Ricky Lynn Waddell (born 31 October 1959) is a retired

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

who served as a

Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor (United States), N ...

to President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

from 2017 to 2018 and as the Assistant to the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: appointment; gra ...

from 2018 to 2021. His promotion to

was authorized by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on 26 September 2019. He retired from active military service in October 2021.

Early life

Waddell attended the

United States Military Academy 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 ...

, graduating in 1982 with a degree of

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 ...

Military career

Waddell became an Engineer Officer with

15th Engineer Battalion The 15th Engineer Battalion is an Echelon above Brigade (EAB) battalion of the United States Army. It is currently a subordinate unit of 7th Engineer Brigade and is headquartered in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Soldiers of the 15th Engineer Battalion ...

, then the 9th Infantry Division as a Platoon Leader and Battalion Maintenance Officer. With

Joint Task Force Bravo Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-Bravo, JTF-B) is a forward-based expeditionary joint task force operating as U.S. Southern Command's (USSOUTHCOM) lead forward element in the Central America (CENTAM) region to promote stability and security and coun ...

at Soto Cano (Palmerola) Air Base,

Comayagua Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authoriti ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, he served as the JTF Engineer. In the 35th Engineer Battalion, he served as the Commander C Company. He returned to the United States Military Academy as an instructor in the Department of Social Sciences. He subsequently served as Director for European Security Affairs on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. Waddell has been an Active Reserve officer, filling the following roles: * Special Assistant at the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Army; * Deputy Commander for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs,

United States Southern Command The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida, Doral in Greater Miami, Greater Miami, Florida, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providi ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

* Energy Sector Strategic Analyst,

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

* Special Advisor,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

(Air Assault),

Tikrit, Iraq Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a fo ...

* Joint Strategic Planner, Headquarters

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 ...

; * Director of Oil, J9,

United States Forces – Iraq United States Forces – Iraq (USF-I) was an American military sub-unified command, part of U.S. Central Command. It was stationed in Iraq as agreed with the Government of Iraq under the U.S.–Iraq Status of Forces Agreement. USF–I repla ...

* J4 (operational support – wartime),

United States Forces Korea The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK was initially established in 1957, and e ...

* Director, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force – Shafafiyat ("transparency"),

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Afghanistan (following

H. R. McMaster Herbert Raymond McMaster (born July 24, 1962) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 25th United States National Security Advisor from 2017 to 2018. He is also known for his roles in the Gulf War, Operation Endur ...

) * Commander, 76th Operational Response Command,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

( Major General; assumed command, 17 October 2015) A special retirement review was held for Waddell at Conmy Hall,

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...

on 13 August 2021. He is set to vacate his role as assistant to the

at the end of September 2021, with his retirement effective on 1 October 2021.

Civilian career

Waddell spent 17 years working in South America. His roles included

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for South America,

BG Group BG Group plc was a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. On 8 April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory an ...

(oil and gas) and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, Anglo Ferrous Metals in Brazil. During this period, he lived for 12 years in

Sao Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

. Waddell ran the Keystone,

Capstone __NOTOC__ Capstone may refer to: Architecture * Keystone (architecture), also known as a capstone Brands and enterprises * Capstone Investment Advisors, a US investment management firm * Capstone Partners, an investment banking firm * Capstone P ...

, and Pinnacle programs as a civilian employee of the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

at the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Deputy National Security Advisor

In early May 2017, Waddell was reportedly named as the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, following K. T. McFarland, to serve under Lieutenant General

, National Security Advisor.Army Reserve major general named deputy national security adviser
Charlsy Panzino, ArmyTimes.com, 10 May 2017. Waddell's appointment was blocked, initially, by

White House Chief of Staff The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a Political appointments in the United States, politi ...

Reince Priebus Reinhold Richard "Reince" Priebus ( ; born March 18, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, and naval officer who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2011 to 2017 and as White House chief of staff during the first s ...

.Washington Loves General McMaster, But Trump Doesn't – The national security adviser has lost sway. The White House says everything's fine.
Eli Lake,

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

, 9 May 2017, accessed 11 May 2017. The announcement was made official on 19 May 2017. On 12 April 2018, the White House announced that Waddell would leave in the coming weeks. His departure happened shortly after

John R. Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...

's appointment as National Security Advisor. Waddell was one of several officials who left at Bolton's request.

Decorations and awards

Education

Waddell has received the following degrees: *

in Engineering –

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

–

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The university has an alumni net ...

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in History and Portuguese –

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

On Trump’s Latin America team
LAGG, 25 March 2017 (updated 8 May 2017), accessed 11 May 2017. *

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

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 ...

–

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Publications

Waddell has written four historical military books, dealing with his Latin America and Army experiences: * ''Wars Then & Now'' * ''In War's Shadow: Waging Peace in Central America'' * ''The Army and Low Intensity Conflict'' * ''In War's Shadow – At the Edge of the Cold War'' Waddell has also published various journal articles, including: * R. D. Hooker Jr. and Ricky L. Waddell, ''The Future of Conventional Deterrence'', ''

Naval War College Review The ''Naval War College Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the United States Navy's Naval War College. It covers public policy matters of interest to the maritime services and was established in 1948. History Dur ...

'', Summer 1992.

References

External links

Official biography
– Joint Chiefs of Staff
Official biography
– US Army Reserve {{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, Ricky L. 1959 births Living people People from Bentonville, Arkansas Military personnel from Arkansas Writers from Arkansas United States Military Academy alumni American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Webster University alumni School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni American male writers United States Army generals First Trump administration personnel United States deputy national security advisors