Michael D. Rochelle (born 1950) 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 deputy chief of staff, G-1 in the Department of the Army.

Early life and education

After graduating Central High School in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, he enrolled at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnersh ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, where he was a member of the National Society of

Pershing Rifles The National Society of Pershing Rifles is a U.S. military-oriented honor society for college-level students founded in 1894 as a drill unit at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It is the oldest continuously operating U.S. college organizatio ...

and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in foreign language education in 1972. While enrolled and finishing his degree at Norfolk State University, he concurrently completed the Advanced

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

program and was commissioned as a Regular

Army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

in June 1972. To augment his bachelor's degree, LTG Rochelle later attended

Shippensburg University Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania area. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers' college ...

, where he earned a Master of Arts Degree in public administration. His military education includes the Army War College,

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 ...

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

Officer Basic Course The Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) is a two-phased training course designed to commission officers and prepare them for service in the United States Army. Prospective officers complete Phase I (BOLC A) as either a cadet (United States Military ...

, and the Adjutant General Officer Basic and Advanced Courses.

Career

His command assignments included commander of the 226th Adjutant General Company (Postal) in

Munich, Germany Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

; the U.S.

Military Entrance Processing Station The United States Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM) is a Major Command of the United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. The organization screens and processes Enlisted rank, enlisted recruits into the Unit ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

; the Brunswick Recruiting Battalion (now the New England Recruiting Battalion),

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

; the U.S. Army Garrison at

Fort Monroe, Virginia Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth ...

; the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute,

Fort Jackson, South Carolina Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located within the city of Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army gene ...

; and the commanding general, U.S. Army Recruiting Command,

Fort Knox, Kentucky 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 ...

. Rochelle's staff assignments included operations officer, professional development officer, and ultimately as deputy chief, General Officer Management Office, Office of the Chief of Staff Army, Headquarters Department of the Army; between commanding the Brunswick Recruiting Battalion and as the garrison commander at Fort Monroe, Lieutenant General Rochelle served as the Division G-1 and adjutant general of the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

(Air Assault); and he served as the senior military assistant to the

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the s ...

, the Honorable John J. Hamre, and later as the special assistant to the deputy chief of staff for personnel. He served as the director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Agency (IMA). He assumed duties as the deputy chief of staff, G-1, United States Army, in June 2006.

Awards and decorations

Military

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

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 Oak Leaf Cluster *

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 ...

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 *

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 two Oak Leaf Clusters * 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 three Oak Leaf Clusters *Joint Services Achievement Medal *

Recruiter Badge The Recruiter Badge is a decoration of the United States uniformed services that is awarded to personnel who have performed recruitment duties as service recruiters. The Recruiter Badge is issued by every branch of the U.S. uniform services excep ...

*Office of Secretary of Defense Staff Identification Badge *

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

* Army General Staff Identification Badge

Civilian

* Academy of Distinguished Alumni Norfolk State University *NAACP Barrier Breaker Award *Inductee, Boys and Girls Clubs of America Hall of Fame

Personal life

Since his retirement from the U.S. Army, he founded and is president and CEO, of MDR Strategies, LLC a strategic human capital consulting firm located in northern Virginia.

References

External links

MOAA biographyBoys & Girls Club profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rochelle, Michael D. 1950 births Living people Pershing Riflemen Norfolk State University alumni African-American United States Army personnel Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American military personnel