General George William Casey, Jr. Chief of Staff of the United States Army
November 4, 2009
Casey was commissioned through the Army ROTC in 1970 following his graduation from Georgetown. Casey served in the Mechanized Infantry during the command portion of his career. He was commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and the Assistant Division Commander - of the 1st Armored Division in Germany. He deployed as part of Operation Joint Endeavor to Bosnia-Herzegovina from July 1996 to August 1997. He and the Rear Command Post staff were based in Slavonski Brod, Croatia. Casey took command of the 1st Armored Division in July 1999. After relinquishing command of the division in July 2001, General Casey served in a senior staff position in the Pentagon as the Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, J-5, the Joint Staff from October 2001 to January 2003. His next position was Director of the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. from January 2003 to October 2003. Following these assignments, Casey was nominated and confirmed as the 30th Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, serving in that post until June 2004.
On February 10, 2007, Casey relinquished command in Iraq to Petraeus. Casey officially succeeded General Peter Schoomaker as Chief of Staff of the Army on April 10, 2007. In September 2007, in testimony before the U.S. Congress, Casey said "the current demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed with meeting the demands of the current fight and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential contingencies" — underscoring in a public hearing the strain that the continuing Iraq War is placing on the U.S. military.
