RAYMOND T. ODIERNO

In a joint statement, the president and first lady Jill Biden recalled that Odierno spoke at the funeral of their son Beau​, who served under Odierno in Iraq and died of brain cancer in 2015.

Former eneral dies: Raymond Odierno commanded American and coalition forces in Iraq at the height of the war and later served as the Army's chief of staff. Four years later, Odierno earned a second master’s degree, in national security and strategic studies, from the Naval War College. Hearing this morning that former Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno has passed. pic.twitter.com/iDc24CEI7w — Doctrine Man (@Doctrine_Man) October 9, 2021As a three-star general, Odierno was assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. After retiring, Odierno became an adviser to JPMorgan Chase, and he was named chairman of USA Football, the newspaper reported.

“The general died after a brave battle with cancer; his death was not related to COVID,” a family statement said. He served in a wide range of Army and Defense Department roles with multiple tours abroad, including in Iraq, Germany, Albania and Kuwait. Odierno served three tours in Iraq, capped by two years, from 2008 to 2010, as the top U.S. commander in Baghdad. Odierno served as commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq from 2006 to 2008. When Odierno retired in 2015, he was succeeded as Army chief of staff by Gen. Mark Milley, the current Joint Chiefs chairman.

The family of Raymond T.

Raymond T. Odierno, a retired Army general who commanded American and coalition forces in Iraq at the height of the war and capped a 39-year career by serving as the Army's chief of staff, has died, his family said Saturday. Odierno died Friday; the family declined to say where. A native of Rockaway, New Jersey, Odierno graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1976 with a commission in field artillery.