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Eric J. Wesley

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Eric J. Wesley
Lieutenant General Eric J. Wesley in Army Service Uniform
Born1964 (age 59–60)
Yorba Linda, California, United States
Allegiance United States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1986–2020
RankLieutenant General
CommandsFort Benning
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division
1st Tank Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment
Battles / warsWar in Afghanistan
Iraq War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)

Eric J. Wesley (born 1964) is the Executive Vice President of Flyer Defense, a manufacturer of mission specialized, lightweight, off-road wheeled tactical vehicles capable of internal transport in rotary and tilt wing aircraft.[1] Wesley is a former United States Army Lieutenant General who retired from the U.S. Army on September 1, 2020.

Early life

The son of Donna and Richard Wesley, an aerospace engineer, Eric John Wesley[2] grew up in Yorba Linda, California, where he was a student and water polo player. He attended Troy High School in Fullerton, California and was interested in military service from an early age.[3] Wesley commissioned as an armor lieutenant from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986. He retired from the Army September 1, 2020.[4]

Junior and field officer career

Wesley's first assignments included tank platoon leader, scout platoon leader, and battalion logistics officer for 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, of the 1st Armored Division in Wiesbaden, Germany. He then commanded a tank company in 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas until December of 1993. For the next few years, he was assigned to the United States Army's Special Operations Command where he was deployed in support of Operations Joint Guard and Joint Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina.[5]

In 1998, Wesley was assigned to the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he held several leadership positions including battalion and brigade operations officer and brigade executive officer. Four years later, he deployed with the same brigade to Operation Desert Spring in Kuwait and then, in 2003, his brigade led the United States Army's 3rd Infantry Division's invasion into Baghdad, Iraq in what would later be called Operation Iraqi Freedom. His leadership roles in the invasion were captured in books written by embedded journalists including David Zucchino's book "Thunder Run," an account of the division's strike into Baghdad and Bing West's "No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah".[5][6][7] Upon redeployment, he led the effort to move the 3rd Infantry Division to a modular organization.[5]

As a lieutenant colonel, Wesley returned to Fort Riley, Kansas in June 2004 and assumed command of the 1st Tank Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment. He deployed the "13th Tank" back to Baghdad, Iraq and conducted combat operations there from January 2005 to January 2006. Upon his redeployment back to Fort Riley, he relinquished command and became the operations officer of the 1st Infantry Division until June 2007.[5] Following this command from August until June 2008, he attended the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C..[8] and then returned to the "Big Red One" at Fort Riley, Kansas and assumed command of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.[5]

After finishing brigade command Wesley deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan and served as the chief of current plans for the International Security Assistance Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Following this deployment, Wesley served from August 2011 through to June 2013 in the White House on the National Security Council as the Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this capacity, he led inter-agency efforts to develop policy including a decreasing posture of forces in Afghanistan and subsequently deployed back to Afghanistan to be the director for future plans in ISAF's joint command.[5]

General officer

Wesley at the Brookings Institution with foreign policy expert and fellow Michael E. O'Hanlon, speaking about Army modernization on September 24, 2019

Wesley was promoted to brigadier general in 2014 while in Kabul, Afghanistan.[8] While in this role, he reorganized the numbers of deployed personnel in the country under the direction of General Joseph Dunford and Milley. Subsequently selected to serve as the Deputy Commanding General for Support for the 1st Infantry Division, Wesley returned to Fort Riley, Kansas in September of 2014 where he was the acting senior mission commander at the base while the division was deployed.[9][10][11]

Following completion of this assignment Wesley was assigned to the Pentagon as the deputy director for program analysis and evaluation for the Army's G8,[12] where he led the Army's efforts to improve Army acquisition.[5]

In January 2017, Wesley was nominated for promotion to the rank of major general.[13] He was assigned as the Commanding General, United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning, Georgia,[14] where he oversaw the initial integration of women into infantry and armor branches and the Army's Ranger School.[15] While there he led the effort to reorganize the Army's maneuver force into what would later become a multi-domain capable force[5]

Subsequently, on April 12, 2018, Wesley was nominated for a third star and promoted to the rank of lieutenant general,[16] assuming the responsibilities as Director of Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC) and deputy commanding general of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.[17] Wesley was then tapped to lead the task force responsible for standing up the Army's new four-star command in Austin, Texas[18] – Army Futures Command while simultaneously transitioning the Army's Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia, from United States Army Training and Doctrine Command to Army Futures Command[19]

