The GEN Raymond T. Odierno Best Redleg Competition is an integral part of the Field Artillery Branch’s pursuit of excellence and continuous effort to enhance the overall combat effectiveness of the Field Artillery warfighter to provide timely and accurate fires. This inaugural event at the ancestral home of the Field Artillery will have Redlegs focusing on the fundamentals, promote esprit de corps and the exchange of best practices through healthy competition and rivalry. This event is all about identifying the best of the best, by test! Do you have what it takes?
Named after the 38th Chief of Staff of the Army and an incredibly proud Redleg, GEN Odierno loved team competitions. He commanded units at every echelon from platoon to theater, with duty in Germany, Albania, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United States. Odierno served as a brigade executive officer in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, commanded the 4th Infantry Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and served as the commanding general, Multi-National Corps-Iraq (III Corps) for the OIF surge of forces.
He then returned to Iraq as commanding general, Multi-National Force-Iraq and subsequently U.S. Forces-Iraq from September 2008 until September 2010. Other significant assignments include: Office of the Secretary of Defense; Chief of Staff, V Corps; assistant division commander (Support), 1st Armored Division; deputy commanding general, Task Force Hawk, Albania; director of force management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans; and assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he was the primary military advisor to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
A graduate of West Point, he held a master’s degree in nuclear effects engineering from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. Sadly, on October 8, 2021, GEN Odierno passed away and the world lost a great American, patriot, Soldier, and legendary Field Artilleryman.
