Herbert Lewis "Buz" Altshuler (born February 3, 1945) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

major general who served as director of strategy and plans for USAFRICOM, and commanded United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) (USACAPOC) from 2001 to 2007.

Military career and background

Born in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, Altshuler graduated from 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 ...

and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry in 1967. During 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 ...

, he served as a rifle platoon leader in the

173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic respo ...

, as well as a battalion operations officer, and rifle company commander in the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry. Returning the United States, he served in various command and staff positions, including aide-de-camp to the commander, 5th Infantry Division at

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, El Paso, Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo, Fremont County, Colorado, Fremont, and Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano counties, Color ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. After leaving active duty, he served as operations officer, 14th Psychological Operations Battalion, and as operations officer, 7th Psychological Operations Group. Assigned to the

351st Civil Affairs Command The 351st Civil Affairs Command is a unit of the United States Army Reserve, US Army Reserve since its creation in 1966 it has been headquartered in Mountain View, California. The unit was originally the 351st Civil Affairs Area until reorganized ...

, he served as exercise director, Secretary General Staff and Headquarters Commandant. In October 1985, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 353rd Psychological Operations Battalion, until his departure to attend the Army War College. He returned to the 351st Civil Affairs Command as Chief of Operations and Plans Division, where he was promoted to colonel in 1989. In July 1991 he was assigned to the Primary Staff as deputy chief of staff of Intelligence and Security, and on June 7, 1992, Colonel Altshuler assumed command of the 7th Psychological Operations Group. In December 1995 he was mobilized and deployed to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in support 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 ...

, where he served as Commander, Combined Joint Psychological Operations/IFOR Information Campaign Task Force, and senior psychological operations officer,

Implementation Force (IFOR) 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 ...

staff in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Returning home in March 1996, he relinquished command of the 7th Psychological Operations Group and assumed command of the 351st Civil Affairs Command. He returned to Bosnia with the 351st as commander of the Combined Joint Civil Military Task Force and Deputy CJ9, Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC), to Commander, Stabilisation Force (SFOR). On June 27, 1997, he was promoted to brigadier general. Upon his return from Bosnia in January 1998, he resumed command of the 351st Civil Affairs Command until March 2000, when he took command of the 89th Regional Support Command (RSC) in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. On October 7, 2000, he was promoted to major general. He departed the 89th RSC on April 22, 2001, to assume command of the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), where he served until 2007. He was then transferred to the newly created

United States Africa Command The United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM, U.S. AFRICOM, and AFRICOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense, headquartered at Kelley Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. It is responsible for ...

(USAFRICOM) as director of strategy, plans and programs. Altshuler retired on December 30, 2008, and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

.Distinguished Service Medal
www.army.mil, January 17, 2009. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Basic Airborne, Ranger and

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

courses, the Civil Affairs Officers Advanced Course,

United States Army 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 ...

, and the

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

. His awards and decorations include two awards of the

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

, three awards of the

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 ...

, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, three awards of the

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 ...

, the

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 "V" Device and five Oak Leaf Clusters, The

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

, the Parachutist Badge, Ranger and

Special Forces Tab The Special Forces Tab is a service school qualification tab of the United States Army, awarded to any soldier completing the Special Forces Qualification Course at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Fort Bragg, N ...

s and numerous campaign and service medals. General Altshuler holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the

and a Master of Business Administration degree from

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

References

External links

*Alfred H. Paddock, Jr.
The 2006 "Divorce" of US Army Reserve and Active Component Psychological Operations Units: A Re-Examination
Psywarrior.com, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Altshuler, Herbert 1945 births Living people Military personnel from the Bronx United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War James Madison University alumni United States Army War College alumni National War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)