Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. Formerly named Fort Hood for Confederate General John Bell Hood, the post is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about 60 mi (97 km) from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarters of III Armored Corps and First Army Division West and is home to the 1st Cavalry Division and 3rd Cavalry Regiment, among others.
The 1st Armored Division, nicknamed "Old Ironsides", is a combined arms division of the United States Army. The division is part of III Armored Corps and operates out of Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was the first armored division of the United States' Army to see battle in World War II. Since World War II, the division has been involved in the Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other operations. The division has also received numerous awards and recognition.
III Corps is a corps of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Cavazos, Texas. It is a major formation of the United States Army Forces Command.
The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas.
James David Thurman is a retired United States Army general who served as the Commander of United Nations Command, R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea from July 14, 2011 until October 2, 2013. He previously served as the 18th Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command from June 3, 2010 to July 8, 2011 and as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7. He was the former commanding general of United States V Corps in Heidelberg, Germany from January 19, 2007 to August 8, 2007.
William H. Brandenburg is a retired major general in the United States Army. He last served as deputy commanding general, U.S. Army, Pacific, August 8, 2003. Prior to his last assignment, he was deputy commanding general for training and readiness, I Corps and Fort Lewis. From November 29, 2004, until December 1, 2005, he deployed to Iraq as deputy commanding general and commanding general, Task Force 134.
Major General Joseph Frederick Fil Jr. was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in June 1976. He is a Distinguished Military Graduate of San José State University. He has served in Army units in the United States, Germany, Belgium and Iraq.
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 April 29, 2011. He previously served as the commander of Fort Hood and III Corps on September 22, 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.
Richard C. Longo is a retired major general of the United States Army. At the time of his retirement on 22 July 2014, he was deputy commanding general and chief of staff for U.S. Army Europe. He previously served as the deputy commanding general for Initial Military Training for the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia.
Việt 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.
Ryan D. McCarthy is an American business executive and former U.S. Army Ranger who served as the 24th United States Secretary of the Army, from 2019 to 2021. He previously held the office in an acting capacity in 2017 and 2019.
Paul Edward Funk II is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the commanding officer of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. He previously served as the 60th Commanding General of III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas, and as the Commanding General, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. Funk was born at Fort Hood, Texas, graduated from Fort Knox High School, and was commissioned an Armor Officer through ROTC upon graduation from Montana State University in 1984. His first assignments saw him serve in a variety of Armor and Cavalry roles to include Tank Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Squadron Commander of 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment and Brigade Commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division located at Fort Hood.
John Michael “Mike” Murray is a retired United States Army general, the first commanding general of United States Army Futures Command (AFC), a new four-star Army Command (ACOM) headquartered in Austin, Texas. Murray was previously the G-8, a deputy chief of staff to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA). As G-8, Murray served as the principal advisor to the CSA for materiel requirements, as military counterpart to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics, and technology.
Mark J. O'Neil is a retired United States Army major general who last served as the commander of U.S. Army Alaska. He previously served as the commanding officer of Delta Force from July 2, 2009 to August 2011. He has participated in numerous combat operations, such as; the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He assumed his final assignment on July 12, 2017, before retiring in 2019.
Michael A. Bills is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army, who last served as the Commanding General of the Eighth United States Army from January 2018 until his retirement in October 2020.
The murder of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old United States Army soldier, took place inside an armory at Fort Hood, Texas, on April 22, 2020, when she was bludgeoned to death by another soldier, Aaron David Robinson. Guillén had been missing for over two months when some of her dismembered remains were found buried along the Leon River on June 30. Upon hearing about the discovery, Robinson fled Fort Hood and fatally shot himself when law enforcement attempted to apprehend him in nearby Killeen, Texas.
Matthew J. Van Wagenen is a United States Army major general who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for operations (DCOS-OPS) of Allied Command Operations in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. He was previously the deputy commanding general of V Corps at Victory Forward in Poznan, Poland and another prior assignment was as the chief of staff of operations of NATO, Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. He served as deputy commanding general of the 3rd Division and the 1st Cavalry Division, and as the commander of Task Force Southeast in Gardez City, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, from March to August 2017. He has participated in numerous combat operations, such as the Battle of Ramadi in 2006.
Steven Wesley Gilland is a United States Army lieutenant general who serves as the 61st superintendent of the United States Military Academy since June 27, 2022. He most recently served as the deputy commanding general for maneuver of III Corps from July 2021 to June 2022, and prior to that was commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division from 2019 to 2021.
David A. Lesperance is a United States Army major general who serves as the director of operations of United Nations Command, ROK/US Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea since June 2023. He most recently served as commanding general of the 2nd Infantry Division from May 18, 2021 to May 15, 2023. Prior to that, he served as commanding general of the Fort Irwin National Training Center from September 2019 to April 2021.
John Buchanan Richardson IV is a United States Army major general who was selected in July 2023 for assignment as commanding officer of First United States Army. He served as commander of 1st Cavalry Division from July 2021 to July 2023.the Deputy Commanding General of the III Corps from September 2, 2020, to July 2021. Before that, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans, and Training of the United States Army Forces Command. Richardson is a 1991 graduate of the United States Military Academy.
