Misplaced Pages

#501498

140-589: The United States European Command ( EUCOM ) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military , headquartered in Stuttgart , Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles (54,000,000 km) and 51 countries and territories, including Europe , The Caucasus , Russia and Greenland . The Commander of the United States EUCOM simultaneously serves as

280-530: A United States Space Command (USSPACECOM). A previous unified combatant command for unified space operations was decommissioned in 2002. The new USSPACECOM will include "(1) all the general responsibilities of a Unified Combatant Command; (2) the space-related responsibilities previously assigned to the Commander, United States Strategic Command ; and (3) the responsibilities of Joint Force Provider and Joint Force Trainer for Space Operations Forces". USSPACECOM

420-477: A diplomatic solution. The advice from Ridgway and Gavin helped to convert Clifford from being a hawk to a dove. The Defense Secretary Clifford realized the political implications of the request for 206,000 more troops and lobbied Johnson hard to reject it, urging him to seek a diplomatic solution instead while Rostow advised him to accept it. Since Westmoreland had maintained in his report that victory in Vietnam

560-557: A dissenting report to Eisenhower against Radford's recommendations, Ridgway stated "Indochina is devoid of decisive military objectives" and to fight a war there "would be a serious diversion of limited U.S. capabilities". Ridgway felt that Radford as an admiral who had never fought against the Chinese was too dismissive of Chinese power, and he did not see the dangers of the United States fighting yet another trying struggle against

700-586: A force for war and a force for peace. In 1999, changes to the command's area of responsibility were announced, after amendments to the Unified Command Plan . The United States Atlantic Command areas that had included the waters off Europe and the west coast of Africa were to be transferred to European Command. U.S. European Command already had responsibility for all U.S. land and air military planning in Europe and most of Africa. The change gave EUCOM

840-514: A fully unified commander under the broader title of Commander in Chief, Atlantic (CINCLANT). The Army and Air Force objected, and CINCLANTFLT was activated as a unified command on 1 November 1947. A few days later, the CNO renewed his suggestion for the establishment of a unified Atlantic Command. This time his colleagues withdrew their objections, and on 1 December 1947, the U.S. Atlantic Command (LANTCOM)

980-427: A geographical basis (known as an " area of responsibility ", AOR) or on a functional basis, e.g., special operations , force projection , transport , and cybersecurity . Currently, seven combatant commands are designated as geographical, and four are designated as functional. Unified combatant commands are "joint" commands and have specific badges denoting their affiliation. The Unified Command Plan (UCP) establishes

1120-547: A growing role around the shores of West and East Africa, under the direction of United States Africa Command . It previously had a significant Mediterranean presence function against the Soviet Navy 's 5th Operational Squadron (Mediterranean Squadron, effectively fleet sized), and for most of the Cold War was the most powerful maritime striking force along NATO's southern flank. The United States Air Forces in Europe ,

1260-896: A major contingency operation, Operation Blue Bat, in response to Lebanon's request to restore stability within the government. In 1966, following disagreements by the French with certain NATO military policies, President Charles de Gaulle stated that all forces within France's borders would have to come under French control by April 1969. Soon afterward, France announced that SHAPE and its subordinate headquarters must leave French territory by April 1967. The following year, SHAPE moved to Mons, Belgium , while Headquarters EUCOM moved to Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany . Headquarters Seventh Army moved to Heidelberg , where it merged with Headquarters United States Army, Europe. At Patch Barracks, EUCOM renovated

1400-467: A new government being formed by Pierre Mendès France whose sole mandate was to pull all French forces out of Indochina. President Eisenhower approved a waiver to the military's policy of mandatory retirement at age 60 so Ridgway could complete his two-year term as Chief of Staff. Disagreements with the administration over its downgrading of the army in favor of the United States Navy and

1540-505: A perceived increasing Soviet threat. On May 5, 1985, Ridgway was a participant in US President Ronald Reagan 's visit to Kolmeshöhe Cemetery near Bitburg , when former Luftwaffe ace fighter pilot Johannes Steinhoff (1913–1994) in an unscheduled act firmly shook his hand in an act of reconciliation between the former foes. Ridgway died at his suburban Pittsburgh home on July 26, 1993, of cardiac arrest, at

SECTION 10

#1732765086502

1680-547: A rotating US-based brigade. Two bases at Constanţa , Romania was developed, apparently with the main facility at Mihail Kogălniceanu Airfield . Initially, however, Joint Task Force East was to have been provided by a rotational 2nd Cavalry Regiment Stryker squadron. The Task Force was originally planned to be called the Eastern Europe Task Force. However, since the stresses of the Iraq and Afghan deployments,

1820-711: A specific type of nontransferable operational command authority over assigned forces, regardless of branch of service. The chain of command for operational purposes (per the Goldwater–Nichols Act ) goes from the president of the United States through the secretary of defense to the combatant commanders. The Department of Defense defines at least four types of command authority: Geographic combatant commands Functional combatant commands Currently, four geographic combatant commands have their headquarters located outside their geographic area of responsibility. The current system of unified commands in

1960-469: Is based in Germany. It controls two brigades, one aviation brigade, and several supporting units while also providing support to other Army units in Europe. Previously it had two divisions, although for almost all of the Cold War it controlled two corps of two divisions each. V Corps was deactivated in 2013 upon its return from Afghanistan. VII Corps was deactivated in 1992 after returning to Germany after

2100-568: Is deployed from EUCOM to Kuwait for the Iraq War . 2003: General James L. Jones becomes the first US Marine to be EUCOM Commander. 2006: V Corps (US Army) is deployed from EUCOM to Iraq as the command and control element for Multi-National Corps–Iraq . 2008: U.S. Africa Command is established and takes over responsibility for DoD activities in Africa from EUCOM. 2009: Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis becomes EUCOM's 15th Commander and

2240-537: Is established and takes over responsibility for DoD activities in the Middle East from EUCOM. 1990: VII Corps (US Army) and other USAREUR units are deployed from EUCOM to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War . 1992: VII Corps (US Army) after redeploying from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is withdrawn from EUCOM and inactivated. 1999: US troops stationed in Europe fall below 120,000. 2002: V Corps (US Army)

2380-541: Is to be in Poznań , Poland. The following list details all operations in which EUCOM has been involved since its inception. The main service component commands of EUCOM are the United States Army Europe , United States Naval Forces Europe/U.S. Sixth Fleet , United States Air Forces in Europe and United States Marine Corps Forces, Europe United States Army Europe (formerly Seventh Army)

