Mark Alexander Milley (born June 20, 1958) is a United States Army general who has been serving as the 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since October 1, 2019. He previously served as the 39th chief of staff of the Army from August 14, 2015 to August 9, 2019,[3] and held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout his military career.
An ROTC graduate from Princeton University, Milley earned his commission as an armor officer in 1980. He was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump, making Milley the tenth U.S. Army officer to be chairman. As chairman, Milley is the highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.[4]
Early life and education[edit]
Milley was born on June 20, 1958, in Winchester, Massachusetts.[1] He is of Irish descent, and was raised Roman Catholic.[5][6] His father, Alexander (1924–2015), enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March 1943 as a naval corpsman. He was assigned to the 4th Marine Division and landed at Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. After the war, he worked as a restaurateur and food-broker. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus, whose membership is limited to practicing Catholic men.[7][8] Milley's mother, Mary Elizabeth (née Murphy), was a nurse who served with the Navy's WAVES in World War II and is described by Milley as a "break-the-glass-ceiling" type of woman.[9]
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 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley on The David Rubenstein Show, The David Rubenstein Show, October 20, 2021 |
Milley attended a Catholic grammar school where he played hockey. Good grades and hockey led to him being recruited to Belmont Hill School[10] and afterwards to Princeton University where he played varsity ice hockey.[5][11]
There, he joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)[12] and in 1980 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics after completing a 185-page-long senior thesis titled "A Critical Analysis of Revolutionary Guerrilla Organization in Theory and Practice".[13] Milley also holds a Master of Arts degree in international relations from Columbia University and another Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.[14] He is also an attendee of the MIT Center for International Studies Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program.[15]
Military career[edit]
Milley earned his commission as an armor officer through Princeton's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program in 1980.[16]
Milley's career has included assignments with the 82nd Airborne Division, 5th Special Forces Group,[17] 7th Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Readiness Training Center, 25th Infantry Division, Operations Staff of the Joint Staff, and a posting as Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.[18]
Milley has held multiple command and staff positions in eight divisions and special forces throughout his military career. He commanded 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea from 1996 to 1998.[18][19] He served as commander of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light) from December 2003 to July 2005; deputy commanding general for operations of the 101st Airborne Division from July 2007 to April 2008, and as commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division from November 2011 to December 2012.[20][21][22] Milley commanded III Corps, based at Fort Hood, Texas, from December 2012 to August 2014,[23][24][25] and concurrently the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command from May 2013 to February 2014.[26][27] He served as the commanding general of the United States Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from August 2014 to August 2015.[28][29]
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