander of Fort Hood and III Corps on 22 September 2009, with which he deployed to Iraq in February 2010, and served as the Deputy Commanding General for Operations, United States Forces – Iraq, until February 2011. Prior to that, he served as the Special Assistant to the Commanding General of TRADOC. He retired in 2014.
The 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, based at the Cumming Regional Readiness Center in Cumming, Georgia, was a major command of the Georgia Army National Guard. It was organized as the first battlefield surveillance brigade in the Army National Guard.
Mission Command Training Program', based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is the U.S. Army's only worldwide deployable Combat Training Center. MCTP provides full spectrum operations training support for senior commanders and their staffs so they can be successful in any mission in any operational environment. Its Senior Mentors counsel and offer their experience to Army senior commanders, subordinate commanders and staff. Additionally, MCTP's professional observer-trainers assist units with objective feedback and suggestions for improvement.
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.
Viet Xuan Luong is a retired United States Army major general. He is the first American officer promoted to general officer rank who was born in Vietnam. He last served as the Commanding General of United States Army, Japan/I Corps Forward. He previously served as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations), Eighth Army. His prior assignments included chief of staff of United States Army Central; Director of Joint and Integration, Headquarters Department of the Army, G-8; assistant division commander–maneuver for the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, concurrent with assignment as commander, Train Advise Assist Command – South, Resolute Support Mission Joint Command, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Afghanistan.
General Gerard Hector "Gerry" De Silva, RWP, VSV, USP was a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Army. He was the 13th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Combined Joint Task Force 180 was a provisional multinational land formation, primarily made up of units from the United States Army, that fought in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), especially in the initial invasion phase of 2001-2002. It was active from May 2002 to 2003/05. It was the senior headquarters in country reporting to United States Central Command.
David A. Deptula is the Dean of the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies. He transitioned from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 at the rank of Lieutenant General after more than 34 years of service. Deptula was commissioned in 1974 as a distinguished graduate from The University of Virginia Air Force ROTC program, and remained to complete a master's degree in 1976. During his military career he took part in operations, planning, and joint warfighting at unit, major command, service headquarters and combatant command levels, and also served on two congressional commissions outlining America's future defense posture. He was a principal author of the original Air Force White Paper "Global Reach—Global Power." In the early 1990s he was instrumental in the formation and development of the concept later known as "effects-based operations," having successfully applied it in building the attack plans for the Operation Desert Storm air campaign. He has been cited as having "... fostered the most significant change in the conduct of aerial warfare since Billy Mitchell...Deptula’s framework influenced the successful air campaigns in Operations Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. Today, joint targeting cells and Air Force doctrine reflect Deptula's theory of airpower and the changing nature of warfare."
Stephen J. Townsend is a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander, United States Africa Command from 26 July 2019 to 8 August 2022. He previously commanded the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from March 2018 until June 2019 and XVIII Airborne Corps from May 2015 until January 2018.
Austin Scott Miller is a retired four-star general in the United States Army and former Delta Force commander who served as the final commander of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and United States Forces - Afghanistan from September 2, 2018 to July 12, 2021. He previously served as the commander of Joint Special Operations Command from March 30, 2016 to August 2018. He participated in numerous combat operations, such as the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, and, since 2001, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He retired from the Army in December after relinquishing command in July 2021. Miller currently serves on the board of advisors for Striveworks.
Christopher Gerard Cavoli is a United States Army general 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.