2520-463: Is yours, Matt. Do what you think best." Upon taking control of the battered Eighth Army, one of Ridgway's first acts was to restore soldiers' confidence in themselves. To accomplish this, he reorganized the command structure. During one of his first briefings in Korea at I Corps, Ridgway sat through an extensive discussion of various defensive plans and contingencies. At the end, he asked the staff about

2660-805: The 1961 Berlin Crisis , on 25 August 1961, the Department of Defense announced 148,000 reserve personnel would be called on 1 October for twelve months of active duty service. 27,000 of these would be from Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard flying squadrons and support units to augment the Air Force, and 112,000 were U.S. Army Reserve . Many Army Reservists were sent to Europe to bring ground combat units up to full strength. Civil war broke out in Lebanon in 1958 due to mounting religious and political conflicts (see " 1958 Lebanon crisis "). EUCOM conducted

2800-465: The 82nd Airborne Division Artillery ), to be increased in strength from two parachute regiments and a single glider regiment (although with only two battalions) to three parachute regiments, and for the glider regiment to have a strength of three battalions. In the Battle of Normandy , he jumped with his troops , who fought for 33 days in advancing to Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte near Cherbourg (St Sauveur

2940-938: The Army War College at Carlisle Barracks , Pennsylvania , in 1937. During the 1930s he served as Assistant Chief of Staff of VI Corps , Deputy Chief of Staff of the Second Army , and Assistant Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army . General George C. Marshall , the Chief of Staff of the United States Army , assigned Ridgway to the War Plans Division shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939. After being promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1940, he served in

SECTION 20

#1732765086502

3080-556: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu . The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Arthur W. Radford , supported Operation Vulture and recommended it to Eisenhower, arguing that the United States could not permit the victory of the Communist Viet Minh over the French. Making matters more complicated on 20 March 1954, the chief of the French general staff, General Paul Ély , visited Washington and Radford had shown him

3220-663: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River . Ridgway was successful in turning around the morale of Eighth Army. Ridgway was unfazed by the Olympian demeanor of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur , then overall commander of UN forces in Korea . MacArthur gave Ridgway a latitude in operations he had not given his predecessor. After Ridgway landed in Tokyo on Christmas Day 1950 to discuss the operational situation with MacArthur,

3360-693: The Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989. As a sign of reduced tensions, in 1991 EUCOM took its airborne command post off alert. Meanwhile, in 1991, EUCOM and its components provided forces -primarily VII Corps - to CENTCOM for Operation Desert Storm . EUCOM supports programs in former Soviet Bloc countries such as the Joint Contract Team Program, NATO Partnership for Peace and the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program . It

3500-591: The Eastern Front of World War II . He himself, he noted, had recently given orders in Korea "of the kind for which the German generals are sitting in prison." His "honor as a soldier" forced him to insist upon the release of these officers before he could "issue a single command to a German soldier of the European army." On August 17, 1953, Ridgway succeeded General J. Lawton Collins as the Chief of Staff of

3640-593: The Far East Command , which significantly influenced the wider army's subsequent desegregation. He also continued the bombing of North Korea , which destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and killed many civilians. In 1951 Ridgway was elected an honorary member of the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati . Ridgway also assumed from MacArthur the role of military governor of Japan,

3780-691: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) called an end to the deployment of SS-20s, Pershing IIs and GLCMs. In 1990, NATO and Warsaw Pact members signed a treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE). In 1989, the Soviet Union and other Soviet Bloc countries in Eastern Europe collapsed and the Cold War came to an end. The citizens from both East and West Berlin began tearing down

3920-545: The Joint Chiefs of Staff also created specified commands that had broad and continuing missions but were composed of forces from only one service. Examples include the U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and the U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command. Like the unified commands, the specified commands reported directly to the JCS instead of their respective service chiefs. These commands have not existed since

4060-652: The Joint Forces Command in the 1990s after the Soviet threat to the North Atlantic had disappeared and the need rose for an integrating and experimentation command for forces in the continental United States. Joint Forces Command was disbanded on 3 August 2011 and its components placed under the Joint Staff and other combatant commands. In January 2002, for the first time the entire surface of

4200-605: The Mediterranean doubled to more than 40 warships. United States Army, Europe, grew from one infantry division and three constabulary regiments to two corps with five divisions (including two mobilized National Guard divisions) and in November 1950 activated a new field army, Seventh Army, at Patch Barracks, Stuttgart. The Army activated the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg in 1952 and deployed it to Bad Tölz in November 1953 for unconventional warfare missions in

4340-642: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 1952 the area of responsibility included continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North Africa and Turkey. The AOR was subsequently expanded to include Southwest Asia as far east as Iran and as far south as Saudi Arabia. After the Korean War began, the perceived threat to Europe grew. In early 1951, NATO established Allied Command Europe . General Dwight D. Eisenhower

United States European Command - Misplaced Pages Continue

4480-476: The Pacific War proved more difficult to organize, as neither General of the Army Douglas MacArthur nor Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was willing to be subordinate to the other, for reasons of interservice rivalry . The Joint Chiefs of Staff continued to advocate in favor of establishing permanent unified commands, and President Harry S. Truman approved the first plan on 14 December 1946. Known as

4620-552: The Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania , in 1955 after accepting the chairmanship of the board of trustees of the Mellon Institute as well as a position on the board of directors of Gulf Oil Corporation , among others. The year after his retirement, he published his autobiography, Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway . In 1967, he wrote The Korean War . In 1960, Ridgway retired from his position at

4760-639: The Seventh United States Army (under whose command the 82nd fell), that, out of the more than 5,300 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division who had jumped into Sicily, he had fewer than 400 under his control. During the planning for the invasion of the Italian mainland , the 82nd was tasked with taking Rome by coup de main in Operation Giant II. Ridgway strongly objected to this unrealistic plan, which would have dropped

4900-805: The Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) within NATO , a military alliance. During the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch , EUCOM controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base . Prior to 1952, the title "European Command (EUCOM)" referred to a single-service, United States Army command. The senior U.S. Army administrative command in the European region had previously been designated European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) from 8 June 1942 – 1 July 1945; United States Forces European Theater (USFET) from 1 July 1945 – 15 March 1947; and then European Command (EUCOM) 15 March 1947 – 1 August 1952. The first unified command in

5040-838: The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers . During his tenure, Ridgway oversaw the restoration of Japan's independence and sovereignty on April 28, 1952. In May 1952, Ridgway succeeded General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for the fledgling North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While in that position Ridgway made progress in developing a coordinated command structure, oversaw an expansion of forces and facilities, and improved training and standardization. He upset other European military leaders by surrounding himself with American staff. His tendency to tell

