Benjamin C. Freakley (born 21 August 1953) 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 ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

. From Woodstock, Virginia, Freakley was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1975, and served in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan before retiring in 2012. After leaving active duty military service, he joined the

McCain Institute The McCain Institute for International Leadership is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank in cooperation with Arizona State University whose mission is to "advance leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity, in ...

and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

Early life

Originally from Woodstock, Virginia, he graduated from Central High School in Woodstock in 1971. Freakley also 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 ...

. Applying for admission to two senior military colleges (

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

) and

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, he ended up graduating from West Point with the Class of 1975.

Military career

Being 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 1 ...

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 m ...

in 1975, he was assigned to the

506th Infantry Regiment The 506th Infantry Regiment, originally designated the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (506th PIR) during World War II, is an airborne light infantry regiment of the United States Army. Currently a parent regiment under the U.S. Army Regiment ...

until 1979. He then was an aide-de-camp to the commanding general of the Military District of Washington, before being sent to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

to serve with the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment. During

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, Freakley worked on the

war plans A military operation plan (also called a war plan before World War II) is a formal plan for military armed forces, their military organizations and units to conduct operations, as drawn up by commanders within the combat operations process in ac ...

, and served as battalion

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, ...

of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. Operation Desert Storm found him serving as the

operations officer Military operations is a concept and application of military science that involves planning the operations for the projected maneuvering forces' provisions, services, training, and administrative functions—to allow them to commence, insert, t ...

of the 1st Brigade of the 24th Infantry Division. After Operation Desert Storm, Freakley commanded the 1st Battalion of the

5th Cavalry Regiment The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on August 3, 1861, when an act of Congress enacted "that the two regiments of dragoons, the regiment of mounted riflemen, and the t ...

, before serving in staff positions with the 24th Infantry Division and III Corps, until being placed in command of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division. 1999 found Freakley commanding the operations group at

Fort Irwin Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of . It is located northeast ...

's National Training Center, before serving in staff positions at the National Military Command Center and

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and th ...

In 2003, Freakley served as assistant division commander, under

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a retired United States Army general and public official. He served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012. Prior t ...

, of the

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 operat ...

, which found Freakley involved in combat in Iraq a second time during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After Iraq, Freakley became the Chief of Infantry at Fort Benning, during which time the Infantry Center became part of the Maneuver Center of Excellence. Major General Freakley and Private First Class Fitzsimmons

Major General Freakley and Private First Class Fitzsimmons

In 2005, Freakley commanded the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in t ...

as it was deployed to Afghanistan, where he also became the commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76. In 2007, Freakley took command of Accessions Command, where he remained until he retired in 2012.

Post-military career

After retiring from the army, Freakley became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

, and special advisor to the university's president.

Awards and decorations

Freakley has received the following awards: Freakley was also named the policy leader of the year, by the

National Association of State Boards of Education The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) is a nonprofit private association that represents U.S. state and territory boards of education. Founded in 1958, the association initially met in conjunction with the annual conferenc ...

in 2010.

References

External links

*
LinkedIn profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freakley, Benjamin 1953 births United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Arizona State University faculty Living people People from Woodstock, Virginia Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army War College alumni United States Military Academy alumni