Daniel P. Bolger

Daniel P. Bolger
Born	(1957-01-15) January 15, 1957
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	35 years
Rank	Lieutenant General (Retired)
Unit	Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan/Commander, NATO Training Mission, Afghanistan
Commands held	1st Cavalry Division Joint Readiness Training Center, 1st Battalion 327th Infantry Regiment (United States)
Awards	Bronze Star Medal Combat Action Badge

Daniel P. Bolger of Aurora, Illinois is an author, historian, and retired Lieutenant General (promoted 21 May 2010) of the United States Army. He currently holds a special faculty appointment in the Department of History at North Carolina State University, where he teaches Military History.^[1]

Lt. Gen. Bolger retired in 2013 from the Army. During his 35 years of service, he earned five Bronze Star Medals (one for valor) and the Combat Action Badge. His notable military commands included serving as Commanding General of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan and Commander of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (2011-2013); Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas (deployed to Baghdad, 2009-2010); the Coalition Military Assistance Training Team in Iraq (2005–06); and U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. He is also the author of books, such as Why We Lost, Americans at War, The Battle for Hunger Hill, and Death Ground.

Education

• Bachelor of Arts in History ^[2] and US Army commission as 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina
• Infantry Basic and Advanced Officer's Courses at Fort Benning, Georgia
• United States Army Airborne School
• M.A. in Russian History and Ph.D. in Military History from the University of Chicago. see http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/1988/1988%20bolger.pdf]from the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois
• History Professor at U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, 1986–1989
• Graduate of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
• United States Army Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
• Graduate, U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, 1998

Military career

• 24th Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia
  • Platoon leader
  • Company executive officer
  • Battalion S-4 (supply officer)
  • Rifle company commander
• 2nd Infantry Division in Korea
  • Battalion S-3 (operations officer), 1991
  • Commander of 2nd Brigade, 1999
• 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
  • Division staff, 101st Airborne
  • Commander of 1-327th Infantry Battalion
  • Assistant Division Commander (Support)
• U.S. Army staff in Washington, D.C.
• U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia
• MNSTC-I (CMATT) Adviser to the Iraqi Army
  • Awarded a Bronze Star for Valor
• Commander of the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana
• Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas
• Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.^[3]
• Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan/Commander, NATO Training Mission, Afghanistan

Awards and decorations

During his military service he was awarded: Defense Superior Service Medal, four awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, three awards of the Bronze Star, four awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, three awards of the Army Commendation Medal, and two awards of the Army Achievement Medal. He has also earned the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge. He has also earned the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge and the Air Assault Badge.^[4] He was awarded the Centurion Level of the Order of Saint Maurice in 2000.^[5]

Bibliography

• Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (ISBN 978-0544370487). Reviewed by Carter Malkasian at
• Dragons at War: Land Battles in the Desert (ISBN 978-0804108997)
• Americans at War 1975-1986: An Era of Violent Peace (ISBN 978-0517071915)
• Savage Peace: Americans at War in the 1990s (ISBN 978-0891414520)
• The Battle for Hunger Hill: The 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at the Joint Readiness Training Center (ISBN 978-0891414537)
• Feast of Bones (ISBN 978-0804108348)
• Death Ground: Today's American Infantry in Battle (ISBN 978-0891418306)
• Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in Korea, 1966-1969 (ISBN 0788112082)
• Leavenworth Papers Number 19: Scenes from Unfinished War (ISBN 978-0160363641)
• Reluctant Allies: The United States Army Air Force and the Soviet Voenno Vozdushnie Sily 1941-1945 (Doctoral Dissertation)
• What Happened at Khafji: Learning the Wrong Lesson (US Army War College strategic research project)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel P. Bolger.

• Fort Hood CG
• Daniel Bolger, Commitment Issues, February 2015
• Appearances on C-SPAN