Volney F. Warner
Encyclopedia
Volney Frank Warner is a retired United States Army
four-star general
who served as Commander-in-Chief, United States Readiness Command (USCINCRED) from 1979 to 1981.
. He enlisted in the Navy
in 1944, then was transferred to the Army the following year upon receiving an alternate appointment from South Dakota to the United States Military Academy
at West Point
. Graduating in 1950, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry. Almost immediately after graduation, he was ordered to Korea
, where he served in combat as an Infantry platoon leader in L-Company of the 21st Infantry Regiment
, 24th Infantry Division.
In 1953, Warner was reassigned to Europe where he served as a company commander and battalion staff officer in Trieste
, Italy
, Austria
, and West Germany
. Following attendance at the U.S. Marine Corps Advanced Course in Quantico, Virginia
, Warner served a tour of duty at West Point as an instructor in the Department of Psychology and Leadership, after earning a Master of Arts Degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University
.
In 1963, Warner was reassigned as a Province Senior Advisor in South Vietnam
. After returning from Vietnam in 1965, he served in a variety of positions in Washington, D.C.
, to include duty as the Military Assistant to the Special Assistant to the President for Vietnam Affairs. After earning a Masters of Science in International Relations from George Washington University
, in 1969 Warner assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. Returning to the Pentagon in 1970, Warner served as the Executive Officer and Senior Aide to the Army Chief of Staff
.
In 1972 Warner was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, first as the Chief of Staff and then as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations. After a tour of duty as the United States Army Forces Command
(FORSCOM) Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, General Warner assumed command of the 9th Infantry Division in 1975. Later in 1977, Warner assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
in Tampa, Florida
. His tenure as REDCOM commander coincided with the interservice debate over which unified command
should have jurisdiction over the Middle East
and the associated Rapid Deployment Force.
In 1980, the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) was created under the command of Marine Lieutenant General Paul X. Kelley
and based at MacDill Air Force Base. During planning and training exercises in the United States, the RDJTF reported to REDCOM, which was responsible for preparing United States-based Army and Air Force
units for overseas deployment, but during operations the force was controlled by whichever headquarters had oversight over the territory in which it was deployed. Since the RDJTF was expected to operate mainly in the Middle East, permanent operational control over the force implied geographical responsibility for Southwest Asia
. At the time, no unified command was specifically responsible for that increasingly critical region, which was divided between United States European Command
and United States Pacific Command
.
Warner opposed proposals to assign the RDJTF to either European or Pacific Command, or to allow the RDJTF to oversee the Middle East as an autonomous command. Instead he asked that the land responsibility for Southwest Asia be returned to Readiness Command, which had overseen the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in its previous incarnation as United States Strike Command
. Meanwhile, he insisted that as long as the RDJTF was headquartered in the United States, REDCOM was its governing unified command and the RDJTF should not continue to bypass the REDCOM commander by maintaining an independent office in Washington, D.C.
The interservice controversy over which unified command should control the RDJTF created friction between the REDCOM and RDJTF headquarters staffs and eventually spilled into the press, which cast the debate as a personal feud between Warner and Kelley. "Unfortunately, we were both caught up in the service argument as to whether it should be a premier Army or Marine force," Warner said.
On April 25, 1981, Secretary of Defense
Caspar Weinberger
announced that the RDJTF would become a separate command with responsibility for Southwest Asia. Rebuffed in his attempt to renew the mandate of his command, Warner requested retirement, citing a lack of support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff
during the debate. In parting, he observed that if the RDJTF were to be made an independent unified command, then REDCOM would be redundant and should be disestablished. The RDJTF became United States Central Command
in 1983 and REDCOM was replaced by United States Special Operations Command
in 1987.
.
