As the Army chief of staff, he announced the Army Transformation Initiative in 2025, an effort to restructure the Army, eliminate redundancies, and incorporate new technologies. The changes undertaken included reducing the number of general officers and headquarters staff, and combining several existing Army commands.
George commissioned from the U.S. Military Academy in 1988 as an infantry officer. He served as a lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division and deployed in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm.[8] He had the roles of platoon leader, company executive officer (Desert Shield/Storm), scout platoon leader (3d Battalion, 327th Infantry), aide-de-camp and battalion S3-Air (3d Battalion, 187th Infantry).[7] Following the Armor Officer Advanced Course in 1993, George was stationed at Fort Carson where he was the assistant operations officer for 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and then commanded C Company and later Headquarters Company in 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment.[8] After that assignment he attended the Colorado School of Mines, and later held a position at the Tactical Directorate, National Simulation Center, Fort Leavenworth.[6]
After attending the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth,[7] in 2001 George went to Italy and served as the executive officer of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was later executive officer and then deputy commander of the brigade, during which time he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom[8] in 2003, in Kirkuk, Iraq.[7] Returning to the 101st Airborne Division in 2004, George commanded 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment and deployed a second time to Iraq[8] from 2005 to 2006.[7] He then went to United States Naval War College as an instructor of joint military operations and then as a student.[8][6] He deployed again as part of the initiatives group for the commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq in 2007,[8] in Baghdad.[7]
After two staff assignments as the director of force management for the Army (G-3/5/7) from May 2015 to June 2016, and deputy director for regional operations and force management on the Joint Staff (J-3) from June 2016 to August 2017, George took command of the 4th Infantry Division.[8][9] In this role he deployed again to Afghanistan[8] for nine months, where he served as deputy chief of staff for operations of the Resolute Support Mission.[7] After relinquishing command in October 2019, he was briefly a special assistant to the vice chief of staff of the Army.[9] George's most recent command was of I Corps at Joint Base Lewis McChord, after which he served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.[8] He took command of I Corps in February 2020 and served in that role during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In May 2021 George took up the post of senior military assistant to defense secretary Lloyd Austin.[10] He later assumed the duties of the vice chief of staff of the United States Army on 5 August 2022.[11]
Chief of Staff
George is sworn in as the 41st chief of staff of the Army on 21 September 2023.
After becoming the chief of staff he said his top priorities were preparing the Army to fight future conflicts, strengthening the Army profession, and improving recruitment.[16] Initiatives undertaken for the former include improving the Army's ability to counter drone warfare, increasing the range and accuracy of long-range weapon systems, and ensuring that the U.S. industrial base can meet the needs of the Army.[17]
In 2024, he decided to cut 5% of the general officer positions in the Army by declining to fill 12 of the total of 219 positions in the next several years, which were deemed "non-essential."[18] At Army headquarters, it was decided to reduce its size by 1,000 personnel.[19][20] On 1 May 2025, George and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll announced the Army Transformation Initiative, which is a project to restructure the Army and quickly incorporate new technologies. Among its changes are the creation of transformation-in-contact brigades and plans to merge several existing Army commands.[21][22][20] The first phase of the initiative took place during 2024, when three Army brigades started reforms as transformation-in-contact brigades.[23]
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