5180-659: The Tet Offensive together with Johnson's near-defeat in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, where Johnson defeated the anti-war Senator Eugene McCarthy by only 300 votes, the White House was gripped by crisis with Johnson torn between continuing to seek a military solution to the Vietnam war or turning towards a diplomatic solution. Adding to the sense of crisis was a maneuver by the Chairman of

5320-492: The Unified Command Plan of 1956–1957. A 1958 "reorganization in National Command Authority relations with the joint commands" with a "direct channel" to unified commands such as Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) was effected after President Dwight Eisenhower expressed concern about nuclear command and control. CONAD itself was disestablished in 1975. Although not part of the original plan,

5460-558: The United States Air Force , prevented Ridgway from being appointed to a second term. Ridgway retired from the army on June 30, 1955, and was succeeded by his one-time 82nd Airborne Division chief of staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor . Even after he retired, Ridgway was a constant critic of President Eisenhower. In the October 7, 1960, presidential debate, John F. Kennedy mentioned General Ridgway as among supporters of

5600-478: The United States Armed Forces , and conducts broad and continuing missions. There are currently 11 unified combatant commands, and each is established as the highest echelon of military commands, in order to provide effective command and control of all U.S. military forces, regardless of branch of service, during peace or during war time. Unified combatant commands are organized either on

5740-851: The United States Army Infantry School in Fort Benning , Georgia , after which he was a company commander in the 15th Infantry Regiment in Tientsin , China. This was followed by a posting to Nicaragua , where he helped supervise free elections in 1927. In 1930, Ridgway became an advisor to the Governor-General of the Philippines . He graduated from the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , in 1935 and from

United States European Command - Misplaced Pages Continue

5880-536: The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) would be elevated to the status of a unified combatant command from a sub-unified command. It was also announced that the separation of the command from the NSA would be considered. USCYBERCOM was elevated on 4 May 2018. Vice President Mike Pence announced on 18 December 2018 that President Donald Trump had issued a memorandum ordering the stand-up of

6020-600: The United States Forces Korea (USFK) and United States Forces Japan (USFJ) under USINDOPACOM , and United States Forces—Afghanistan (USFA) under USCENTCOM . Matthew Ridgway Ridgway held several major commands after World War II and is most well-known for resurrecting the United Nations (UN) war effort during the Korean War . Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning

6160-403: The United States military were retitled "Commanders" and the use of "CINC" as an acronym for anyone other than the President was forbidden. Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command , also referred to as a combatant command ( CCMD ), is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of

6300-409: The "Outline Command Plan", it would become the first in a series of Unified Command Plans. The original "Outline Command Plan" of 1946 established seven unified commands: Far East Command , Pacific Command , Alaskan Command , Northeast Command , the U.S. Atlantic Fleet , Caribbean Command, and European Command. However, on 5 August 1947, the CNO recommended instead that CINCLANTFLT be established as

6440-646: The 1970s, force protection concerns in Europe increased as terrorist groups, such as the Red Army Faction and the Red Brigades , targeted American facilities and personnel with bombings, kidnapping and assassinations. Palestinian terrorist organizations conducted terror operations in Europe, such as the kidnapping of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. EUCOM and its components continued to provide military assistance throughout Europe, as well as humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, noncombatant evacuation, support to peacekeeping operations, and other non-traditional missions in Europe, Africa and

6580-486: The 3rd Battalion of Tucker's 504th). Despite some successes, Sicily nearly saw an end to the airborne division. Due mainly to circumstances beyond Ridgway's control the 82nd suffered heavy casualties in Sicily, including the division's Assistant Division Commander, Brigadier General Charles L. Keerans . During the 504th's drop on the morning of July 9, which was widely scattered due to friendly fire , Ridgway had to report to Lieutenant General George S. Patton , commander of

6720-459: The 82nd Airborne Division was sent to Northern Ireland, and in the early months of 1944, Ridgway helped plan the airborne operations of Operation Overlord , codename for the Allied invasion of Normandy, where he argued, successfully, for the two American airborne divisions taking part in the invasion, the 82nd and the inexperienced 101st, still commanded by Major General Lee (later replaced by Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor , formerly commander of

6860-439: The 82nd on the outskirts of the Italian capital of Rome in the midst of two German heavy divisions. The operation was canceled only hours before launch. The 82nd did, however, play a significant role in the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno in September which, but for a drop by Ridgway's two parachute regiments, may well have seen the Allies pushed back into the sea. The 82nd Airborne Division subsequently saw brief service in

7000-418: The 82nd, which in Ridgway's mind had received only a third the training time given to most divisions, was sent to North Africa to prepare for the invasion of Sicily . Ridgway helped plan the airborne element of the invasion of Sicily. The invasion, which took place in July 1943, was spearheaded by Colonel Gavin's 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (reinforced into the 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team by

7140-423: The Armed Forces and the Joint Chiefs of Staff" (informally known as the " Key West Agreement "). The responsibilities of the unified commands were further expanded on 7 September 1948 when the commanders' authority was extended to include the coordination of the administrative and logistical functions in addition to their combat responsibilities. Far East Command and U.S. Northeast Command were disestablished under

SECTION 50

#1732765086502

7280-414: The Army Douglas MacArthur , with whom he had served while a captain at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Ridgway spoke highly of British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, stating that his time serving under Montgomery was "most satisfying" and that "He gave me the general outline of what he wanted and let me completely free." Ridgway noted that while Montgomery was a "free spirit who

7420-567: The Army , Secretary of the Navy , and the Secretary of the Air Force ) are legally responsible to "organize, train and equip" combatant forces and, as directed by the Secretary of Defense, assign their forces for use by the combatant commands. The Secretaries of the Military Departments thus exercise administrative control (ADCON) rather than operational control (OPCON—the prerogative of the combatant commander) over their forces. A sub-unified command, or, subordinate unified command, may be established by combatant commanders when authorized to do so by

7560-433: The Chairman does not exercise military command over any combatant forces. Under Goldwater–Nichols, the service chiefs (also four stars in rank) are charged with the responsibility of the strategic direction; unified operation of combatant commands; and the integration of all land, naval, and air forces in an efficient "unified combatant command" force. Furthermore, the Secretaries of the Military Departments (i.e., Secretary of

