John Francis Campbell (born April 11, 1957) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

general who was commander of the

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...

and United States Forces – Afghanistan. He was the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

and last commander of the

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

. Prior to this, he served as the 34th Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He is currently a member of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of IAP, and

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, and serves on the advisory board of Code of Support Foundation.

Early life and education

The son of a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

senior master sergeant Senior master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Philippines Armed forces Senior master sergeant is the second-highest attainable rank for enlisted personnel of the Philippi ...

, Campbell was born at Loring Air Force Base in Maine on April 11, 1957 and grew up on military bases around the world. In 1971 he became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

in Fairfield, California's

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

Troop 270. In 1975 he graduated from Fairfield High School, where he was a participant in the Air Force

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

(JROTC) program. He graduated 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 ...

in June 1979 and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

. His first assignments were as a rifle platoon leader, company executive officer, and anti-tank platoon leader with the 3rd Battalion,

28th Infantry Regiment Since the establishment of the United States Army in 1775, three regiments have held the designation 28th Infantry Regiment. The first was a provisional unit that was constituted on 29 January 1813 and served during The War of 1812. The second ...

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany.

Military career

After attending the Infantry Officer Advanced Course and the

Special Forces Qualification Course The Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) or, informally, the Q Course is the initial formal training program for entry into the United States Army Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces. Phase I of the Q Course is Special Forc ...

, Campbell served as a Battalion Adjutant and Operational Detachment Alpha Commander in 1st Battalion,

5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A)) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups in the U.S. armed forces. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role i ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina followed by assignments in the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

as commander of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion,

505th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (505th PIR), originally the 505th Infantry Regiment, is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, one of four infantry regiments of the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, with ...

and as the Division Assistant Operations and Training Officer (G-3 Air). Campbell was then assigned as the Assistant Professor of Military Science and then the Professor of Military Science at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. He was selected to attend the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, after which he was again assigned to Ft. Bragg and the 82nd Airborne Division, where he served as the Division Training and Operations (G-3) Officer, Brigade Operations Officer (S-3) for 2nd Brigade,

325th Airborne Infantry Regiment The 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment is a light infantry parachute insertion fighting force of the United States Army. The subordinate units of the regiment constitute the bulk of the infantry elements assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Comba ...

and as the Aide-de-camp for the XVIII Airborne Corps Commander (deployed during Operation Uphold Democracy). Campbell commanded the 2nd Battalion 5th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

followed by attendance at the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Joint Staff. Campbell commanded 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division and the

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment The 504th Infantry Regiment, originally the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (504th PIR), is an airborne forces regiment of the United States Army, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, with a long and distinguished history. The regiment was f ...

and deployed his

Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a ...

to Afghanistan in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

. Following command Campbell was assigned to the Army Staff and served as the Executive Officer to the 35th

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 ...

Peter J. Schoomaker Peter Jan Schoomaker (born February 12, 1946) is a retired four-star general of the United States Army who served as the 35th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 1, 2003 to April 10, 2007. Schoomaker's appointment as Chief of S ...

General officer assignments

After promotion to general officer, in 2005, Campbell was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas as the Deputy Commanding General for Maneuver (DCG-M) for the 1st Cavalry Division and deployed to Iraq in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

as the DCG-M for

Multi-National Division – Baghdad Below is an estimated list of the major units deployed within the Multi-National Force – Iraq and other United States military units that were operating in Iraq under the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) in 2009, during the Iraq War. In militar ...

for both the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division. Campbell's following assignment was as the Deputy Director for Regional Operations, (J-33), The Joint Staff. In 2009, Campbell was named Commanding General,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

, at Fort Campbell,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. While serving as the Commanding General, he also commanded Combined Joint Task Force 101 the operational headquarters for

Regional Command East In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in Afghanistan from June 2010 to May 2011. Upon relinquishing command of the 101st Airborne Division in August 2011 to Major General

James C. McConville James Charles McConville (born March 16, 1959) is a United States Army general who serves as the 40th and current chief of staff of the Army. He previously served as the 36th vice chief of staff of the Army from June 16, 2017 to July 26, 2019. P ...

, Campbell was promoted to Lieutenant General and became the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Plans and Training (G-3/5/7). Campbell was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and sworn in as the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army on 8 March 2013. On July 23, 2014, Campbell was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

to succeed General Joseph Dunford as commander

and United States Forces—Afghanistan. Campbell was succeeded by General

John W. Nicholson Jr. John William "Mick" Nicholson Jr. (born May 8, 1957) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last commanded U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the 41-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission from March 2, 2016, to September ...

, on March 2, 2016, and retired on May 1, 2016. On July 25, 2016, Turkish daily ''

Yeni Şafak ''Yeni Şafak'' ("New Dawn") is a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper. The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish government. ...

'' wrote that Campbell was "behind the failed coup" that started on July 15. Campbell dismissed the allegation, stating that he had not traveled outside the United States since returning home from Afghanistan. He also stated that on the day of the coup, he and journalist

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

had met to socialize over drinks, a claim Rivera corroborated.

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John F. Living people United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Members of the United States Army Special Forces United States Army Vice Chiefs of Staff Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Medal 1957 births