Walter E. Piatt | |
---|---|
Born | Homestead, Pennsylvania, U.S. | September 12, 1961
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1979–1983 1987–2024 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Commands held | 10th Mountain Division Joint Multinational Training Command United States Army Infantry Center 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division |
Battles/wars | Iraq War War in Afghanistan Operation Inherent Resolve |
Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (5) Bronze Star Medal (5) |
Walter E. Piatt (born September 12, 1961) [1] is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who last served as the 57th Director of the Army Staff from 2019 to 2024. He enlisted in the army in 1979 and served four years as an infantryman. After graduating from Lock Haven University, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1987. Prior to assuming his current position Piatt was the Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. [2] His other assignments as a general officer include serving as the 52nd Chief of Infantry; Deputy Commanding General-Support, 10th Mountain Division; Commander, Joint Multinational Training Command; Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Europe; and director of Operations/director, Rapid Equipment Fielding, Army Rapid Capabilities Office. [3]
Start | End | Assignment |
---|---|---|
May 2019 | January 2024 | Director of the Army Staff, United States Army, Washington, DC |
Apr 17 | May 19 | Commanding General, 10th Mountain Division (Light) and Fort Drum, Fort Drum, New York and OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE, Iraq |
Sep 16 | Apr 17 | Director of Operations/Director, Rapid Equipment Fielding, Army Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), Washington, DC |
Mar 15 | Jul 16 | Director, Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, G-3/5/7, United States Army, Washington, DC |
Jul 14 | Mar 15 | Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Europe, Germany |
Jun 13 | Jul 14 | Commanding General, Joint Multinational Training Command, United States Army Europe, Germany |
Jun 12 | Jun 13 | Deputy Commanding General (Support), 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, New York |
Rank | Date |
---|---|
Lieutenant General | 30 May 2019 |
Major General | 02 Mar 2015 |
Brigadier General | 02 Oct 2012 |
Prior to January 6, Pentagon officials repeatedly asked city and federal officials if they needed assistance from the D.C. National Guard, but only the Mayor of Washington, D.C. requested assistance of 340 unarmed service members. [5] [6] At approximately 2:20 p.m. on January 6, LTG Piatt joined a phone call with Washington, D.C. leaders, Capitol Police leaders, the D.C. National Guard and others as the riot at the Capitol was unfolding. [7] The Hill reported that Piatt said on the call that Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy was meeting with Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller to seek approval of the request for assistance. He also explained that he was not the decision maker and that no one was denying the request for assistance. [8] The New York Times reported that during Congressional testimony February 23, 2021, former Capitol security leaders provided conflicting accounts of the request for the National Guard, reflecting the confusion of the event and the complexity of requesting Guard assistance. [9]
On January 6, 2021, during the storming of the United States Capitol and an hour and a half after the west side defensive perimeter had been breached, [10] according to Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund and DC National Guard leader Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, Piatt critically delayed or ignored Sund's request for National Guard support, stating, "I don't like the visual of the National Guard standing a police line with the Capitol in the background", despite this being a stark contrast to the protests of the previous year. [11] [12] According to the Washington Post, “Piatt initially denied Sund's allegations in a statement but acknowledged in a call with reporters about two weeks later that he had conferred with others who were present that it was possible he made comments to that effect.” [13]
On March 8, retired Army Lt. Gen Russel Honoré, whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tasked with leading the security review, identified that the U.S. Capitol Police are too “understaffed, insufficiently equipped, and inadequately trained” — and woefully lacking in intelligence capabilities.
On June 15, 2021, Piatt told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that Army officials “all immediately understood the gravity of the situation” after receiving a request in a conference call for “urgent and immediate support” at the Capitol, but that they still needed to develop a plan. [14] Piatt acknowledged that “those on the line were convinced that I was denying their request, despite [me] clearly stating three times that, 'We are not denying your requests. We need to prepare a plan for when the secretary of the Army gains approval….’” [13]
On November 16, 2021, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released their findings on the actions that took place to prepare for and respond to protests at the U.S. Capitol. [15] The report concluded that the actions the DoD took before January 6, 2021, to prepare for the planned protests in Washington, D.C., on January 5 and 6, 2021, were appropriate. [16]
In early December 2021, Colonel Earl G. Matthews, a Trump appointee, released a rebuttal to the DoDIG report that accused LTG Piatt of making willful distortions of the events of January 6, describing Piatt and General Charles A. Flynn as "absolute and unmitigated liars" and of giving “perjured testimony before Congress”. [17]
Piatt was once the leading candidate to take over as the commanding general of United States Army Futures Command, and appointment to the rank of general. [18] He had received the recommendation from several top defense officials, however he was rejected by President Biden, [19] due to his handling of National Guard deployment, during the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. [18] [19]
While a colonel (brigade commander, 25th Infantry Division) Piatt's unit had some 200 volunteers participate in a mindfulness study by Amishi Jha and Elizabeth Stanley in the 2010s; [20] the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences notes that this mental practice "teaches the brain to stay 'in the moment'" which helps soldiers reduce the pain and stress of PTSD. [20]
Army Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
Defense Superior Service Medal |
Legion of Merit with four oak leaf clusters |
Bronze Star with four oak leaf clusters |
Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster |
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster |
Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster |
Joint Meritorious Unit Award |
Army Good Conduct Medal |
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three campaign stars |
Iraq Campaign Medal with four campaign stars |
Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal with one campaign star |
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
Korea Defense Service Medal |
Humanitarian Service Medal with one bronze service star |
NCO Professional Development Ribbon |
Army Service Ribbon |
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 9 |
NATO Medal for the former Yugoslavia |
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The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its territories. It answers to the Capitol Police Board and is the only full-service federal law enforcement agency appointed by the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States.
Russel L. Honoré is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina–affected areas across the Gulf Coast and as the 2nd Infantry Division's commander while stationed in South Korea. He served until his retirement from the Army on January 11, 2008. Honoré is sometimes known as "The Ragin' Cajun".
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Steven A. Sund is a retired American police officer who served as the tenth chief of the United States Capitol Police from 2019 to 2021. Sund was chief during the January 6 United States Capitol attack, after which he resigned.
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On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by occupying the Capitol and preventing a joint session of Congress counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the certification of the election results. According to the House select committee investigating the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, by rioters supporting United States President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol after assembling on the Ellipse of the Capitol complex for a rally headlined as the "Save America March".
The storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, raised concerns about the security of the inauguration of Joe Biden two weeks later on January 20, 2021. The inauguration, like all ceremonies since the first inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001, was designated a National Special Security Event (NSSE); however, on this occasion, the week preceding it was included in preparations. Biden chose not to move the ceremony indoors, indicating that he believed a public, outdoor ceremony was necessary to demonstrate strength. Former Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco advised the Biden team on security-related matters for the ceremony.
Law enforcement mounted a response to the January 6 United States Capitol attack, initially failing to maintain security perimeters and protect parts of the building from being breached and occupied, but succeeding at protecting members of Congress, and subsequently, as reinforcements arrived, to secure the breached Capitol.