Randy A. George

Post

Service

Randy A. George is from Alden, Iowa. When the Senate confirmed him, Senator Chuck Grassley, who had nominated him to West Point, called him a native of that town. He was commissioned from the United States Military Academy in 1988 as an infantry officer.

As a lieutenant in the 101st Airborne Division he deployed for Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After the Armor Officer Advanced Course in 1993 he went to Fort Carson. He was assistant operations officer of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, then commanded C Company and later the headquarters company of the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry.

In 1999 he received a master of science in economics from the Colorado School of Mines. He served at the National Simulation Center at Fort Leavenworth and then attended the Command and General Staff College. In 2001 he went to Italy as executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He later was executive officer and deputy commander of that brigade and deployed with it for Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2004 he returned to the 101st Airborne Division and commanded the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry on a second deployment to Iraq. He taught at the Naval War College and then studied there. In 2007 he deployed again, with the initiatives group of the commanding general of Multi-National Corps-Iraq.

In 2008 he returned to the 4th Infantry Division, commanded the 4th Brigade Combat Team, and took it to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. After that command he was a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, chief of the strategic policy division in the Pakistan-Afghanistan coordination cell on the Joint Staff, executive officer to the 33rd Vice Chief of Staff, and executive assistant to the commander of U.S. Central Command. He then went back to Fort Carson as deputy commanding general for maneuver of the 4th Infantry Division. Further staff tours made him director of force management on the Army staff and deputy director for regional operations and force management on the Joint Staff.

In June 2017 he took command of the 4th Infantry Division and deployed again to Afghanistan. His next command was I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, from 2020 to 2021. He then served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense. The Army General Officer Management Office dates his promotion to general on 5 August 2022, when he became the 38th Vice Chief of Staff. He held that post into September 2023. He was already the acting chief when the Senate confirmed him on 21 September 2023, by 96 votes to 1. The same day, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth swore him in by telephone while he was with soldiers of the 11th Airborne Division at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. He became the 41st Chief of Staff.

The Army biography issued in August 2025 records that he is married to Patty, a West Point classmate, and that they have two children, Grant and Andrea.

On 2 April 2026 the Pentagon said he would retire from the post at once. Spokesman Sean Parnell gave no public reason. Reuters, the Associated Press, and ABC News all carried that statement the same day. General Christopher LaNeve, the vice chief, became acting chief, which is the ordinary succession when the chief leaves. In mid-October 2026 he was still being described as the acting chief. A full term in the post would otherwise have run into 2027.

1. 101st Airborne Division, Desert Shield and Desert Storm
2. 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, Fort Carson
3. 173rd Airborne Brigade, Iraq
4. 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry, Iraq
5. 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Afghanistan
6. Commanding General, 4th Infantry Division, from June 2017
7. Commanding General, I Corps, 2020-2021
8. Senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense
9. Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, 2022-2023
10. Chief of Staff of the Army, 21 September 2023 - 2 April 2026