Commanding General, U.S. Army Central

Lieutenant General Ron Clark was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1988. He began his career as a Rifle Platoon Leader and Scout Platoon Leader in 5th Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division in Germany and in Southwest Asia during OPERATION DESERT SHIELD and OPERATION DESERT STORM. He was next assigned to the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he commanded B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, and later served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division (Light).

After his first tour in the Pacific, Lieutenant General Clark served as the Operations Officer and Executive Officer in 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment at Fort Polk, Louisiana and later served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Lieutenant General Clark continued to serve in key command and staff positions to include Commander of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and in Iraq in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM; the 41st Chief of Infantry Branch at United States Army Human Resources Command; Director of the Simon Center for the Professional Military Ethic at West Point; Commander of the 192d Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia; the Army’s Deputy Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy in the Pentagon; Deputy Commanding General-Support, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and in Iraq during OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE; and Deputy Chief of Staff-Operations for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in the United Kingdom. Following his tour in Europe, Lieutenant General Clark returned to Hawaii to serve as the Chief of Staff, United States Army Pacific, and as the Commanding General of the 25th Infantry Division and the Senior Commander for United States Army Hawaii.  Most recently, he served as the Chief of Staff for United States Indo-Pacific Command. In his current role, Lieutenant General Clark serves as the Commanding General of United States Army Central.

His civilian education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College Fellowship at Duke University. He is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program.