Military Officers

The men and women in the U.S. military are serving their country and putting their lives on the line to ensure that all Americans can live in security and in freedom. America is truly blessed as a nation to have dedicated troops who would risk their lives for freedom, and who make such tremendous sacrifices to defend this great country.

• General William E. Ward
  
  General William E. "Kip" Ward is the first and current Commander, U.S. African Command which he assumed the duties of on October 1, 2007. Before his current assignment, he served as Deputy Commander, U.S. European Command. General Ward was commissioned into the infantry in 1971. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and U.S. Army War College.
• General Colin L. Powell
  
  General Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. As a General in the United States Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holding the latter position during the Gulf War.
• Jeanine McIntosh Profile
  
  Jeanine McIntosh was the first African American female in the United States Coast Guard to earn the Coast Guard Aviation Designation. McIntosh joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 2003 after graduation for the Coast Guard's Officer Candidate School. She began Coast Guard aviation training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas in January 2005. She earned her wings on June 24, 2005 and was assigned to fly HC-130 Hercules aircraft out of Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii.
• General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.
  
  General Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr. was an American general, commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. Davis was the first African-American general in the United States Air Force. During World War II Davis was commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe. Davis himself flew sixty missions in P-39, P-40, P-47 and P-51 fighters.
• Captain Vernice Armour
  
  Vernice Armour is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps who was the first female African-American combat pilot in the military history of the United States. She flew the AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter in Operation Iraqi Freedom and served two tours in Iraq. In 1993, she enlisted in the Army Reserves and a few months later joined the Army ROTC program while enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
• Carl Maxie Brashear Profile
  
  Carl Maxie Brashear was the first African American to become a U.S. Navy Master Diver in 1970. In 2000, Brashear's military service was portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the film Men of Honor. Brashear enlisted in the U.S. Navy on February 25, 1948, shortly after the Navy had desegregated. He graduated from diving school in 1954, becoming a U.S. Navy Diver.
• Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks
  
  Vincent Keith Brooks is an American brigadier general, who was the United States Army's Deputy Director of Operations during the War in Iraq. This position again made him visible in the media. He also served as the Chief of Army Public Affairs in the Pentagon. As of June 8, 2006, BG Brooks is the 1st Cavalry Division Deputy Commanding General garrisoned at Fort Hood, Texas.
• Major General Leo A. Brooks, Jr.
  
  Leo A. Brooks, Jr. is a retired Major General of the United States Army. His brother is fellow General Vincent K. Brooks and their father Leo A. Brooks, Sr. was also a Major General in the United States Army. He graduated from Sacramento’s Jesuit High School and received a BA from West Point in 1979. He later received a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Oklahoma and is a Senior Fellow at the Maxwell School of Government at Syracuse University.
• Brigadier General Joseph C. Carter
  
  Joseph C. Carter is a Brevet Major General (federally recognized Brigadier General) and The Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard. He is the former chief of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police. Carter has served in the United States Army Reserve and the National Guard since 1974. In the Guard, he has held numerous positions.
• Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne
  
  Lillian Elaine Fishburne was the first African-American female to hold the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. She was appointed to the rank of Rear Admiral by President of the United States Bill Clinton and was officially promoted on February 1, 1998. Rear Admiral Fishburne retired from the Navy in February 2001.
• Major General Marcelite J. Harris
  
  Major General Marcelite J. Harris was the first African-American female general of the United States Air Force. Major General Marcelite J. Harris is director of maintenance, deputy chief of staff, logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. She organizes, trains and equips a work force of more than 125,000 technicians and managers, and maintains the $260 billion plus...
• Brigadier General Ronald L. Bailey
  
  Ronald L. Bailey is a Brigadier General and Deputy Director of the National Military Command Center. Colonel Ronald L. Bailey was born in St. Augustine, Florida and graduated from Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. On 1 July 1977, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant.
• Major General Ronald S. Coleman
  
  Major General Ronald S. Coleman is the Director, Personnel Management Division. General Coleman joined the Navy in April 1968 and was discharged upon his return from Danang, Republic of Vietnam in June 1970. Upon graduation from Cheyney State University in 1973, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in December 1974. Following the Basic School in 1975, he reported to Camp Lejeune with 2d Marine Regiment and served as the Regimental Supply Officer, Platoon Commander, and S-4A.
• Brigadier General Anthony L. Jackson
  
  Anthony L. Jackson is a Brigadier General and Deputy Commander for the U.S. Marine Forces Central Command. Brigadier General Jackson was born in Fort Lewis, Washington. He graduated from Oakland High School, Oakland, CA, in 1967 and San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, 1971. In 1973, he completed his MA (History) at San Jose State.
• Rear Admiral Michelle J. Howard
  
  Michelle J. Howard was the first African-American woman to command a ship in the United States Navy. In 2006, she was selected for the rank of Rear Admiral lower half, making her the first admiral selected from the U. S. Naval Academy class of 1982 and the first woman graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy selected for Admiral. Rear Adm. (Sel) Howard’s initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley and USS Lexington (AVT-16).
• Brigadier General Mary Saunders
  
  Brigadier General Mary Saunders served as an Air Force General Officer in the 1996-2005 time-frame. From 2002 to 2005, she was the Vice Director for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA); Fort Belvoir, VA with a workforce of over 22,000 plus military and civilians located both overseas and 48 States in the U.S. Mary Saunders earned her Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas....
• Major Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.
  
