David Mitchell "Rod" Rodriguez (born May 23, 1954) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

four-star general A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the armed services, having ranks such as (full) admiral, (full) general, colonel general, army ge ...

who served as the Commander of the

United States Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM), is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for U ...

from April 2013 to July 2016. Rodriguez previously served as the Commanding General of the

United States Army Forces Command United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...

from 12 September 2011 until 15 March 2014. He has also served as Commander,

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

Joint Command (IJC) and Deputy Commander, United States Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from 12 November 2009 to 11 July 2011.

Early life and education

Born in Overbrook,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to a

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

family on May 23, 1954 and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Rodriguez earned his commission from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, New York in 1976. He was recruited by Tom Cahill to play for the

Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Black Knights play home ...

team and earned varsity letters in football and baseball.

Military career

Rodriguez commanded at every level across the United States Army. His assignments included the Commanding General of the

, the

– Joint Command (IJC) in Afghanistan, the 82nd Airborne Division, the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, and the 2nd Battalion,

502nd Infantry Regiment The 502nd Infantry Regiment (502nd IR), previously titled the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (502nd PIR), is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment was established shortly after U.S. entry into World War II, and was ass ...

, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). He also commanded companies of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and 1st Armored Division. Rodriguez's extensive combat experiences include: G-3 Planner, XVIII Airborne Corps, Operation Just Cause, 1989 – 1990; Operations Officer, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, 1990 – 1991; Assistant Division Commander, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), 2002 – 2003; Commander, Multi-National Division-Northwest, 2005; Special Assistant to the Commander, Multi-National Corps-Iraq, 2006; Commander, Joint Task Force-82 in Afghanistan, 2017 – till date; and Deputy Commander, United States Forces Afghanistan and Commander, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command. Rodriguez holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College and a Masters of Military Art and Science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. On 11 November 2011, Rodriguez received the Abraham Lincoln Award during a

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than d ...

celebration at the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 and ...

. Union Leagues were founded during the Civil War to support President Abraham Lincoln and the preservation of the Union; Philadelphia's, established in 1862, was the first. First presented to Major General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, the award, which recognizes patriotism and service to country, has been bestowed on many distinguished civilian and military leaders, including former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, General

David H. Petraeus David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and General

Raymond T. Odierno Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Rodriguez' military decorations include: * Combat Infantry Badge

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

Expert Infantryman Badge The Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, is a special skills badge of the United States Army. The EIB was created with the CIB by executive order in November 1943 during World War II. Currently, it is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold infan ...

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

Air Assault Badge The Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, dated 18 January 1978, last accessed 16 October 2020 is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the Air Assault School. The course includes three phases of instruction involving ...

Ranger Tab * Joint Chiefs of Staff seal

Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge * Seal of the United States Africa Command

Badge *

German Parachutist Badge in bronze * 82nd Airborne Division CSIB

82nd Airborne Division CSIB * 82 ABD SSI

82nd Airborne Division

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

Overseas Service Bar An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overseas ...

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, David M. 1954 births Living people American people of Latin American descent American people of Colombian descent Army Black Knights football players United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Naval War College alumni United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)