, Silver Star
(with Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit
(with 2 Oak Le af Clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross
, Bronze Star
with V Device (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal
s with V Device, Army Commendation Medal with V Device (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantryman Badge
(2nd Award), and Master Parachutist Badge. His military education includes the Command and General Staff College
in 1963; Armed Forces Staff College in 1965; and the National War College
in 1969, at which time he also received a Master of Science degree in International Relations from George Washington University.
Warner married Belva Janice Forbes in 1950, and had two daughters and two sons, one a retired brigadier general and the other a retired colonel. On August 18, 2005, Warner's granddaughter, First Lieutenant Laura Margaret Walker, was killed in action in Delak, Afghanistan
, making her the first female West Point graduate to die in combat. Warner has since come out to publicly criticize the Iraq War, and proposes pre-emptive peace as an alternative to pre-emptive war for the future.
Afghanistan: Context and What's Next, by Volney F. Warner, Joint Force Quarterly, issue 56, 1st quarter 2010, NDU Press
IRAQ
A Veteran General Hears Echoes from Vietnam in Iraq, by Nancy A. Youssef, August, 6, 2007, McClatchy DC
Opening Statement before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations
Getting Past Iraq, by Volney F. Warner and as presented by him to the National War College Alumni on 25 October 2007
KOREA
Korean War Educator, Veterans' Memoirs, Volney Frank Warner
Company L's Four Days: from the Journal of Company L, 21st Infantry, by Lindsey P. Henderson, Jr., September 1951 Combat Forces Journal
VIETNAM
Westy: Our Commander-in-Chief to the End, by John B. Dwyer, American Thinker, 22 July 2005
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative ..., Part 4, by William Conrad Gibbons, pages 202-205
Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of South Vietnam (PROVN), Volume I, Chapter 2 "US Organization and Method of Operations", Volney F. Warner, principal author on study
WOUNDED KNEE
University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of the Kent Frizzell Wounded Knee papers housed in their special collections department
http://books.google.com/books?id=qLRl4Q1blA0C&dq=ghost+dancing+the+law+wounded+knee+trials&pg=PP1&ots=tWihekhFxI&sig=FTHNU6bg8qez0kkK7f8cAcITtYY&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Ghost+Dancing+the+Law:++Wounded+Knee+Trials&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPA146,M1Ghost Dancing the Law: The Wounded Knee Trials, by John William Sayer, pages 146, 228, 278, 298, 310]
MISCELLANEOUS
Laura Margaret Walker Eulogy Site
Definition and Citation, Boots on the Ground, Double-Tongued Dictionary
Boots on the Ground, The New York Times Magazine, On Language: Let's Do This, by William Safire, 7 November 2008
Women in the Line of Fire: What You Should Know About Women in the Military, by Erin Solaro; Foreword by Volney F. Warner, USA (Ret.), pages v-vi
2003 Firepower "National Chapter" Award
"Reforming Military Command Arrangements: The Case of the Rapid Deployment Joint Taske Force", by Henrik Bliddal; see pages 25-47
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
four-star general
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
who served as Commander-in-Chief, United States Readiness Command (USCINCRED) from 1979 to 1981.
Early career
Warner was born in Woonsocket, South DakotaWoonsocket, South Dakota
Woonsocket is a city in Sanborn County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 655 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sanborn County...
. He enlisted in the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1944, then was transferred to the Army the following year upon receiving an alternate appointment from South Dakota to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
. Graduating in 1950, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry. Almost immediately after graduation, he was ordered to Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, where he served in combat as an Infantry platoon leader in L-Company of the 21st Infantry Regiment
21st Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 21st Infantry Regiment is a United States Army infantry regiment.-Lineage:*Constituted 3 May 1861 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry*Organized 20 May 1862 at Fort Hamilton, New York...
, 24th Infantry Division.
In 1953, Warner was reassigned to Europe where he served as a company commander and battalion staff officer in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Following attendance at the U.S. Marine Corps Advanced Course in Quantico, Virginia
Quantico, Virginia
- Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there are 561 people, 295 households, and 107 families living in the town. The population density is . There are 359 housing units at an average density of .-Racial composition:...
