Paul Joseph LaCamera (born 4 September 1963) 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 ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who last served as the commander of

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...

ROK/US Combined Forces Command ROK/US Combined Forces Command (CFC) is a joint warfighting headquarters comprising the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and United States Forces Korea. It was established in 1978. During wartime it would serve as the operational command headquart ...

and

United States Forces Korea The United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK was initially established in 1957, and e ...

from 2021 to 2024. LaCamera most recently served as commanding general of

United States Army Pacific The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) is an Army Service Component Command which serves as the Army service component for United States Indo-Pacific Command. It may also serve as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The command has forces in Alas ...

from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as the commanding general of

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is r ...

. His other assignments include the commander of

Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) is a multinational military formation established by the U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State with the stated aim to "degrade and destroy" the organi ...

and as the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division. He was nominated to replace General

Robert Abrams Robert Abrams (born July 4, 1938) is an American attorney and politician. He served as the Attorney General of New York, attorney general of New York from 1979 to 1993 and was the Democratic nominee for the 1992 United States Senate election in ...

as the next commander of

, R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, on 2 December 2020, however his nomination was returned to the president on 3 January 2021, without action. He was renominated on 27 April 2021.

Military career

LaCamera was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation 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 ...

in 1985. He served as rifle platoon leader with C Company, 3d Battalion (Airborne), 504th Infantry,

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

. Later he served as Company commander, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade, Operations Officer, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2d Infantry Division and Executive Officer, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. From February 2001 to May 2003, he commanded the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light), which deployed as part of

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban force ...

to Afghanistan during which he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

. LaCamera then took command of the 3d Battalion,

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...

at Fort Benning, Georgia from June 2003 to May 2004. Lacamera graduated from College of Naval Warfare,

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

located at Newport, Rhode Island in June 2005 before taking command of the

from August 2005 to August 2007. Following this command, he became the Director of Operations,

Joint Special Operations Command The Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) is a joint component command of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and is charged with studying special operations requirements and techniques to ensure interoperability and equip ...

from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, he became the Assistant Commanding General,

. From 2010 to 2012, LaCamera served as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations), 25th Infantry Division. He later served as commanding general XVIII Airborne Corps and commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve.

Family and personal life

LaCamera is a native of

Westwood, Massachusetts Westwood is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,266 at the 2020 United States census. History Westwood was first settled in 1641 and was part of the town of Dedham, originally called 'West Dedham', unt ...

Training and education

LaCamera earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from 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 military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the

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 ...

, the Army War College, the

, and the Senior Service College Fellowship Course.

Awards and decorations

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:LaCamera, Paul 1963 births Living people United States Military Academy alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Colonels of the 75th Ranger Regiment Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Commanders, United States Forces Korea United States Army generals