The inaugural recipient of the new General Gordon R. Sullivan Leadership Medal is retired Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz.

Named in honor of AUSA’s former president and CEO and the 32nd Army chief of staff, the annual award will be presented to an individual who demonstrates exemplary leadership and mentorship for the advancement of the Army both during and after their uniformed or civilian service.

“We’re so proud to unveil this new award in honor of retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan, a true American hero and legend who not only led the Army through critical times with strength and clear vision, but who continued serving soldiers and America’s Army for 18 years as AUSA’s president and CEO,” said retired Gen. Bob Brown, AUSA’s current president and CEO. “As we strive to uphold his legacy, it is only fitting that we present this inaugural award to retired Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz, who served the Army alongside Gen. Sullivan, and who is a dedicated, compassionate and exemplary leader in his own right who has left an indelible mark on countless soldiers and the Army.”

Schultz served almost 43 years in the Army and Army National Guard before retiring and serving in leadership positions in the civilian sector with companies such as University Systems and Technology, Lockheed Martin and SENTEL Corporation. Most recently, Schultz was president and CEO of the Army Historical Foundation, leading for eight years the team that built the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Enlisting in 1963 as a track vehicle mechanic, Schultz served as an enlisted soldier for four years before receiving his commission as an infantry officer after Officer Candidate School at the Iowa Military Academy.

In 1969, Schultz led a rifle platoon and a scout platoon in Vietnam. He also was deputy director of Army operations, and in 1998 was selected to serve as the director of the Army National Guard. His seven-year tenure as Army National Guard director makes him the longest serving director in the history of the National Guard, and he is the first to serve in the position at the three-star level.

He remains active in the Army community, serving as chairman of the Army War College Foundation, a director with Our Military Kids and a senior associate with the Army Aviation Association of America.

Schultz previously served on the DoD 50th Vietnam Commemoration Committee and was a senior military adviser to the Iraq Study Group. In 1997, he led a tiger team as part of a Pentagon initiative to better integrate reserve and active components fighting terrorism, resulting in the National Guard’s Civil Support Teams.

A 2020 inductee in the Infantry Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame, Schultz has been selected to receive the 2024 Pritzker Military Museum & Library Citizen Soldier of the Year Award. He also was the 2004 recipient of AUSA’s Lieutenant General Raymond S. McLain Medal, which is presented to a current or former member of the National Guard for advancing a seamless and component-integrated Army.