, Warner served a tour of duty at West Point as an instructor in the Department of Psychology and Leadership, after earning a Master of Arts Degree in Psychology from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
.
In 1963, Warner was reassigned as a Province Senior Advisor in South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. After returning from Vietnam in 1965, he served in a variety of positions in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, to include duty as the Military Assistant to the Special Assistant to the President for Vietnam Affairs. After earning a Masters of Science in International Relations from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, in 1969 Warner assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. Returning to the Pentagon in 1970, Warner served as the Executive Officer and Senior Aide to the Army Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
.
In 1972 Warner was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, first as the Chief of Staff and then as the Assistant Division Commander for Operations. After a tour of duty as the United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command
United States Army Forces Command is the largest Army Command and the preeminent provider of expeditionary, campaign-capable land forces to Combatant Commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM consists of more than 750,000 Active Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National...
(FORSCOM) Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, General Warner assumed command of the 9th Infantry Division in 1975. Later in 1977, Warner assumed command of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Commander in Chief, U.S. Readiness Command
In 1979 Warner assumed his duties as the Commander in Chief, Readiness Command (REDCOM), headquartered at MacDill Air Force BaseMacDill Air Force Base
MacDill Air Force Base is an active United States Air Force base located approximately south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. His tenure as REDCOM commander coincided with the interservice debate over which unified command
Unified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
should have jurisdiction over the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and the associated Rapid Deployment Force.
In 1980, the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) was created under the command of Marine Lieutenant General Paul X. Kelley
Paul X. Kelley
General Paul Xavier Kelley was the twenty-eighth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, from July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1987....
and based at MacDill Air Force Base. During planning and training exercises in the United States, the RDJTF reported to REDCOM, which was responsible for preparing United States-based Army and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
units for overseas deployment, but during operations the force was controlled by whichever headquarters had oversight over the territory in which it was deployed. Since the RDJTF was expected to operate mainly in the Middle East, permanent operational control over the force implied geographical responsibility for Southwest Asia
Southwest Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, Southwest Asia or Southwestern Asia are terms that describe the westernmost portion of Asia. The terms are partly coterminous with the Middle East, which describes a geographical position in relation to Western Europe rather than its location within Asia...
. At the time, no unified command was specifically responsible for that increasingly critical region, which was divided between United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
and United States Pacific Command
United States Pacific Command
The United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
.
Warner opposed proposals to assign the RDJTF to either European or Pacific Command, or to allow the RDJTF to oversee the Middle East as an autonomous command. Instead he asked that the land responsibility for Southwest Asia be returned to Readiness Command, which had overseen the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in its previous incarnation as United States Strike Command
United States Strike Command
In 1961 the United States Strike Command was established at MacDill Air Force Base as a unified combatant command capable of responding to global crises. The name of the command was originally derived from the acronym for Swift Tactical Reaction In Every Known Environment...
. Meanwhile, he insisted that as long as the RDJTF was headquartered in the United States, REDCOM was its governing unified command and the RDJTF should not continue to bypass the REDCOM commander by maintaining an independent office in Washington, D.C.
The interservice controversy over which unified command should control the RDJTF created friction between the REDCOM and RDJTF headquarters staffs and eventually spilled into the press, which cast the debate as a personal feud between Warner and Kelley. "Unfortunately, we were both caught up in the service argument as to whether it should be a premier Army or Marine force," Warner said.
On April 25, 1981, Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger , was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after...
announced that the RDJTF would become a separate command with responsibility for Southwest Asia. Rebuffed in his attempt to renew the mandate of his command, Warner requested retirement, citing a lack of support from the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
during the debate. In parting, he observed that if the RDJTF were to be made an independent unified command, then REDCOM would be redundant and should be disestablished. The RDJTF became United States Central Command
United States Central Command
The United States Central Command is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U.S. armed forces, established in 1983 under the operational control of the U.S. Secretary of Defense...
in 1983 and REDCOM was replaced by United States Special Operations Command
United States Special Operations Command
The United States Special Operations Command is the Unified Combatant Command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps of the United States Armed Forces. The command is part of the Department of Defense...
in 1987.
