Willard McKenzie Burleson III[1] (born October 9, 1965)[2] is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as commanding General of the Eighth United States Army and chief of Staff of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command from 2020 to 2024.

Willard M. Burleson III
Born (1965-10-09) October 9, 1965 (age 59)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1988–2024
RankLieutenant General
CommandsEighth United States Army
7th Infantry Division
1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division
1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment
Battles / warsGulf War
War in Afghanistan
Iraq War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (4)
Bronze Star Medal (3)

Previously, Burleson served as the Director of Operations of the United Nations Command, ROK/US Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea.[3][4][5]

Education

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Burleson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy. He also earned a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College and a master's degree in Military Art and Science from the Army Command and General Staff College.

Military career

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Burleson graduated from the United States Military Academy and was commissioned into the Infantry in May 1988. Burleson's first assignment was in the 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord, California, which included service in the Multi-National Force and Observers, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, and the invasion of Panama. He also served in 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Savannah, Georgia. He later commanded airborne companies in Vicenza, Italy, which included service as part of the initial entry force for operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

After competing duties in Italy, Burleson returned to the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then served as aide-de-camp to the commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. Burleson later served in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Burleson next served as aide-de-camp to the commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, with duty in the Combined Joint Task Force 180 and Multi-National Corps Iraq. Following that tour of duty, Burleson commanded the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, which included a tour with Multi-National Division, Baghdad, Iraq.

After attending the United States Army War College, Burleson returned to the 10th Mountain Division as commander of the 1st Brigade, which included a deployment to Regional Command-North, Afghanistan. Upon completion of brigade command, he served as the commander of the Joint Readiness Training Center's Operations Group at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Burleson later served as the Deputy Commanding General (Operations), 7th Infantry Division (United States), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Director of the Mission Command Center of Excellence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and as senior advisor to the Ministry of Defense, Afghanistan. Before serving in the Republic of Korea, Burleson served as the commanding general of 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

He relinquished command of Eighth Army to Christopher LaNeve on April 5, 2024.[6]

Awards and decorations

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  Combat Infantryman Badge with star (denoting 2nd award)
  Ranger tab
  Air Assault Badge
  Master Parachutist Badge
  7th Infantry Division Combat Service Identification Badge
  German Parachutist badge
  British Parachutist Badge
  Unidentified foreign parachutist badge
  75th Ranger Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
  9 Overseas Service Bars
  Army Distinguished Service Medal
  Defense Superior Service Medal
     Legion of Merit with three bronze oak leaf clusters
    Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters
  Defense Meritorious Service Medal
     Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
  Joint Service Commendation Medal
      Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster
  Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Meritorious Unit Commendation with oak leaf cluster
    Superior Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with service star
Southwest Asia Service Medal with service star
Kosovo Campaign Medal with service star
     Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three campaign stars
    Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal with service star
  Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
  Korea Defense Service Medal
  Armed Forces Service Medal
  Army Service Ribbon
   Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 5
  NATO Medal for ex-Yugoslavia
  Multinational Force and Observers Medal
  Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Personal life

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Burleson and his wife both come from army families and they have a son and a daughter.

References

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  1. ^ "Willard M. Burleson III". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Register of Graduates and Former Cadets, United States Military Academy". 1989.
  3. ^ "Lieutenant General Willard M. Burleson III – General Officer Management Office". www.gomo.army.mil.
  4. ^ https://8tharmy.korea.army.mil/site/leadership/leaders-LTG-burleson.asp
  5. ^ "Burleson takes reins of Eighth Army as new CG". DVIDS.
  6. ^ Thuloweit, Kenji (March 29, 2024). "Lt. Gen. Burleson honored with Korean name for commitment to ROK-US Alliance". DVIDS. Camp Humphreys, South Korea: Eighth Army. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
Military offices
Preceded by Director to the Ministry of Defense of the Mission Command Center of Excellence
2014–2016
Succeeded by
Preceded by Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Defense of the United States Forces Afghanistan
2016–2017
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commanding General of the 7th Infantry Division
2017–2019
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Operations of the United Nations Command, ROK/US Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea
2019–2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commanding General of the Eighth United States Army and Chief of Staff of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command
2020–2024
Succeeded by