7700-416: The Chinese, in less than a year after the end of the Korean war. Ridgway's objections to Vulture gave Eisenhower pause, but Radford's vehement insistence on nuclear weapon deployment – that three tactical atomic bombs dropped on the Viet Minh forces besieging the French at Dien Bien Phu would be enough to save Indochina for France – made the president indecisive. Both the Vice President, Richard Nixon , and

7840-420: The European area was established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 1 August 1952. Designated the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), it was established to provide "unified command and authority" over all U.S. forces in Europe. Prior to 1 August 1952, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army presence in Europe maintained separate commands that reported directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The respective titles of

7980-419: The Gulf War. The Sixth Fleet provides ships to NATO Joint Force Command Naples ' Operation Active Endeavour , deterring threats to shipping in the Straits of Gibraltar and the remainder of the Mediterranean. Joint Task Force Aztec Silence , a special operations force established under the command of Commander, Sixth Fleet, has been involved in fighting Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara . It also has

8120-421: The I.G. Farben Building in Frankfurt, Germany, with Headquarters United States Army, Europe. By 1953 over 400,000 U.S. troops were stationed in Europe. In 1954, the headquarters moved to Camp des Loges , a French Army base west of Paris and a short distance from SHAPE. There, EUCOM prepared plans for the defense of Western Europe within the NATO framework against the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact . EUCOM used

8260-429: The Joint Chiefs of Staff , Gen. Colin L. Powell , who served from 1989 to 1993, further strengthened the role of combatant commanders. Goldwater-Nichols also established United States Special Operations Command, which led to the activation of a new sub-unified command, Special Operations Command, Europe. During the 1980s, negotiations continued with the Soviet Union on strategic and theater-level arms limitation. In 1987,

8400-495: The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Earle Wheeler , to force Johnson to rule out the diplomatic solution and to continue with the military solution. On 23 February 1968 Wheeler told General William Westmoreland to advise Johnson to send another 206,000 troops to Vietnam, even through Westmoreland insisted that he did not need the extra troops. Under Wheeler's prodding, Westmoreland did make the request for another 206,000 soldiers, insisting in his report to Johnson that he could not win

8540-439: The Joint Staff) and for an increased portion of the North Atlantic, to include Iceland and the Portuguese Azores (formerly held by the U.S. Joint Forces Command ). The Iceland Defense Force formed part of EUCOM from 2002 until 2006 when it was disestablished. Joint Task Force East provided from forces rotating from the continental United States through bases in Bulgaria and Romania, was initially intended to be provided by

SECTION 60

#1732765086502

8680-399: The Marine Corps component of EUCOM. MARFOREUR is integral in the planning and execution of Black Sea Rotational Force . A subordinate unified command of EUCOM is SOCEUR (Special Operations Command Europe), headquartered at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. Special forces units within the AOR include the 352nd Special Operations Group of the USAF, based at RAF Mildenhall in

8820-407: The Mellon Institute but continued to serve on multiple corporate boards of directors, Pittsburgh civic groups and Pentagon strategic study committees. Ridgway continued to advocate for a strong military to be used judiciously. He gave many speeches, wrote, and participated in various panels, discussions, and groups. In early 1968, he was invited to a White House luncheon to discuss Indochina . After

8960-555: The Middle East from EUCOM to a new combatant command, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), but EUCOM retained responsibility for Israel , Lebanon and Syria . At the same time, EUCOM was formally assigned responsibility for Africa south of the Sahara . Thus the area of responsibility became Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland ), the Mediterranean Sea (including the islands), and the Mediterranean littoral (excluding Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti). The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, together with Chairman of

9100-495: The Middle East. For example, after the Congo became independent in 1960, EUCOM joined in several multinational operations in that country, including peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and noncombatant evacuation in 1960, November 1964 ( Operation Dragon Rouge ), the 1967 second Stanleyville mutiny and again in 1978 (during Shaba II ). In the Middle East, EUCOM provided military assistance to Israel and noncombatant evacuation of American citizens in 1967, 1973, and 1982–1984. In

9240-419: The Military Assistance Program to help its NATO partners build their military capabilities, including after 1955 the German Bundeswehr . In 1955, EUCOM established a Support Operations Command Europe, soon renamed Support Operations Task Force Europe (later Special Operations Command Europe ) for special operations missions. In 1961, EUCOM began operating an airborne command post, Operation Silk Purse . During

9380-429: The Secretary of Defense or the president. They are created to conduct a portion of the mission or tasking of their parent geographic or functional command. Sub-unified commands may be either functional or geographic, and the commanders of sub-unified commands exercise authority similar to that of combatant commanders. Examples of former and present sub-unified commands are the Alaskan Command (ALCOM) under USNORTHCOM ,

9520-606: The Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles , were all for Vulture and lobbied Eisenhower hard to accept it. Eisenhower himself felt guilty over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and during one meeting told Admiral Radford and Air Force General Nathan F. Twining : "You boys must be crazy. We can't use those awful things against Asians for a second time in less than ten years. My God!" Eisenhower finally agreed to carry out Vulture, but only if Congress gave its approval first and if Great Britain agreed to join in. The leaders of Congress gave an equivocal answer, rejecting

9660-406: The Soviet Bloc countries. To provide for national command within NATO and to help control this build-up of forces, Gen. Eisenhower proposed a separate command for all United States forces in Europe. Because the senior United States commander would continue as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Eisenhower recommended giving "a maximum of delegated authority" to a four-star deputy. Eisenhower returned to

9800-431: The Strategic Air Command was disestablished in 1992. The relevant section of federal law, however, remains unchanged, and the President retains the power to establish a new specified command. The Goldwater–Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 clarified and codified responsibilities that commanders-in-chief (CINCs) undertook, and which were first given legal status in 1947. After that act, CINCs reported directly to

9940-409: The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff . In the European Theater , Allied military forces fell under the command of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). After SHAEF was dissolved at the end of the war, the American forces were unified under a single command, the US Forces, European Theater (USFET), commanded by General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower . A truly unified command for

10080-559: The U.S. military emerged during World War II with the establishment of geographic theaters of operation composed of forces from multiple service branches that reported to a single commander who was supported by a joint staff. A unified command structure also existed to coordinate British and U.S. military forces operating under the Combined Chiefs of Staff , which was composed of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and

10220-645: The UK, a U.S. Navy SEALs unit, and Naval Special Warfare Unit 2 and 1st BN, 10th Special Forces Group located at Panzer Kaserne , Germany. EUCOM is also headquartered at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart - Vaihingen , Germany. The Kaiserslautern Military Community is the largest U.S. community outside of the U.S., while the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is the largest U.S. military hospital overseas, treating wounded Soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan . U.S. European Command administers

