George William Casey Jr. (born 22 July 1948) is a retired four-star
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
who served as the 36th
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
from 10 April 2007 to 10 April 2011. He served as
Commanding General,
Multi-National Force – Iraq
The Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF–I), often referred to as the Coalition forces, was a U.S.-led military command during the Iraq War from 2004 to 2009.
The vast majority of MNF-I was made up of United States Army forces. However it also ...
from June 2004 to 8 February 2007, and was in the army for his entire adult working life. He now resides in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
.
Early life and education
Casey was born in
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan.
...
during the
Allied occupation of Japan
Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...
. His father,
George W. Casey Sr., was a
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
graduate who rose to the rank of
major general and served in the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
and the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. His father commanded the
1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He was killed on 7 July 1970, when his command helicopter crashed in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
en route to a hospital to visit wounded American soldiers.
Casey, a
military brat
A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...
, grew up on army posts in the United States, Japan, and Germany and graduated from
Boston College High School
Boston College High School (also known as BC High) is an all-male, Society of Jesus, Jesuit, Catholic Church, Catholic College-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point, Boston, Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorche ...
in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. After high school, he applied to West Point, like his father, but was unsuccessful. He earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
from
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
in 1970 and later a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
degree in international relations from the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...
in 1980. Additionally, Casey worked for
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas Lombardi ( ; June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American professional football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be among the greatest coaches and leaders in Ame ...
during one summer when the latter was coach of the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
.
Career

Casey was
commissioned through the Army
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces.
While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
in 1970 following graduation from Georgetown University. In 1990–1991, he attended
MIT Seminar XXI.
Casey served in the
Mechanized Infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with Armoured personnel carrier, armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also armoured corps).
As defined by the United States Army, me ...
during the command portion of his career. He was the commander of the
3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and the Assistant Division Commander – Maneuver (later Assistant Division Commander – Support) of the
1st Armored Division in Germany. He deployed as part of
Operation Joint Endeavor
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
In ...
to
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...
from July 1996 to August 1997. He and the Rear Command Post staff were based in
Slavonski Brod
Slavonski Brod (, ), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod is the 7th lar ...
, Croatia. Casey took command of the
1st Armored Division in July 1999.
After relinquishing command of the division in July 2001, Casey served in a senior staff position in
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5), the
Joint Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, secretary of defense, ...
from October 2001 to January 2003. His next position was
Director of the Joint Staff
The director of the Joint Staff (DJS) is a three-star officer who assists the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a cabinet of senior military officers within the United States Armed Forces who advise the secretary of defense and the president on milita ...
in Washington, D.C. from January 2003 to October 2003. Following these assignments, Casey was nominated and confirmed as the 30th
Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, serving in that post until June 2004.
Multi-National Force – Iraq
Casey served as the senior coalition commander in Iraq from June 2004 to February 2007. He replaced Lieutenant General
Ricardo S. Sanchez.
Casey's goal was to encourage the Iraqis to take ownership of their problems and responsibility for their own security. For his part as a military commander, he focused on training Iraqi forces, limiting the role of American forces, and transferring the burden for providing security to Iraqi forces. Meanwhile,
U.S. diplomats would focus on building and strengthening the Iraqi government and help the Iraqis hold elections. He expressed his view that a large and intrusive American presence in Iraq would not solve the political and security problems in that country and could even fuel the insurgency.
In 2005, Casey was hopeful the
December 2005 Iraqi elections could lead to a more unified and moderate Iraq which—in conjunction with the training of Iraqi security forces—could pave the way for U.S. troop reductions in early 2006. In August 2005, Casey used specific troop numbers in his public discussion of a possible drawdown. He said the troop level of 138,000 could be reduced by 30,000 in the early months of 2006 as Iraqi security forces took on a greater role. President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
publicly called the talk "speculation" and rebuked the general. The bombing of the
al-Askari Mosque
Al-Askari Shrine, the Askariyya Shrine, or Al-Askari Mosque is a Shia Muslim mosque and mausoleum in the Iraqi city of Samarra from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shia shrines in the world. It was built in 944. The dome was destroy ...
