Samuel Emanuel Ebbesen (born 15 September 1938) is a

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 ...

in the

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 ...

who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy.

Early life and education

Born in the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

, Ebbesen attended the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and graduated in 1961 with a B.A. degree in political science. He was commissioned through the

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

program. Ebbesen later earned a master's degree in public administration from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

Military career

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 ...

, Ebbesen was sent to South Vietnam as a military advisor in 1966 and as a district senior advisor in 1970. As a lieutenant colonel, he served as commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Infantry, 7th Infantry Division at

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, ...

, California. Promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in September 1982, Ebbesen commanded the 1st Brigade,

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) at

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

, Kentucky from 1983 to 1985. His promotion to brigadier general was approved in October 1986. As a major general, Ebbesen commanded the 6th Infantry Division (Light) and Army Forces Alaska from April 1990 to July 1992 at

Fort Wainwright Fort Wainwright is a United States Army installation in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fort Wainwright is part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the coterminous Fairbanks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The installation is managed by U.S. Army Garrison ...

. As a lieutenant general, he served as commanding officer of the

Second United States Army Second Army was most recently located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia as a Direct Reporting Unit to Headquarters U.S. Army, Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6. Under the CIO/G-6, Second Army served as the single point of contact for Army missions an ...

from July 1992 to December 1994 at

Fort Gillem Fort Gillem was a United States Army Post located in Forest Park, Georgia, on the southeast edge of Atlanta in Clayton County. Founded in 1941, it was a satellite installation of nearby Fort McPherson. The base housed different supply and suppo ...

, Georgia. On 25 August 1992, Ebbesen deployed to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

to coordinate military support in the aftermath of

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

. In October 1994, Ebbesen was reappointed to the rank of lieutenant general so that he could serve at the Pentagon as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy. He retired from active duty in January 1997.

Later career

In November 2002, Ebbesen's appointment by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to serve on the board of directors of the

Overseas Private Investment Corporation The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was the United States Government's Development finance institution until it merged with the Development Credit Authority (DCA) of the United States Agency for International Development (U ...

was approved by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. He served on the board from 29 January 2003 through 2 November 2011.

References

1938 births Living people 21st-century African-American military personnel People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands City College of New York alumni African-American United States Army personnel United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Auburn University alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal African Americans in the Vietnam War {{US-army-bio-stub