10360-746: The United States Secretary of Defense , and through him to the President of the United States. Then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney announced in 1993 that the strategic command system should continue to evolve toward a joint global structure. The 1997 UCP assigned the former Soviet European republics and the whole of Russia to EUCOM which thus stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The former Soviet Central Asian republics were assigned to CENTCOM. The U.S. Atlantic Command became

10500-478: The United States Army . After Eisenhower was elected president, he asked Ridgway for his assessment of United States military involvement in Vietnam in conjunction with the French. Ridgway prepared a comprehensive outline of the massive commitment that would be necessary for success, which dissuaded the President from intervening. A source of tension was Ridgway's belief that air power and nuclear bombs did not reduce

10640-540: The United States intervened in Vietnam, then so too would China. Ridgway wrote that if China entered the Indochina War, then the United States would have to commit 12 divisions to Vietnam. Against Radford, Ridgway argued having the United States bogged down in a land war in Asia once again fighting the Chinese would be a costly distraction from Europe, a place that he maintained was far more important than Vietnam. In

10780-525: The United States just as the new command was established. The first United States Commander-in-Chief Europe (USCINCEUR) was General Matthew Ridgway , former commander of Eighth Army and the Far East Command during the Korean War. His deputy was General Thomas T. Handy , commander of United States Army, Europe. At this point the position of USCINCEUR was "dual hatted" with Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Headquarters EUCOM initially shared

10920-680: The War Plans Division until January 1942, and was promoted to the one-star general officer rank of brigadier general that month, after being promoted to temporary colonel on December 11 the month before. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the American entry into World War II, Ridgway was promoted rapidly from lieutenant colonel to major general in the space of only four months. In February 1942 he

11060-575: The West Point class of 1917, referring to Ridgway as an "outstanding battle soldier, brilliant, fearless and loyal", who had "trained and produced one of the finest Fifth Army outfits", was unwilling to give up either Ridgway or the 82nd. As a compromise, Colonel Tucker's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, along with supporting units, was retained in Italy, to be sent to rejoin the rest of the 82nd Airborne Division as soon as possible. In late 1943, after

11200-669: The Wing-support command, and Third Air Force , USAFE's Warfighting Headquarters are both based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. They are now much reduced from their high Cold War strength and provide a pool of airpower closer to many trouble spots than aircraft flying from the United States. The United States Marine Corps Forces, Europe is headquartered in Panzer Kaserne in Böblingen (Stuttgart), Germany, and serves as

11340-549: The age of 98. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery , in Arlington, Virginia . In a graveside eulogy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Colin Powell , said: "No soldier ever performed his duty better than this man. No soldier ever upheld his honor better than this man. No soldier ever loved his country more than this man did. Every American soldier owes a debt to this great man." During his career, Ridgway

11480-1018: The army provision of the Joint Task Force East has been replaced by a Marine force known as the Black Sea Rotational Force . In 2003, the headquarters reorganized to establish the EUCOM Plans and Operations Center (EPOC). From 2006 to 2008, EUCOM helped stand-up a new geographic unified combatant command, United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which moved to nearby Kelley Barracks and took over responsibility for Department of Defense activities in Africa on 1 October 2008. On January 15, 2021, EUCOM transferred coordination of military activities for Israel to CENTCOM. 1967: U.S. European Command headquarters moves to Patch Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany. 1970: 265,000 US troops stationed in Europe. 1980: 350,000 US troops stationed in Europe. 1983: U.S. Central Command

11620-539: The buildings, built a new operations center, and modernized communications infrastructure. EUCOM continued to prepare for the defense of Europe and began a series of annual REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) exercises in 1967. Cold War crises continued, including the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . But, because of the Vietnam War , the number of the American forces in Europe slowly declined. Troop strength in Europe fell to 265,000 by 1970. During

11760-589: The case of senior admirals nominated for these positions. The operational chain of command runs from the President to the Secretary of Defense to the combatant commanders of the combatant commands. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff may transmit communications to the Commanders of the combatant commands from the President and Secretary of Defense and advises both on potential courses of action, but

11900-553: The corps into Germany during Operation Varsity , the airborne component of Operation Plunder , and was wounded in the shoulder by German grenade fragments on March 24, 1945. He led the corps in the Western Allied invasion of Germany . On June 4, 1945, he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general . At war's end, Ridgway was on a plane headed for a new assignment in the Pacific theater of war , under General of

12040-706: The death of Lieutenant General Walton Walker on December 23. Ridgway was assigned as Walker's replacement in command of the Eighth United States Army , which had been deployed in South Korea in response to the invasion by North Korea in June of that year. When Ridgway took command of Eighth Army, the Army was still in a tactical retreat, after its strong foray into North Korea had been met with an unexpected and overwhelming Communist Chinese advance in

12180-534: The debate swirled over Westmoreland's troop request, Clark Clifford , a longstanding friend of Johnson's and a known hawk arrived at the Pentagon on 1 March as the newly appointed Defense Secretary. Clifford's friend, Senator J. William Fulbright arranged for him to meet privately with Ridgway together with General Gavin. Both Ridgway and Gavin advised Clifford that victory in Vietnam was unobtainable and he should use his influence with Johnson to persuade him to seek

12320-483: The decades following enactment of Goldwater–Nichols, these JPME requirements have yet to come to overall fruition. This is particularly true in the case of senior naval officers, where sea duty / shore duty rotations and the culture of the naval service has often discounted PME and JPME as a measure of professional development for success. Although slowly changing, the JPME requirement still continues to be frequently waived in

12460-556: The depots are underground, others were built as open hangars. According to Arkin, site 51 holds ammunition and equipment in underground depots. Site 53 is munitions storage and war reserve vehicles at Israeli Air Force bases, site 54 is an emergency military hospital near Tel Aviv with 500 beds, and Sites 55 and 56 are ammunition depots. Previously, this position held the title " Commander-in-Chief (CINC), United States European Command". However, following an order dated 24 October 2002 by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld , all CINCs in

12600-443: The division was, on August 15, 1942, redesignated as the 82nd Airborne Division . Initially composed of the 325th , 326th and 327th Infantry Regiments , all of which were due to be converted into glider infantry , the 327th was soon transferred out of the 82nd to help form the 101st Airborne Division , commanded by Major General William C. Lee . Unlike his men, Ridgway did not first go through airborne jump school before joining

