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 ...

Donald M. Campbell Jr. (born January 3, 1955) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

who served as the commanding general of

United States Army Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...

. He commanded the United States Army Europe from December 1, 2012, to November 6, 2014.

Military career

Campbell is a graduate of

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

. Commissioned an armor officer in May 1978, his initial assignment was with the 2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor at

Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, where he served as a Tank Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Battalion S1/Adjutant and Company Commander In June 1984, Campbell was assigned as a G1 (Personnel) Staff Officer at the 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. In 1985, he was reassigned as the S3/Operations Officer for 4th Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment in Mainz, Germany. He was then selected as the Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach. In June 1987, Campbell was reassigned to Armor Branch, U.S. Army Military Personnel Center in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, later renamed U.S. Army Personnel Command, where he served as the captains' and later the majors' Assignment Officer of the Armor Branch, Combat Arms Division. Following graduation from the Command and General Staff College at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

in June 1991, Campbell was assigned as the G3 (Operations) Chief of Plans Officer for 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was then assigned as the Executive Officer for the 4th Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, and later the 2nd Brigade S3/Operations Officer. In June 1994, Campbell was selected to serve as the Executive Officer to the Commanding General, PERSCOM. After he was selected for battalion command, Campbell served as the G3 (Operations) Assistant Training Officer for I Corps at

Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. In January 1996, he assumed command of 1st Battalion, 33rd Armor Regiment, a part of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. Campbell next served as the Deputy Brigade Commander of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. His following assignment was as the deputy director of Staff Operations for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium. He assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, in June 2001, with the "Raider Brigade" as a key element in Task Force Ironhorse operations during

Operation Iraqi Freedom 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 the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Following brigade command, he served as the Chief of Staff for 4th Infantry Division until June 2004. Campbell then served as Deputy Commanding General-West for U.S. Army Recruiting Command from July 2004 through May 2005. In June 2005, he was selected to serve as the Chief of Staff, V Corps with duty as the Multi-National Corps Iraq Chief of Staff from January through December 2006. In July 2007 he assumed duties as the Deputy Commanding General, I Corps. Before assuming command of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in May 2009, he was Commanding General, U.S. Army Armor Center and

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

. On March 10, 2011, it was announced that Campbell would take over as the III Corps and

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

Commanding General from Lieutenant General Robert Cone. Campbell took command of

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

in Fort Hood, TX in April 2011. He held this position until November 2012 when he relinquished command to go take charge of

, newly headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany. Campbell is a graduate of the Armor Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a United States Army, U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle B ...

. He holds a master's degree in Administration from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a Public university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

. Campbell planned to move to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, where he and his wife owned a house.

Later life

He endorsed

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

in the

2020 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

in an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

with Ambassador Robert A. Mandell and

Ben Hodges In the

2024 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 2024. The Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's Ticket (election), ticket—Donald Trump, who was the 45th president of ...

, Campbell endorsed

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

Awards and decorations

Campbell's decorations include: *

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

with three

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a spec ...

s *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with three Oak Leaf Clusters * Bronze Star Medal ribbon

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with

V device V, or v, is the twenty-second letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ''vees''. Name * ...

and one Oak Leaf Cluster *

Defense Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with a silver Oak Leaf Cluster * Army Commendation Medal ribbon

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

with two Oak Leaf Clusters * Army Achievement Medal ribbon

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

with one Oak Leaf Cluster

References

External links

Official biography, April 2011, of Lieutenant General Donald M. Campbell Jr. at III Corps
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Donald M. United States Army generals Living people Kansas State University alumni Central Michigan University alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) 1955 births Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)