Michael Linnington (born 1958,
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...
) is the CEO of
Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...
(WWP) and a retired
United States Army Lieutenant General. He has more than 35 years of military experience and was the first permanent Director of the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA).
Throughout his 35-year military career, Linnington has served as a Military Deputy to the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, was the Commanding General of the
Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region,
the Deputy Commanding General at
Fort Benning, GA,
Commandant of Cadets
The Commandant of Cadets is the officer in charge of the cadets at an academy.
Lists include:
* List of commandants of cadets of the United States Air Force Academy
* List of commandants of cadets of the United States Military Academy
The Comm ...
at the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy for the
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 pursua ...
Joint Command in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Linnington graduated from the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1980
and holds master’s degrees from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...
and the
National War College
The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
History
The National War Co ...
.
Early life and education
Linnington was born in
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...
[The United States Army , Military District of Washington](_blank)
/ref> and grew up in the Villas
Villas may refer to:
Places
* Villas, Florida, United States
* Villas, Illinois, United States
* Villas, New Jersey, United States
* Las Villas, a region of Spain
* Las Villas (Cuba), a former Cuban Province
* The Villas, a housing estate in Stok ...
section of the Lower Township, New Jersey
Lower Township is a township in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which covers the entire county for statistical purposes. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's ...
. He grew up with five brothers and went to military high school and military college. He attended the former St. Raymond's Roman Catholic School while working in a local restaurant and nearby Citgo
Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...
gas station. He then graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1976.
In 1980, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he met his wife Brenda, who also graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1981. He has master's degrees in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...
and in National Security Strategy from the National War College
The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active.
History
The National War Co ...
.
Military career
Michael Linnington is a military veteran with a 35-year career in the 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 ...
. Linnington is airborne, air assault, and ranger qualified. Throughout his career, he held a variety of command and staff positions in various locations around the world.
He was Deputy Commanding General in command of 75,000 troops at Fort Benning, Georgia
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
from 2007-2008. In 2007, he was promoted to Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...
and began a new role as commandant of Cadets at 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 ...
in May 2008.
In 2009, Linnington testified to a U.S. Senate subcommittee on military suicides and prevention efforts at West Point.
Linnington fought in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, he commanded the 3rd Brigade 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 ...
, also known as the Rakkasans.
Linnington led 1,500 vehicles in his convoy, and about 5,000 troops in the brigade. In 2009, he returned to Kabul, Afghanistan as Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy for the 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 pursua ...
Joint Command.
Linnington fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and served directly under Gen. David H. Petraeus.
Linnington served as Commanding General of the Military District of Washington/ Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region from 2011-2013.
During his time as Commanding General, Linnington made a number of appearances in Washington, D.C. He walked with US President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...
to commemorate Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring Veteran, military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who ...
on November 11, 2011. On November 12, 2011, Linnington hosted the ceremony for the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's Grand Review at Fort McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington C ...
Parade Field, Washington, DC. In 2013, Linnington headed the task force for President Obama's second inauguration.
Linnington served as Military Deputy to the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness) from 2013 to 2015.
Awards
* Expert Infantryman's Badge
* Combat Infantryman's Badge
* 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 ...
* Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
* Distinguished Service Medal
Post-military career
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
In 2014, two organizations, the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command were merged into the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Its mission was to account for missing personnel to their families and provide accurate and timely details of their story. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael S. Linnington was its first permanent director. When Linnington took over, his priorities were to continue the mission during reorganization without disrupting field operations, finish reorganization of conflict accounting, streamline and modernize operations and communications, improve communications to stakeholders, and expand partnerships.
During his time as director, the agency nearly doubled identification of missing service members.
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)
On July 18, 2016, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Michael S. Linnington was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans of the military actions following September 11, 2001. It operates as a nonprofit ...
, a nonprofit veteran service organization that provides programs for veterans injured in service on or after 9/11. He told a reporter he felt compelled to lead WWP after he observed the organization began suffering due to a media scandal in 2016. The allegations of the scandal were later disproved by several audits and investigations held by third parties, including the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. Media coverage resulted in a severe drop in donations and revenue. As a result, Linnington's first actions were focused on reducing costs while maximizing impact from veteran programs, including a pay cut from the previous WWP CEO salary.
On March 9, 2017, Linnington testified to Congress about veteran healthcare needs highlighting four major areas:
# Collaboration between government and nonprofits
# Improving care for veterans with traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...
(TBI)
# Improving health insurance for severely injured veterans
# Extending In Vitro Fertilization
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
benefits provided by the VA
On February 5, 2019, Linnington announced to ABC/NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
owned First Coast News
First Coast News is the newsroom of television stations WTLV (channel 12) and WJXX (channel 25), the NBC and ABC affiliates in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned with the stations by Tegna Inc.
The First Coast News brand was fi ...
that WWP has "turned the corner" and is doing more with less resources. "We are serving more warriors today than ever before in impactful ways that change their lives."
In April 2022, Linnington lobbied for H.R.3967 - Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, a bill to provide healthcare and resources to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service.
In March 2023, Linnington was named the Grand Marshal of the New York Veterans Day Parade. As the Grand Marshal, Linnington will lead over 20,000 people up Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 populatio ...
on November 11, 2023.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnington, Michael
1958 births
Living people
Lieutenant generals
People from Lower Township, New Jersey
Valley Forge Military Academy and College alumni