12740-480: The division. He successfully converted the 82nd into a combat-ready airborne division and remained in command and eventually earned his paratrooper wings. To replace the 327th, Ridgway received the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment , commanded by Colonel Theodore Dunn , later replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Tucker . In February 1943 the 326th was also transferred out and replaced by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment , under Colonel James M. Gavin . In April

12880-665: The early stages of the Italian Campaign , helping the Allies to break through the Volturno Line in October. The division then returned to occupation duties in the recently liberated Italian city of Naples and saw little further action thereafter and in November departed Italy for Northern Ireland . Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark , commander of the Fifth United States Army , a fellow graduate of

13020-527: The earth was divided among the US geographic commands. Rumsfeld assigned the last unassigned region— Antarctica —to PACOM, which stretched from Pole to Pole and covered half of the globe. On 24 October 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that in accordance with Title 10 of the US Code (USC), the title of " Commander-in-Chief " would thereafter be reserved for the President, consistent with

13160-541: The end of the occupation of Germany in 1949. Questions arose over the U.S. commitment to the defense of Western Europe against the Soviet Union (USSR). Providing for the common defense was a great concern, especially after the Berlin Crisis of 1948–49 when the Soviet Union blocked access to the divided city and the U.S. and United Kingdom responded with an unprecedented airlift. In 1949 the allies established

13300-535: The first Navy Admiral to lead the HQ. 2012: V Corps (US Army) is deployed from EUCOM to Afghanistan , providing command and control of all United States ground forces engaged in the theater. 2013: V Corps (US Army) is inactivated after redeploying from Afghanistan, leaving EUCOM without a Corps HQ for the first time since 1951. 2020: V Corps (US Army) is reactivated in Fort Knox . Corps forward headquarters

13440-629: The front lines and less in their command posts in the rear. These steps had an immediate effect on morale. With the entry of China, the complexion of the Korean War had changed. Political leaders, in an attempt to prevent expansion of the war, did not allow UN forces to bomb the supply bases in China, nor the bridges across the Yalu River on the border between China and North Korea. The American army moved from an aggressive stance to fighting protective, delaying actions. Ridgway's second big tactical change

13580-557: The idea of Vulture as an American operation, but willing to support it if it was an Anglo-American operation. Finally, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill rejected the idea of British intervention in Vietnam, which killed Vulture. On 7 May 1954, what was left of the French forces at Dien Bien Phu surrendered, which brought down the government of Premier Joseph Laniel in Paris, and led to

13720-559: The late 1970s, the Soviet Union deployed SS-20 intermediate-range ballistic missiles into Eastern Europe and in 1979 invaded Afghanistan . NATO responded with a "two-track" decision to step up negotiations while deploying American intermediate-range Pershing II missiles and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCM) to counter Soviet actions. During the 1980s, American forces in Europe increased to over 350,000. EUCOM established Fleet Marine Force Europe (later MARFOREUR ) in 1980. The 1983 Unified Command Plan transferred responsibility for

13860-512: The latter assured his new commander that the actions of Eighth Army were his to conduct as he saw fit. Ridgway was encouraged to retire to successive defensive positions, as was currently under way, and hold Seoul as long as he could, but not if doing so meant that Eighth Army would be isolated in an enclave around the capital city. Ridgway asked specifically that if he found the combat situation "to my liking" whether MacArthur would have any objection to "my attacking". MacArthur answered, "Eighth Army

14000-475: The leader of the "Never Again Club" within the U.S. Army that regarded the Korean War which ended in a draw as something of a debacle and were strongly opposed to fighting another land war in Asia, especially against China. In the spring of 1954, Ridgway was very much opposed to Operation Vulture , the proposed American intervention in Vietnam with tactical nuclear weapons to rescue the French from certain defeat at

14140-602: The low-profile U.S. military storage installations in Israel. William Arkin in his book Code Names revealed the locations of some of the American bases in Israel. Arkin writes that the sites do not appear on maps, and their exact locations are classified. According to the book, some of the sites are located at Ben Gurion Airport , Nevatim, Ovda air base , and in Herzliya Pituah . The sites are numbered as "site 51," "site 53," "site 54," "site 55" and "site 56." Some of

14280-554: The luncheon, Ridgway met privately for two hours with President Johnson and Vice President Hubert Humphrey . When asked his opinion, Ridgway advised against deeper involvement in Vietnam and against using force to resolve the Pueblo Incident . In an article in Foreign Affairs , Ridgway stated that political goals should be based on vital national interests and that military goals should be consistent with and support

14420-526: The missions, command responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility of the combatant commands. Each time the Unified Command Plan is updated, the organization of the combatant commands is reviewed for military efficiency and efficacy, as well as alignment with national policy. Each unified combatant command is led by a combatant commander (CCDR), who is a four-star general or admiral . The combatant commanders are entrusted with

14560-456: The need for powerful, mobile ground forces to seize land and control populations. Ridgway was concerned that Eisenhower's proposal to significantly reduce the size of the army would leave it unable to counter the growing Soviet military threat, as noted by the 1954 Alfhem affair in Guatemala . These concerns would lead to recurring disagreements during his term as chief of staff. Ridgway was

14700-441: The plans for Vulture and gave him the impression that the United States was committed to carrying it out. In a dissenting opinion, Ridgway argued that the plan would not work as he maintained that airpower alone, even with the use of tactical nuclear weapons, would not be enough to save the French. Ridgway argued that only the commitment of seven American infantry divisions could save the French at Dien Bien Phu, and predicted that if

14840-583: The political goals, but that neither situation was true in the Vietnam War. Ridgway advocated maintaining a chemical, biological, and radiological weapons capability, arguing that they could accomplish national goals better than the weapons currently in use. In 1976, Ridgway was a founding board member of the Committee on the Present Danger , which urged greater military preparedness to counter

14980-404: The position that the United States should not attempt to defend Quemoy (Kinmen) and Matsu from an attack by China (PRC). In November 1967, Ridgway was recruited to join the "Wise Men", a group of retired diplomats, politicians and generals who assembled from time to time to give their advice on the Vietnam War to President Lyndon B. Johnson . Though the "Wise Men" group whose informal leader

15120-400: The reserves and National Guard would disrupt the economy, which in turn would force Johnson to end the peacetime economy, and taking such a step would make it politically impossible to turn towards a diplomatic solution. The economic sacrifices that a wartime economy would entail could only be justified to the American people by saying the goal was to fight on until victory. At the same time as

