A military career was not the plan, but now he’s the Army’s chief of staff
GEN. Raymond Odierno, Chief of Staff, United States Army
When GEN. Raymond Odierno joined the football team at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1972, he hadn’t given much thought to a career in the Army. He didn’t come from a military family. He just wanted to play college football.
Now, more than 40 years later, he is the Army’s top leader in charge of more than 500,000 of America’s sons and daughters. Along the way, he became known for orchestrating one of the biggest military achievements in recent history: the capture of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Full Story