, a sacred
Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
religious site in
Samarra
Samarra (, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The modern city of Samarra was founded in 836 by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new administrative capital and mi ...
, is believed to have stoked sectarian tensions and derailed coalition plans to speedily transfer significant security responsibility to the Iraqi government by the end of 2006.
In January 2007, Casey implied his opposition to a
troop surge:
Army Chief of Staff
In January 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Casey for elevation to
Chief of Staff of the Army. Opposition to the nomination came from Senators
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
and
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
who questioned Casey's leadership in Iraq, with McCain's criticisms focused on Casey's "optimistic and rosy scenarios" of progress in the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. In spite of this, the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
confirmed his nomination on 8 February 2007, with a bipartisan vote of 83–14.
On 10 February 2007, Casey relinquished command in Iraq to General
David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...
. Casey officially succeeded General
Peter Schoomaker as Chief of Staff of the Army on 10 April 2007.
As the 36th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from April 2007 to 2011, Casey led what is arguably the world's largest and most complex organization—1.1 million people strong, with a $200+ billion annual budget—during one of the most extraordinary periods in military and global political history. He became Chief of Staff of an Army that was stretched from 6 years of continuous war. Over his tenure he stabilized and transformed the army to meet the challenges of the 21st century while continuing to meet the demands of two wars. Casey transformed an army trained and prepared for conventional war, to an agile force more suited to modern challenges.
Casey accelerated the growth of the army, instituted Retention Bonuses for young officers, increased the funding for soldier and family programs, improved the way the army cared for its wounded soldiers and surviving family members and drove down the stigma associated with behavioral health counseling to stabilize an army stretched by war. He also improved the leadership training for the army's General Officer Corps, advanced the transformation of the army's business and decision-making processes, moved the army onto a rotational deployment program much like the
Marine Corps' and oversaw a substantial improvement in the capabilities of the Army National Guard and Army Reserves.
In the immediate aftermath of the
2009 Fort Hood shooting
On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), near Killeen, Texas, United States. Nidal Hasan, a Major (United States), U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 other ...
committed by United States Army psychiatrist
Nidal Hasan
Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is an American former United States Army major, physician, and mass murderer convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on November 5, 2009. Hasan, an Army Me ...
, Casey expressed concern about jumping to conclusions before the investigation was completed, telling CNN's
John King that "this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers" and "As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well." Several months later, in a February 2010 interview, Casey said: "Our diversity not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse."
Retirement
Casey retired on 11 April 2011. Casey, whose parents were from Massachusetts, moved to
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
upon his retirement. Casey is currently a Distinguished Senior Lecturer of Leadership at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
's
Johnson Graduate School of Management
The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six List of Ivy League business schools ...
as well as a teaching fellow at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
's
Darden School of Business.
Dates of rank
Awards and decorations
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
External links
Profileat
SourceWatch
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org.
History
CMD was founded in 1993 by prog ...
New Job in Iraq Will Be as Top U.S. Military Leader June 25, 2004
January 5, 2007
January 5, 2007
*
ttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/09/27/army_is_worn_too_thin_says_general/ Casey tells Congress Army is stretched too thin September 27, 2007
Army chief fears backlash for Muslim U.S. soldiers – Adds "And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse" November 8, 2009
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, George W. Jr.
1948 births
Living people
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Boston College High School alumni
Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni
University of Denver alumni
Josef Korbel School of International Studies people
Commanders of the Legion of Honour
Order of National Security Merit members
Recipients of the Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun
Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Recipients of the Polish Army Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera)
United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
Military leaders of the Iraq War
United States Army generals
Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army
United States Army vice chiefs of staff
American expatriates in Germany
American expatriates in Japan