15260-408: The responsibility for maritime planning in the same general area of operations. The changes were made effective on 1 October 2000. The Atlantic Command areas that presently include the waters off Europe and the west coast of Africa were also transferred to European Command. Immediately after the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, D.C., on 11 September 2001, NATO invoked Article V of

15400-1081: The second time. At West Point he served as a manager of the football team. He graduated from there on April 20, 1917, two weeks after the American entry into World War I , and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch of the United States Army . Among his fellow graduates were many other men who, like Ridgway himself, would eventually become generals , such as J. Lawton Collins , Aaron Bradshaw Jr. , Daniel Noce , Charles S. Kilburn , Mark W. Clark , Ernest N. Harmon , Norman Cota , Charles H. Gerhardt , George H. Weems , William Kelly Harrison Jr. , John T. Cole , William W. Eagles , Albert C. Smith , Bryant Moore , Elbert L. Ford , Robert W. Hasbrouck , John M. Devine , Raymond E. S. Williamson , Norman Schwarzkopf Sr. , Theodore Leslie Futch and Laurence B. Keiser . Beginning his career during World War I , Ridgway

15540-487: The service commands were: Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE); Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean ; and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. European Command. In line with the creation of the joint-service European Command, the Army command in Europe has redesignated U.S. Army Europe on 1 August 1952. The unified command structure was born of the need to address changes wrought not only by America's rapid post-war demobilization but

15680-533: The sound of the reveille gun and lying down to sleep at night while the sweet, sad notes of 'Taps' brought the day officially to an end." He graduated in 1912 from English High School in Boston and applied to United States Military Academy at West Point because he thought that would please his father (who was a West Point graduate). Ridgway failed the entrance exam the first time due to his inexperience with mathematics , but after intensive self-study he succeeded

15820-597: The status of their attack plans; the corps G-3 (operations officer) responded that he had no such plans. Within days, I Corps had a new G-3. He also replaced officers who did not send out patrols to fix enemy locations, and removed "enemy positions" from commanders' planning maps if local units had not been in recent contact to verify that the enemy was still there. Ridgway established a plan to rotate out those division commanders who had been in action for six months and replace them with fresh leaders. He sent out guidance to commanders at all levels that they were to spend more time at

15960-773: The terms of Article II of the United States Constitution . Thereafter, the military CINCs would be known as "combatant commanders", as heads of the unified combatant commands. A sixth geographical unified command, United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), was approved and established in 2007 for Africa. It operated under U.S. European Command as a sub-unified command during its first year, and transitioned to independent Unified Command Status in October 2008. In 2009, it focused on synchronizing hundreds of activities inherited from three regional commands that previously coordinated U.S. military relations in Africa. President Donald Trump announced on 18 August 2017 that

16100-865: The treaty and deployed NATO early warning aircraft to help monitor the skies over North America. EUCOM provided major forces for subsequent operations in Afghanistan and stepped up its efforts to protect United States interests in Europe and Africa. Subsequent terrorist attacks in the EUCOM theater in Casablanca , Madrid, London and Algiers prompted EUCOM to launch Operation Enduring Freedom Trans-Sahara in 2007 while continuing to provide rotational forces to Afghanistan and Iraq. The 2002 Unified Command Plan transferred responsibility for Lebanon and Syria to CENTCOM, but EUCOM retained responsibility for Israel , and assumed responsibility for Russia (formerly held by

16240-531: The truth was not always politically wise. In a 1952 review, General Omar Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , reported to President Harry S. Truman that "Ridgway had brought NATO to 'its realistic phase' and a 'generally encouraging picture of how the heterogeneous defense force is being gradually shaped.'" Ridgway urged the Anglo-French-American high commissioners for Germany to pardon all German officers convicted of war crimes on

16380-932: The war around in favor of the UN side. He also persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to refrain from direct military intervention in the First Indochina War to support French colonial forces, thereby essentially delaying the United States' Vietnam War by over a decade. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 12, 1986. Ridgway died in 1993 at the age of 98. Ridgway was born March 3, 1895, in Fort Monroe, Virginia , to Colonel Thomas Ridgway , an artillery officer, and Ruth Starbuck (Bunker) Ridgway. He lived in various military bases all throughout his childhood. He later remarked that his "earliest memories are of guns and marching men, of rising to

16520-488: The war without them. Wheeler's real purpose in having Westmoreland make the troop request was to force Johnson to call out the reserves and the state National Guard. By 1968, there was no way to send another 206,000 men to join the half-million G.I.s already in Vietnam without abandoning the American commitments in Europe, South Korea and elsewhere except by mobilizing the reserves and the National Guard. Calling out

16660-706: Was Operation Market Garden where his 101st Airborne Division dropped near Eindhoven to secure the Bridges between Eindhoven and Veghel on the road to Arnhem. Ridgway dropped with his troops and was in the forefront of the Divisions part of the fighting. The XVIII Airborne Corps helped stop and push back German troops during the Battle of the Bulge in December. In March 1945, with the British 6th Airborne Division and United States 17th Airborne Division under command, he led

16800-455: Was also active in operations in the Balkans, including Bosnia, Macedonia and Kosovo . During this time, EUCOM's assigned forces were lowered below 120,000. Since 1990, EUCOM has hosted or co-hosted the annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference , the only one of its kind in the world, working to foster cooperation among religious leaders and understanding of religion as both

16940-432: Was assigned as Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Infantry Division , which was then in the process of formation. The division was under the command of Major General Omar Bradley , a fellow infantryman whom Ridgway highly respected. The two men trained the thousands of men joining the division over the next few months. In August, two months after Bradley's reassignment to command of the 28th Infantry Division , Ridgway

17080-468: Was assigned to duty on the border with Mexico as a member of the 3rd Infantry Regiment , and then to the West Point faculty as an instructor in Spanish. He was disappointed that he was not assigned to combat duty during the war, feeling that "the soldier who had had no share in this last great victory of good over evil would be ruined." During 1924 and 1925 Ridgway attended the company officers' course at

17220-512: Was assigned to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration under then Chief of Staff of the United States Army , General J. Lawton Collins . In December 1947, Ridgway married Mary Princess "Penny" Anthony Long, his third wife. They remained married until his death 46 years later. In April 1949, their only child, Matthew Bunker Ridgway, Jr., was born. Ridgway's son was killed in an accident in 1971. His wife died in 1997. Ridgway's most important command assignment occurred in 1950 after

