Gen. Raymond T. Odierno is the 38th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. His previous assignment was commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command. He has commanded units at every echelon from platoon to theater, with duty in Germany, Albania, Kuwait, Iraq and the United States. Odierno served as a brigade executive officer in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, commanded the 4th Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served as the commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq (III Corps) for the surge of forces in Iraq. He then returned to Iraq as commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq and subsequently U.S. Forces-Iraq from September 2008 until September 2010. Other significant assignments include: arms control officer, Office of the Secretary of Defense; Chief of Staff, V Corps; assistant division commander (Support), 1st Armored Division; deputy commanding general, Task Force Hawk, Albania; director of force management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; and assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he was the primary military advisor to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. A graduate of West Point, he holds a master’s degree in nuclear effects engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.