  United States Air Force Major Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois and named the first African-American astronaut. At the age of 16, he graduated in the top 10% from Englewood High School. At the age of 20, graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry. At Bradley, he distinguished himself as Cadet Commander in the Air Force ROTC and received the commission of Second Lieutenant in the Air Force Reserve Program.
• General Daniel James Jr.
  
  Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, who in 1975 became the first African American to reach the rank of four star General. General James received the Distinguished Service Medal for his service in the Korean War, during which he flew more than 100 combat missions. In 1957 he graduated from the Air Command and Staff College in Alabama. General James was named deputy commander....
• Sergeant Aubrey L. McDade, Jr.
  
  Sergeant Aubrey L. McDade, Jr. is a United States Marine who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroic actions in which he rescued two fellow Marines during an enemy ambush in Iraq in 2004. He is the 15th Marine to receive the Navy Cross for actions in the War on Terrorism. Aubrey McDade enlisted in the Marine Corps in November 1999, after graduating from Fort Worth's Western Hills High School. McDade's first tour of duty in Iraq...
• Major General Roosevelt Mercer Jr.
  
  Maj. Gen. Roosevelt Mercer Jr. is the Director of Plans and Policy, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He is directly responsible to the Commander, USSTRATCOM, for the development and implementation of national security policy and guidance, military strategy and guidance, space and weapons employment concepts and policy, and joint doctrine as they apply to the command...
• Brigadier General Dana J.H. Pittard
  
  Dana J.H. Pittard is a Brigadier General in the United States Army. He graduated from the United States Military Academy, Armor Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Advance Course, and the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He holds a Masters Degree in Military Arts and Science from the United States Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He also has completed a National Security Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
• Vice Admiral Melvin G. Williams
  
  Vice Admiral Melvin G Williams is the Deputy Commander of United States Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia. He was selected for Flag rank in 2002. He has sixteen years of operational assignments, which include: Commander, Submarine Group 9 (Bangor, Washington), Chief of Staff, Carrier Strike Group 5 (Yokoska, Japan), Commander, Submarine Squadron 4....
• Brigadier General Julia J. Cleckley
  
  Brigadier General Julia J. Cleckley assumed duties as Special Assistant to the Director, Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, Washington, D.C. on July 1, 2002. As the Special Assistant to the Director for Human Resource Readiness, she assists the Director with Human Resources programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard and its more than 350,000 citizen soldiers.
• Brigadier General Cornell A. Wilson, Jr.
  
  Brigadier General Cornell A. Wilson, Jr. is currently serving as Commanding General, II Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element (II MACE), Camp Lejeune, NC. Brigadier General Wilson attended The University of South Carolina on an NROTC Scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry in 1972.
• General Lester L. Lyles
  
  General Lester L. Lyles is vice chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. As vice chief, and subject to the authority, direction and control of the chief of staff and secretary of the Air Force, he presides over the Air Staff and serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Requirements Oversight Council. The general entered the Air Force in 1968 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Reserve....
• Major General Leo V. Williams
  
  Major General Leo V. Williams, III is currently serving as the Deputy Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Quantico, Virginia. Additionally, he serves as the Marine Corps Principal Representative to the Joint Requirements Board, which supports the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in carrying out his responsibilities. Major General Williams received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U. S. Naval Academy...
• Brigadier General Velma L. Richardson
  
  Brigadier General Velma L. Richardson was awarded that rank in January, 2000. In July 1998, she became the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Fort Gordon, Georgia. As Brigadier General, she became the Deputy Commanding General/Assistant Commandant, and is the first woman to hold either position at Fort Gordon.
• Major General Walter E. Gaskin
  
  Major General Walter E. Gaskin is the current Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command. Major General Walter E. Gaskin graduated from Savannah State University’s NROTC Scholarship Program in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He later earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. He was commissioned a 2ndLt on 2 June 1974.
• Major General Fields
  
  Major General Fields was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1969. During his career, he has served throughout the world in a multitude of roles. His final position prior to retirement was Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe. Major General Fields is a highly decorated officer. Decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of second award, the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"...