Gen. James Mingus was sworn in Jan. 4 as the 39th vice chief of staff of the Army.

Mingus, who also received his fourth star during the swearing-in ceremony led by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, had been director of the Joint Staff since June 2022.

“I am committed to ensuring our Army remains the most professional, lethal, feared land force in the world today, tomorrow and into the future,” Mingus said.

He also acknowledged his family, friends and fellow soldiers and leaders who helped him along his Army journey. “Forty-two years ago today, my dad took 17-year-old Pvt. Mingus down to the armory in our hometown, Spencer, Iowa, to enlist,” Mingus said during the ceremony. “Today really is an acknowledgment that this is a team sport. No one does anything alone, and [my wife] Amy and I are no exception.”

A former commander of the 82nd Airborne Division who has deployed 12 times to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mingus now serves as the Army’s No. 2 general officer and principal deputy to George.

Before serving as director of the Joint Staff, Mingus was director of operations on the Joint Staff from October 2020 until June 2022.

Mingus began his Army career in 1981 when he enlisted in the Iowa National Guard. He received his commission in the field artillery branch in 1985 from Winona State University, Minnesota, and later branched infantry when he entered active duty in 1987.

He has commanded at every echelon from company to division, and worked key staff positions in Army, special operations and joint units. He has served with units including the 5th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Seventh Army, in Germany; the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, now Fort Liberty, North Carolina; the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, now Fort Moore, Georgia; and the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. 

He commanded the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, leading it on a deployment to Afghanistan. During that deployment, former Capt. Florent Groberg, who led Mingus’ personal security detachment, earned the Medal of Honor for stopping a suicide bomber from attacking Mingus and other senior leaders who were attending a meeting with Afghan leaders.

Three soldiers and a civilian working for the U.S. Agency for International Development were killed.

Mingus also served as chief of the Commander’s Action Group at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida; deputy commanding general for maneuver for the 4th Infantry Division; and director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence at the Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.