Robert Gibbins Gard Jr. (born January 28, 1928) 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 ...

and former chairman of the board of the

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Council for a Livable World is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to eliminating the U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons. Its stated aim is for "progressive national security policies and helping elect congressional ca ...

where his work focuses on nuclear nonproliferation,

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

military policy Military policy (also called defence policy or defense policy) is public policy dealing with multinational security and the military. It comprises the measures and initiatives that governments do or do not take in relation to decision-making and ...

nuclear terrorism Nuclear terrorism is the use of a nuclear weapon or radiological weapon as an act of terrorism. There are many possible terror incidents, ranging in feasibility and scope. These include the sabotage of a nuclear facility, the intentional irrad ...

, and other national security issues.

Early life and education

Gard was born in

West Point 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 ...

, New York and educated at

TMI Episcopal TMI Episcopal is a private school in San Antonio. Previously known as Texas Military Institute, TMI is a selective coeducational Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal university preparatory school#North America, college prepa ...

school in San Antonio, Texas, before receiving a place at 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 ...

(West Point). Gard graduated from West Point with a B.S. in 1950.Robert G. Gard Jr., PhD CV
Arms Control Center.

Army career

After graduating from West Point, Gard was an Army officer for the next 31 years, retiring in 1981. Gard served in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(1952–54) and then received an M.P.A. (1956) and a Ph.D. in political economy and government (1962), both from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Gard then served in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

(1962–65), graduated from the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within 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 ...

(1966), and served as military assistant to two secretaries of defense (1966–68). Gard then served in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

(1968–69). After returning from South Vietnam, Gard was a fellow at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

in New York (1970–71), director of Human Resources Development for the U.S. Army (1971–72), commanding general of

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

in California (1973–75), and commanding general of the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center (1975–77). Gard's final military post was as president of the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

in Washington, D.C. (1977–81). In 1981, Gard retired as a lieutenant general after 31 years of service.

Post-Army career

After retiring from the Army, Gard served as visiting professor of international relations at the

American University of Paris The American University of Paris (AUP) is a private university in Paris, France. Founded in 1962, the university is one of the oldest American institutions of higher education in Europe, and the first to be established in France. The university ...

(1981–82), director of the

Bologna Center The SAIS Europe, located in Bologna, Italy, is the European campus of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) under Johns Hopkins University. SAIS Europe's degree programs emphasize international economics, international relations, Eu ...

of the

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

(SAIS) in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy (1982–87), and president of the

Monterey Institute of International Studies Established in 1955, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly the Monterey Institute of International Studies, located in Monterey, California, is a graduate institute and satellite campus of Middlebury C ...

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, California (1987–98). Since 1998, Gard has served as a Washington, D.C.-area consultant on international security. Gard is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of governors of the APEC Education Foundation; the boards of directors of the ''

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

'' and

; the board of trustees of Chapman Foundation and

Veterans for America Veterans for America is "an advocacy and humanitarian organization that works with its affiliate group, the Justice Project to engage the American public in support of policies addressing the needs of veterans, those currently in the armed service ...

(formerly the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation); the board of advisors of the United Foundation for Chinese Orphans; and the board of visitors of the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

. Gard has written a number of published

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s, book chapters,

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

articles, and newspaper

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 ...

s. Gard has argued that the U.S. should ratify the

Ottawa Treaty The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine ...

banning

land mine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

s, and is an advocate for nuclear

arms control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Historically, arms control may apply to melee wea ...

measures, such as the

New START New START (Russian language, Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a Nuclear disarmament, ...

treaty. Gard was a staunch critic of the

Iraq War 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 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, speaking out against the war in 2007 and writing in 2013 that the war "has come to symbolize an era of American overreach and, to some, even hubris." In 2008, Gard endorsed

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for president and criticized

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, writing that "McCain has adopted, promoted, and sustained the position of the so-called

neo-conservative Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party alo ...

s and ultra-nationalists who believe that the United States should capitalize on American military superiority to spread democracy abroad." In 2006, Gard was one of 22 retired generals and admirals to sign an open letter urging President George W. Bush to fully implement the "McCain Amendment" banning the use of torture. In 2014, Gard was also one of 31 retired generals and admirals to sign an open letter to the

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence The United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (sometimes referred to as the Intelligence Committee or SSCI) is dedicated to overseeing the United States Intelligence Community—the agencies and bureaus of the federal government of ...

urging them to vote to declassify and make public the committee's report on post-

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

torture tactics used by the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. In 2012, Gard co-authored a

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

op-ed with fellow retired general John H. Johns, arguing for a cut in wasteful Pentagon spending.Robert G. Gard & John Johns
Generals: Get real and cut Pentagon spending
CNN (December 12, 2012). Gard and Johns wrote: "Our leaders must have a serious debate about priorities: America needs political resolve to kill unnecessary and expensive projects." The pair also wrote that "sadly, defense spending is driven by political interests, not necessity." Gard and John specifically criticized Department of Defense plans to spend more than $700 billion on nuclear weapons over the next ten years (a program which the authors termed "based more on ideology than security") and the

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfa ...

(the development of which, the authors pointed out, "has cost more than was spent on veterans in the last 20 years"). Gard wrote a letter to the chairman and

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

of the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

opposing a proposed

flag desecration amendment The Flag Desecration Amendment (often referred to as the Flag-Burning Amendment) is a proposed addition to the Constitution of the United States that would allow the U.S. Congress to prohibit by statute and provide punishment for the physical "d ...

.Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee from Retired General Robert G. Gard Jr. Urging the Committee to Oppose the Proposed Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment
American Civil Liberties Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gard, Robert G. Jr. 1928 births American political scientists Harvard Kennedy School alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Geopoliticians American international relations scholars Living people United States Department of Defense officials United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni People from West Point, New York Military personnel from New York (state) TMI Episcopal alumni National War College alumni Presidents of the National Defense University