David D. McKiernan

General David D. McKiernan, USA is current Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A). He was Commanding General, U.S. Army, Europe from 2004-June 2008. Prior to that, he served as Commander of CFLCC from 2002-2004, which had responsibility for all allied ground forces in the Middle East. In this role, he oversaw the 2003 ground war against Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi regime as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He assumed command of ISAF on June 3, 2008 and assumed command of both ISAF and USFOR-A on October 6, 2008.

Army career

McKiernan graduated from The College of William & Mary in 1972 where he received an ROTC commission; McKiernan then entered the Army. He holds an MPA from Shippensburg University and an honorary doctorate in Public Service from his alma mater, the College of William and Mary.

His commands have included:

• 1st Battalion, 35th Armor (Iron Knights), 1st Armored Division, 1988-1990;
• 1st Brigade (Iron Horse), 1st Cavalry Division, 1993-1995;
• 1st Cavalry Division, 1999-2001;
• 3rd U.S. Army/Combined Forces Land Component Command, 2002-2004.
• 7th U.S. Army/U.S. Army Europe, 2005-Present

McKiernan gained experience in the Balkans as a staff officer in the 1990s. In July 1996, General McKiernan joined the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff G-2/G-3 forward deployed in both Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rheindahlen (Mönchengladbach), Germany. From August 1998 until September 1999, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Headquarters, United States Army, Europe and Seventh Army during a period of simultaneous operations in Bosnia, Albania, and Kosovo.

In 2001, he was assigned as G-3 (Operations), Headquarters, Department of the Army. Following that posting, in September 2002, General McKiernan assumed command of the Third U.S. Army and U.S. Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT), and became the Coalition Forces Land Component Commander for U.S. Central Command in preparation for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. In March 2003, General McKiernan led all coalition and U.S. conventional ground forces that attacked Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Following his assignment as ground forces commander, McKiernan was assigned as Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff for United States Army Forces Command, the largest major command in the United States Army which is responsible for the readiness and deployment of Army forces based in the U.S. Most recently, he assumed command of 7th Army/U.S. Army Europe.

Iraq War Troop Levels Debate

In their book, Cobra II, military historians Michael Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor suggest that McKiernan was unhappy to hear of the cancellation of the deployment of the 1st Cavalry Division, a 17,000-soldier force that was scheduled to arrive in Iraq as a follow-on reinforcement. Its deployment was cancelled on April 21, 2003 after U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld raised the issue of whether it was needed. Previously, shortly before the war, McKiernen won Pentagon approval for a new war plan that increased the number of ground troops, calling the new war plan COBRA II.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he had a different view of the battlefield than his superior, General Tommy Franks. McKiernan saw the Saddam Fedayeen fighters as a major threat and one of the "centers of gravity" in Iraq, while Franks dismissed the importance of the irregulars. The military was also surprised when McKiernan and his staff were not given command for post-war operations in Iraq, which instead went to V Corps and the newly-promoted Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez.

Trivia

He was famously mistaken for Civil War General George B. McClellan by candidate Sarah Palin during the October 2008 Vice-Presidential debate.

Awards and decorations

McKiernan awards and decorations include, but are not limited to:

	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
	Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)
	Defense Superior Service Medal
	Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Bronze Star
	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
	Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Army Commendation Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)
	Army Achievement Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster)

• Parachutist Badge
• Ranger Tab

General McKeirnan serves with his wife, Carmen.

References

External links