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 Cuban Missile Crisis, Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other operations. The division has also received numerous awards and recognition.
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.
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.
Lieutenant General Guy Carleton Swan III is a retired United States Army officer. His final assignment was Commanding General United States Army North at Fort Sam Houston, 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.
Dana James Hillian Pittard is a retired United States Army general officer. He served as Joint Force Land Component Commander-Iraq (JFLCC-I) from June 9, 2014, during the coalition response to the incursions by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) into Iraq from Syria. Pittard was deputy commanding general of operations (DCG-O) for ARCENT, the United States Central Command/Third Army, based in Kuwait, until 2015. He was also the commanding general of the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. He was also Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations & Training at the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia and commanding general of the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California.
Stephen M. Twitty is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army. Twitty assumed command of First United States Army on July 15, 2016, relinquishing command to become deputy commander of United States European Command on 9 August 2018. Previously, he was commanding general of Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division. Twitty was awarded the Silver Star during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Noted for his relationship with journalist David Bloom, who was embedded with his battalion during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Twitty has served in five combat deployments, including tours in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait. He has commanded at the company, battalion, and brigade level during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Twitty is a graduate of South Carolina State University and a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was inducted into the South Carolina State University ROTC Hall of Fame in 2009, and selected as one of the university's Distinguished Alumni in 2004.
Lieutenant General Donald M. Campbell Jr. is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the commanding general of United States Army Europe. He commanded the United States Army Europe from December 1, 2012, to November 6, 2014.
Peter William Chiarelli is a retired United States Army general who served as the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 4, 2008 to January 31, 2012. He also served as commander, Multi-National Corps – Iraq under General George W. Casey, Jr. He was the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense from March 2007 to August 2008. He retired from the United States Army on January 31, 2012 after nearly 40 years of service, and was succeeded as Vice Chief of Staff by General Lloyd J. Austin III.
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.
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 was 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.
Stephen J. Townsend is a retired 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.
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.
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.
Thomas Sease James Jr. is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who last served as the 39th Commanding General of the First United States Army headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. He held his latest position from October 29, 2018, to July 8, 2021, after having previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff for United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea.
Robert P. White is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who last served as commander of Fort Hood, Texas, and as the 61st Commanding General of III Armored Corps. Over 90,000 soldiers were under his command. From September 2019 to September 2020, he also served as commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR).
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.
John Buchanan Richardson IV is a retired United States Army major general. He served as Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division from July 2021 to July 2023. and 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.
