William G. T. Tuttle Jr.

William G.T. Tuttle, Jr.
William G.T. Tuttle, Jr.
	General William G.T. Tuttle, Jr.
Born	November 26, 1935 (age 88); Crossville, Tennessee
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1958-1992
Rank	General
Commands	U.S. Army Materiel Command
Battles / wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Legion of Merit; Bronze Star (3); Air Medal

General William Gilbert Townsend Tuttle, Jr. (born November 26, 1935)^[1] is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Commanding General, United States Army Materiel Command (CG AMC) from 1989 to 1992.

Military career

Tuttle was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on November 26, 1935. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1958, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant of infantry and awarded a B.S. degree in Engineering. He also has Master of Business Administration from Harvard. His military education includes the Basic Officer Course at the Infantry School, the Transportation Basic and Advanced Officer Courses, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.

Following graduate school, he commanded the 584th Transportation Detachment (Intelligence) and later served as the Transportation Plans Officer at Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea. In 1965, he joined the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy teaching economics and government. He also served a summer period as a strategic mobility analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Analysis) and returned to West Point as an Assistant Professor of Social Sciences, where he directed the Economics of National Security Course. Upon completing his tour at West Point in June 1968, he was assigned respectively as Executive Officer of the 9th Supply and Transport Battalion and 9th Infantry Division Transportation Officer in Vietnam.

In July 1969, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia and in February 1970 was assigned to the Department of the Army, serving first as a Military Programs Staff Officer in the Directorate of Manpower and Forces of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development, where he programmed the major portion of the Army's post-Vietnam reduction as well as the withdrawal of a division from Korea. In February 1971, he joined the Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff as the logistics analyst in the Office of the Coordinator of Army Studies. In the latter part of this tour, he helped develop the concept for the Army's 1973 reorganization which created TRADOC and FORSCOM.

Assigned to Europe in 1972, he was Assistant Chief of Staff, Logistics, 3rd Armored Division, and later commanded that division's 503rd Supply and Transport Battalion. He then attended the War College and wrote a chapter the War College's text, Army Command and Management. He served consecutively as Chief of Logistics, Division Restructuring Study, and as Chief of Personnel and Logistics Systems Division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Combat Developments, TRADOC. He returned to Europe and served as Commander, Division Support Command, 3rd Armored Division from October 1977 through July 1979. Promoted to brigadier general, he became the Commanding General, Eastern Area Military Traffic Management Command, until March 1981.

His next assignments included Deputy Commanding General for Logistics, TRADOC, and Commanding General, U.S. Army Logistics Center and Fort Lee; Director of Force Management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, HQDA; Chief of the Policy and Programs Branch, Policy Division, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe; and Commanding General, U.S. Army Operational Test and Evaluation Agency. His career culminated in his assignment as Commander, United States Army Materiel Command, from 27 September 1989 to 31 January 1992.

Awards and decorations which he has received include the Distinguished Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, the Bronze Star (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. He also wears the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Gold Cross of Honor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Senior Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab. In 1987 the City of Portsmouth, Virginia chose him as one of its "Notables." General Tuttle was selected in 1991 to be the Army's 45th Kermit Roosevelt Lecturer at the British Senior Service Schools. General Tuttle retired from the Army in 1992.

General Tuttle continues to be involved with the Department of Defense as the Board Chairman of the Defense Acquisition University and a member of the LOGTECH Subject Matter Expert Board of the Institute for Defense and Business. In 2011 the The First Annual General William G.T. Tuttle, Jr., USA (Ret.) Award for Business Acumen in Defense and Government (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-first-annual-general-william-gt-tuttle-jr-usa-ret-award-for-business-acumen-in-defense-and-government-115269869.html) was awarded in his honor and General Tuttle presided over the ceremony.