Former Eighth Army Commander General Campbell Passes Away
Via a reader tip comes this sad news that the former Eighth Army Commander General Charles Campbell has passed away from an undisclosed illness:
Former Eighth Army and Army Forces Command chief Gen. (retired) Charles C. “Hondo” Campbell died Monday after a lengthy illness, according to The Times, his hometown newspaper in Shreveport, La.
Campbell, 68, was the Army’s last continuously serving officer who had seen action in the Vietnam War, according to an Army statement released at the time of his retirement in 2010.
“When I went to Vietnam, we had more than 500,000 soldiers in Vietnam (alone),” Campbell said in the statement.
There are fewer active-duty soldiers than that in the entire Army today with plans to cut troop strength to 450,000 by the end of 2017.
During his service, Campbell saw the Army’s transition to an all-volunteer force, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the counterinsurgency campaigns that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He spent his final four years in uniform as chief of Forces Command, overseeing all continental U.S.-based conventional operating forces. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more about General Campbell at the link, but my condolences go out to his family and friends.
I worked with LTG Campbell when I first came to Korea. The first flag officer I’d ever met. I was very impressed with how sharp his mind was. I’d have a 10 slide presentation and be five minutes in and he got it and made good decisions. It was a real treat after dealing with dip shit government “executives” for so many years.
Sorry for this news.
@john, I had the opportunity to listen to LTG Campbell speak at a leader development session being held at the Dragon Hill Lodge and he seemed like quite an impressive officer. He had long and impressive career serving his country.
This is sad news. I was on the USFK/J2 staff from mid-2002 to mid-2006. A smart, articulate officer and gentleman who was held in high regard by all.
Rest in Peace.