John W. Nicholson Jr.
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John W. Nicholson Jr.
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| File:General John W. Nicholson, Jr. (cropped).jpg
General John W. Nicholson
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| Born | May 8, 1957 [1] Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | 1982–2018 |
| Rank | [[File:Invalid parameter|23px]] General |
| Commands held | Resolute Support Mission / U.S. Forces Afghanistan Allied Land Command 82nd Airborne Division 1st Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment |
| Awards | Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal (5) Legion of Merit (3) |
John William Nicholson Jr. (born May 8, 1957) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last commanded U.S. Forces - Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the 41-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission from March 30, 2016 to September 2, 2018, succeeding General John F. Campbell.[2] He was the longest-serving commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, having been the senior officer in theatre for more than 2 years, 5 months.[3] He was previously commanding general, Allied Land Command from October 2014[4] and commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. Nicholson is the son of John W. Nicholson, also a former general officer in the United States Army, distantly related to British Brigadier John Nicholson (1822–1857).[5]
Career
John W. Nicholson Jr. graduated from West Point in 1982 and was commissioned into the infantry.[6] He earned a Bronze Star with "V" device as a paratroop lieutenant during the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
He was a strategist for Eric Shinseki at the point of the 9/11 attacks.[7] He went on to do six tours in Afghanistan.
Nicholson was the deputy director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.[8] He became commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in 2012. In 2014 Nicholson took control of the NATO Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey.[9] As Allied Land Commander, he was responsible for commanding multiple NATO Corps in the event of large-scale war. This involved training of the nine NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Headquarters and drafting defensive plans for the Alliance in the face of emergent threats.
General Nicholson spent much of his service in the joint, multinational and interagency arena, working closely with the State Department, Intelligence Agencies, Law Enforcement, National Security Staff and numerous non-governmental organizations. His other assignments include: Deputy Director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, Director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell, and Deputy Director for Operations on the Joint Staff. Furthermore, he has worked on the personal staff of the Secretary of the Army, and the Commander of U.S. Army Europe.
His earlier career duties included serving ten years on jump status, commanding companies in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment. As a Colonel, Nicholson served in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. He commanded the Army's first Stryker Infantry Battalion, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry, the "Tomahawks" and one of the Army's first modular Brigade Combat Teams (BCT), 3rd BCT, 10th Mountain, the "Spartans". In these latter two commands and as Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, he was instrumental in leading change within the Army to build new capabilities which adapted the Army for current and future warfare. As a Lieutenant Colonel, he served in the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington; and as a Major, he served in the 1st and 3rd Infantry (Mechanized) Divisions in Germany.
Nicholson told the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2016 that "Since 9/11, the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan has largely defined my service."[10][11] Nicholson was given command of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, amid a worsening security situation.[12][13][14][15]
Nicholson apologized in person for U.S. involvement in the Kunduz hospital airstrike.[16][17]
General Nicholson has testified before the following Congressional Committees: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Senate Armed Services Committee. He participated in numerous sessions of the NATO North Atlantic Council, to include the Ambassadors to NATO, Chiefs of Defense, Defense Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Heads of State of the Alliance.
In January 2019, Nicholson was found to be responsible, along with General Francis H. Kearney III and Marine investigator Patrick Pihana, of gross errors in judgment in false accusations against a seven member Marine elite commando force in 2007. The group was expelled from Afghanistan in 2007 amid unproven allegations that they massacred innocent bystanders in the frantic minutes following an ambush. They were cleared of wrongdoing more than a year later, after the case was heard by a military court. However, Nicholson and Kearney did little to set the record straight for 11 years. The group was fully vindicated in report approved in January 2019 by the Navy Department.[18] Nicholson retired from the Army in 2018 before the report was published.[19]
Awards and decorations
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Combat Infantryman Badge (Second Award) |
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Ranger tab |
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Master Parachutist Badge |
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Pathfinder Badge |
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Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge |
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Army Staff Identification Badge |
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82nd Airborne Division Combat Service Identification Badge |
| 50px | 75th Ranger Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia |
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French Parachutist Badge |
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German Parachutist badge in bronze |
| 55px | 11 Overseas Service Bars |
| Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster | |
| 80px | Army Distinguished Service Medal |
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Defense Superior Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters |
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Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters |
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Bronze Star with "V" Device and oak leaf cluster (one award for Valor) |
| 80px | Defense Meritorious Service Medal |
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Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters |
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Army Commendation Medal |
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Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster |
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Joint Meritorious Unit Award with oak leaf cluster |
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Army Meritorious Unit Commendation |
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National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star |
| 80px | Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |
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Afghanistan Campaign Medal with four service stars |
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Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
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Armed Forces Service Medal |
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Army Service Ribbon |
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Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 4 |
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NATO Medal for former Yugoslavia with two service stars |
References
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External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons- Official Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. site
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. General John W. Nicholson, Jr.
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