Post-military
Warner retired from the Army on July 31, 1981. Subsequently, Warner was Vice President of Applied Technology, Vertex Systems, Incorporated, and later established V.F. Warner and Associates, a Washington-based consulting firm. He resides in McLean, VirginiaMcLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
.
Personal life
Warner's awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service MedalDefense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...
, Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
(with Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(with 2 Oak Le af Clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
, Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
with V Device (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal
Air Medal
The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
s with V Device, Army Commendation Medal with V Device (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
(2nd Award), and Master Parachutist Badge. His military education includes the Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...
in 1963; Armed Forces Staff College in 1965; and the National War College
National War College
The National War College of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. It was officially established on July 1, 1946, as an upgraded replacement for the...
in 1969, at which time he also received a Master of Science degree in International Relations from George Washington University.
Warner married Belva Janice Forbes in 1950, and had two daughters and two sons, one a retired brigadier general and the other a retired colonel. On August 18, 2005, Warner's granddaughter, First Lieutenant Laura Margaret Walker, was killed in action in Delak, Afghanistan
Delak
Delak is the district center of Dawlat Yar district, Ghor Province, Afghanistan. It is located at 3,138 m altitude....
, making her the first female West Point graduate to die in combat. Warner has since come out to publicly criticize the Iraq War, and proposes pre-emptive peace as an alternative to pre-emptive war for the future.
Other Areas of Interest/Relevance
AFGHANISTANAfghanistan: Context and What's Next, by Volney F. Warner, Joint Force Quarterly, issue 56, 1st quarter 2010, NDU Press
IRAQ
A Veteran General Hears Echoes from Vietnam in Iraq, by Nancy A. Youssef, August, 6, 2007, McClatchy DC
Opening Statement before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations
Getting Past Iraq, by Volney F. Warner and as presented by him to the National War College Alumni on 25 October 2007
KOREA
Korean War Educator, Veterans' Memoirs, Volney Frank Warner
Company L's Four Days: from the Journal of Company L, 21st Infantry, by Lindsey P. Henderson, Jr., September 1951 Combat Forces Journal
VIETNAM
Westy: Our Commander-in-Chief to the End, by John B. Dwyer, American Thinker, 22 July 2005
The U.S. Government and the Vietnam War: Executive and Legislative ..., Part 4, by William Conrad Gibbons, pages 202-205
Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of South Vietnam (PROVN), Volume I, Chapter 2 "US Organization and Method of Operations", Volney F. Warner, principal author on study
WOUNDED KNEE
University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of the Kent Frizzell Wounded Knee papers housed in their special collections department
http://books.google.com/books?id=qLRl4Q1blA0C&dq=ghost+dancing+the+law+wounded+knee+trials&pg=PP1&ots=tWihekhFxI&sig=FTHNU6bg8qez0kkK7f8cAcITtYY&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Ghost+Dancing+the+Law:++Wounded+Knee+Trials&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail#PPA146,M1Ghost Dancing the Law: The Wounded Knee Trials, by John William Sayer, pages 146, 228, 278, 298, 310]
MISCELLANEOUS
Laura Margaret Walker Eulogy Site
Definition and Citation, Boots on the Ground, Double-Tongued Dictionary
Boots on the Ground, The New York Times Magazine, On Language: Let's Do This, by William Safire, 7 November 2008
Women in the Line of Fire: What You Should Know About Women in the Military, by Erin Solaro; Foreword by Volney F. Warner, USA (Ret.), pages v-vi
2003 Firepower "National Chapter" Award
"Reforming Military Command Arrangements: The Case of the Rapid Deployment Joint Taske Force", by Henrik Bliddal; see pages 25-47