Lieutenant General Wesley takes a photo with United States Military Academy cadets after a discussion on Multi-Domain Operations

As the Deputy Commanding General of Army Futures Command and head of its Futures and Concepts Center, headquartered at Joint Base Langley Eustis in Virginia, Wesley led the Army's effort to accelerate the development of the Army's new war fighting concept – Multi Domain Operations – the most fundamental rewrite of an operational concept since AirLand Battle was published in 1982.[20][21] He was an Army advocate of adapting modernization in accordance with this new concept and actively communicates the precepts with think tanks, academia, heads of other armies, and policy makers. By September 2020 a Joint exercise against cruise missile surrogates demonstrated AI-based kill chains which can be formulated in seconds, and a precision fires kill of a cruise missile surrogate by an Army howitzer at White Sands Missile Range.[22]

Personal life

Wesley is married to Cynthia Wesley and they have three children, Tyler, Austin, and Meredith. He has earned masters degrees from the National War College (National Security and Strategic studies) and Troy University (International relations).[5]

Awards and decorations[5][8]

Combat Action Badge
Ranger tab
Basic Parachutist Badge
Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Presidential Service Badge
3rd Infantry Division Combat Service Identification Badge
34th Armor Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia
9 Overseas Service Bars
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Width-44 scarlet ribbon with width-4 ultramarine blue stripe at center, surrounded by width-1 white stripes. Width-1 white stripes are at the edges. Bronze Star Medal with Valor device and oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Army Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Army Presidential Unit Citation
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
Meritorious Unit Commendation
Bronze star
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Bronze star
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star
Bronze star
Iraq Campaign Medal with service star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4
NATO Medal for service with ISAF

References

  1. ^ Overview of Flyer Defense (September 22, 2020). "Overview". Flyer Defense. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "Eric John Wesley". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  3. ^ West Point Center for Oral History (February 4, 2020). "Finding The Center Of Gravity: Leadership And Modernization In The Army". www.westpointcoh.org. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  4. ^ General Joseph M. Martin Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (9 Jul 2020) Retirement Ceremony honoring Lt. Gen. Eric J. Wesley Effective Tuesday 1 September 2020. A virtual ceremony using live cannon and Army bandsmen.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Futures and Concepts Center (April 2019). "Biography: Lieutenant General Eric J. Wesley" (PDF). Futures and Concepts Center.
  6. ^ Zucchino, David (2004). Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad. New York, NY: Grove Press. pp. 70–73, 95–96, 102, 128, 158–166, 169–176, 192, 203, 218, 329. ISBN 0-8021-4179-X.
  7. ^ West, Bing (2005). No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2005048199: Bantam Dell. pp. Xix, 15–17, 366. ISBN 978-0-307-80834-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ^ a b c United States Army (February 18, 2020). "Lieutenant General Eric J. Wesley". General Officer Management Office. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Stairrett, Amanda (February 18, 2020). "'Ready to change the world again': The future comes to Fort Riley". Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  10. ^ Pinnington, Abram (September 23, 2014). "1st Inf. Div. welcomes new members of command group". Army.mil. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Stairrett, Amanda (February 5, 2015). "Fort Riley leaders urge public to speak up on potential sequestration impact". Army.mil. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  12. ^ Department of Defense (March 30, 2015). "General Officer Assignments". Department of Defense News Releases. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Marchello, Lindsay (June 22, 2016). "MCoE CG humbled by promotion". The Benning News. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Williams, Chuck (March 18, 2016). "Brig. Gen. Eric Wesley assumes command of Fort Benning". Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Ernst, Douglas (October 27, 2016). "Army enters new era: 10 women pass first gender-integrated infantry officer course". The Washington Times. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  16. ^ Voss, Michael (April 18, 2018). "Wesley assumes ARCIC director responsibilities". Peninsula Warrior. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "Wesley assumes ARCIC director responsibilities". Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  18. ^ "Soldiers say the Army's relentless push for readiness is 'breaking the force' in leaked documents". Task & Purpose. 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  19. ^ Egozi, Arie. "US Army's Brain Transplant: Futurists Move To Futures Command". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  20. ^ "How is the Army modernizing?". Brookings. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  21. ^ Judson, Jen (October 8, 2018). "U.S. Army Capabilities Integration Chief talks Multi-Domain Operations". Defense News. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  22. ^ Theresa Hitchens (3 Sep 2020) ABMS Demo Proves AI Chops For C2
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