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Topic: Raymond Odierno

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Raymond T. Odierno (pronounced /oʊdiˈɛərnoʊ/; born 1954) is a United States Army general who serves as the current Commanding General, United States Forces - Iraq, a post he has held since its creation on January 1, 2010. He assumed command of USF-I's predecessor, Multi-National Force - Iraq on September 16, 2008. He previously served as Commanding General, III Corps, from May 2006 to May 2008. General Odierno is known as the operational architect of the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and is credited with implementing the counterinsurgency strategy that, along with the Sunni Awakening militia movement, led to the dramatic decrease in violence in Iraq from late 2006 to early 2008. The Weekly Standard has argued that his employment of forces to quell violence across Iraq "redefined the operational art of counterinsurgency". General Odierno is the twelfth American military officer to command at the Division, Corps, and Army level during the same conflict and only the second to have this honor since the Vietnam War.

Prior to commanding III Corps, he served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, where he was the primary military advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from 3 November 2004 to 1 May 2006.

Odierno grew up in Rockaway, New Jersey, where he attended Morris Hills High School, followed by the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in June 1976 with a bachelor of science degree. Later, he attended North Carolina State University and the Naval War College, receiving masters in nuclear effects engineering and national security and strategy, respectively. General Odierno is also a graduate of the Army War College.

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