The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.
Martin Edward Dempsey, sometimes known as Marty Dempsey, is a retired United States Army general who served as the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2011 until September 25, 2015. He previously served as the 37th chief of Staff of the Army from April 11, 2011, to September 7, 2011. Before that, he served as Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, from December 8, 2008, to April 11, 2011, as Acting Commander, U.S. Central Command, from March 24, 2008, to October 30, 2008, as Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command, from August 2007 to March 23, 2008, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I), from August 2005 to August 2007. Dempsey assumed his assignment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2011 and stepped down from the Chairmanship on September 25, 2015. He has served as a professor at Duke University and as chairman of USA Basketball.
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania. Shippensburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Robert Bruce Abrams is a retired four-star general in the United States Army who last served as the commander of United States Forces Korea. He concurrently served as the commander of United Nations Command and commander of R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command. He previously served as the 22nd commanding general of United States Army Forces Command from August 10, 2015 to October 17, 2018. He is a 1982 graduate of the United States Military Academy where he was commissioned as an armor officer. During his years of active service, he has held command and staff positions across the Army and joint community in Germany, the United States, Southwest Asia and South Korea. Abrams comes from a family of career military officers. His father was former Army Chief of Staff General Creighton W. Abrams Jr., and both of his elder brothers, Creighton and John, were Army general officers.
John D. Johnson is a retired American lieutenant general of the United States Army. He was director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization from July 2013 to July 2015.
Lieutenant General Darrell K. Williams, USA served as a general officer in the United States Army directing the Defense Logistics Agency until July 8, 2020. He was previously the Commanding General, Combined Arms Support Command, the Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE) as well as the Senior Mission Commander for Fort Lee, Virginia. He currently oversees the Logistics Commodities and Services Transformation Program on behalf of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence as a Leidos Vice President and managing director. Williams is the founding chair of the Mary S. Peake Fellowship, a one-year program for next-generation leaders helping local businesses grow, named in honor of Mary S. Peake. On April 13, 2022, Hampton University announced Williams as the institution's next president after Dr. William R. Harvey who became Hampton's president in 1978.
Rodney D. Fogg is a retired United States Army major general who last served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Operations of the United States Army Materiel Command from August 2021 to August 2022. He also served as the Commanding General of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command and Sustainment Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, Virginia from September 2018 to July 2021.
Laura Jane Richardson is a four-star general in the United States Army who is the commander of United States Southern Command since October 29, 2021. Prior to that, she was the commanding general of United States Army North from July 2019 to September 2021.
Lieutenant General John Stephen Kolasheski is a senior officer in the United States Army and the current commanding general of V Corps.
Theodore David Martin is a lieutenant general in the United States Army who serves as the commanding general of the United States Army Combined Arms Center, commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and commanding general of Fort Leavenworth since May 2021. Before that, he served as the Deputy Commanding General and Chief of Staff of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he previously served as its 73rd Commandant of Cadets.
Curtis Alan Buzzard is a United States Army major general who serves as the commanding general of the United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning since July 14, 2022. Prior to that, he served as the deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and training of the United States Army Forces Command from January 2022 to June 2022, and as the 78th Commandant of Cadets of the United States Military Academy from June 2019 to May 2021.
Matthew J. Van Wagenen is a United States Army major general who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for strategic employment 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.
Shan K. Bagby is a U.S. Army brigadier general and the 28th Chief of the Army Dental Corps. Bagby also serves as the Commanding General, Regional Health Command-Central. Bagby, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, was the Army’s first African-American dental officer promoted to brigadier general.
Major General John Francis Wharton is a retired United States Army officer and career logistics officer who last served as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Before that, Wharton served as the commanding general of U.S. Army Sustainment Command and Rock Island Arsenal, and as the senior commander for U.S. Army Garrison, Rock Island, Illinois.
Joel K. Tyler is a United States Army major general who serves as Chief of Staff of the United States Africa Command. He previously served as the Director of Operations and Cyber of the United States Africa Command, Commanding General of the United States Army Test and Evaluation Command, and prior to that as the Commander of the United States Army Joint Modernization Command. In March 2021, he was assigned to replace Major General William Gayler as the Chief of Staff of the United States Africa Command.
James B. Jarrard is a United States Army lieutenant general who serves as the deputy commanding general of United States Army Pacific since July 28, 2022. He most recently served as the chief of staff of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Ronald P. Clark. He served as the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division from November 5, 2019 to July 23, 2021. Previously, he served as the Director of Operations of the United States Special Operations Command.
Stephen J. Maranian is a United States Army major general who commands the 56th Artillery Command. Commissioned in 1988 as a Field Artillery officer, Maranian has served continuously on active duty, commanding from the platoon to the two-star level. He has served in combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than half of his career has been overseas as of 2020. Maranian holds two master's degrees as a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College; he has also graduated from the NATO Defense College and the Defense Language Institute.
Michael D. Lundy is a retired United States Army lieutenant general. He last served as commanding general of the United States Army Combined Arms Center, dual-hatted as commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, deputy commanding for combined arms of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command and commanding general of Fort Leavenworth from June 1, 2016 to December 16, 2019. He previously served as commanding general of the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker from March 2014 to April 2016. He retired in 2020 after 33 years of distinguished service.
Paula C. Lodi is a United States Army brigadier general who serves as Commanding General of the 18th Medical Command since June 15, 2022. She previously served as Deputy Commanding General for Support of the United States Army Medical Command from July 2021 to May 2022. Lodi was the first female commander of the 44th Medical Brigade. She is also the younger sister of Lieutenant General Maria Barrett. Lodi and Barrett are the United States Army's first ever sister general officer tandem.
Anthony "Tony" Reynolds Hale is a major general in the United States Army who serves as the Commanding General of the United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca. Hale became the USAICoE & FH Commanding General in August 2020, replacing Lieutenant General Laura A. Potter. He was promoted to his current rank of major general on February 25, 2021 in a ceremony at Fort Huachuca featuring General George W. Casey Jr. and General Austin S. Miller. He previously served as the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) J-2. He received his officer's commission in 1990 through the ROTC program at North Carolina State University.