17360-402: Was called from retirement to become the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe . The United States sent massive reinforcements to Europe to deter the Soviet Union . From 1950 to 1953 United States military personnel in Europe grew from 120,000 to over 400,000. United States Air Forces in Europe grew from three groups with 35,000 personnel to eleven wings with 136,000 personnel. Sixth Fleet in

17500-415: Was created under the Commander in Chief, Atlantic (CINCLANT). Under the original plan, each of the unified commands operated with one of the service chiefs (the Chief of Staff of the Army or Air Force , or the Chief of Naval Operations ) serving as an executive agent representing the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This arrangement was formalized on 21 April 1948 as part of a policy paper titled the "Function of

17640-574: Was decisive in persuading him to open peace talks. Of the 14 "Wise Men", only General Maxwell Taylor, Robert Murphy, Abe Fortas and General Omar Bradley advised Johnson to continue seeking a military solution with the rest all speaking for a diplomatic solution. Ridgway's status as a war hero whom no-one could accuse of being "soft on Communism" added to the prestige of the "Wise Men" and made Johnson more likely to accept their advice. On 31 March 1968, Johnson went on national television to announce his willingness to open peace talks with North Vietnam, that he

17780-610: Was disbanded. He was then given command of the United States forces in the Mediterranean Theater , with the title Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean. From 1946 to 1948, he served as the United States Army representative on the military staff committee of the United Nations . He was placed in charge of the Caribbean Command in 1948, controlling United States forces in the Caribbean , and in 1949

17920-401: Was impossible without the additional 206,000 troops, to reject the troop request would mean abandoning seeking a military solution. To resolve the debate, Johnson called a meeting of the "Wise Men on 25 March 1968 to advise him what to do. The next day, the majority of the "Wise Men" advised Johnson that victory in Vietnam was impossible and that he should seek a diplomatic solution, counsel that

18060-504: Was liberated on June 14, 1944). Relieved from front-line duty in early July, the 82nd Airborne Division had, during the severe fighting in the Normandy bocage , suffered 46 percent casualties. In August 1944, Ridgway was given the command of XVIII Airborne Corps . Command of the 82nd Airborne Division passed to Brigadier General James M. Gavin, who had served as Ridgway's Assistant Division Commander. The first operation involving Ridgway

18200-473: Was nicknamed "Penny". They remained married until his death. They were the parents of a son, Matthew, Jr., who died in a 1971 accident shortly after graduating from Bucknell University and receiving his commission as a second lieutenant through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps . Ridgway remained active in retirement, both in leadership capacities and as a speaker and author. He relocated to

18340-408: Was not worth the trouble it was taking to defend it. The criticism sufficiently rattled Johnson's powerful National Security Adviser W.W. Rostow that he wrote a 5-page memorandum for the president arguing that Ridgway, Gavin and Shoup did not know what they were talking about and expressed supreme confidence that the bombing offensive would soon force North Vietnam to its knees. In the aftermath of

18480-536: Was promoted to the two-star rank of major general and was given command of the 82nd Division. The 82nd, having finished all of its basic training and already established an excellent combat record in World War I, had earlier been chosen to become one of the army's five new airborne divisions. The conversion of an entire infantry division to airborne status was an unprecedented step for the United States Army, and required much training, testing, and experimentation. Thus

18620-947: Was re-established on 29 August 2019. Each combatant command (CCMD) is headed by a four-star general or admiral (the CCDR) recommended by the Secretary of Defense, nominated for appointment by the President of the United States, confirmed by the Senate and commissioned, at the President's order, by the Secretary of Defense. The Goldwater–Nichols Act and its subsequent implementation legislation also resulted in specific Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) requirements for officers before they could attain flag or general officer rank thereby preparing them for duty in Joint assignments such as UCC staff or Joint Chiefs of Staff assignments, which are strictly controlled tour length rotations of duty. However, in

18760-443: Was recognized as an outstanding leader, earning the respect of subordinates, peers, and superiors. General Omar Bradley described Ridgway's work turning the tide of the Korean War as "the greatest feat of personal leadership in the history of the Army." A soldier in Normandy remarked about an intense battle while trying to cross a key bridge, "The most memorable sight that day was Ridgway, Gavin, and Maloney standing right there where it

18900-509: Was relieved of command by President Harry S. Truman in April, Ridgway was promoted to full general , assuming command of all United Nations forces in Korea. As commanding general in Korea, Ridgway gained the nickname "Tin Tits" for his habit of wearing hand grenades attached to his load-bearing equipment at chest level. He oversaw the desegregation and integration of United States Army units in

19040-472: Was sometimes a bit hard to restrain," he also referred to Montgomery as "a first-class professional officer of great ability ... and Monty could produce ... I don't know anybody who could give me more complete support than Monty did when I was under British command twice ... I had no trouble with Monty at all." Ridgway was a commander at Luzon until October 1945 when the XVIII Airborne Corps

19180-410: Was the former Secretary of State Dean Acheson were widely dismissed as a gimmick to allow Johnson photo-opps, the president did have much respect for the "Wise Men" and took their counsel seriously. In early 1968, Ridgway together with General James M. Gavin and General David M. Shoup expressed their opposition to the strategic bombing offensive against North Vietnam and declared that South Vietnam

19320-657: Was the hottest [heaviest incoming fire]. The point is that every soldier who hit that causeway saw every general officer and the regimental and battalion commanders right there. It was a truly inspirational effort." On the day of the Germans' furthest advance in the Battle of the Bulge, Ridgway commented to his subordinate officers in the XVIII Airborne Corps: "The situation is normal and completely satisfactory. The enemy has thrown in all his mobile reserves, and this

19460-483: Was to make copious use of artillery. China's casualties began to rise, and became very high as they pressed waves of attacks into the coordinated artillery fire. Under Ridgway's leadership, the Chinese offensive was slowed and finally brought to a halt at the battles of Chipyong-ni and Wonju . He then led his troops in Operation Thunderbolt , a counter-offensive in early 1951. When General MacArthur

19600-607: Was unconditionally stopping bombing most of North Vietnam and finally declaring that he was withdrawing from the 1968 election. In 1917 he married Julia Caroline Blount (1895–1986). They had two daughters, Constance and Shirley, before divorcing in 1930. Shortly after his divorce, Ridgway married Margaret ("Peggy") Wilson Dabney (1891–1968), the widow of a West Point graduate (Henry Harold Dabney, class of 1915), and in 1936 he adopted Peggy's daughter Virginia Ann Dabney (1919–2004). Ridgway and Peggy divorced in June 1947. Later that year he married Mary Princess Anthony Long (1918–1997), who

#501498