Peter W. Chiarelli
General, U.S. Army

Peter W. Chiarelli was born on 23 March 1950 in Seattle, WA. He is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Seattle University's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in September 1972. Throughout his career, he has served in Army units in the U.S., Germany, and Belgium. He has commanded at every level from platoon to corps.

His principal staff assignments have been as the Operations Officer, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, TX; Executive Assistant and, later, Executive Officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, U.S. European Command at SHAPE Headquarters, Mons, Belgium; and the Director of Operations, Readiness, and Mobilization at Headquarters, Department of the Army.

He commanded a mechanized infantry battalion and a mechanized infantry brigade at Fort Lewis, WA; served as the Assistant Division Commander for Support in the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood; served as Commanding General, 1st Cavalry Division, and led it both in the Iraq War and during Operation Iraqi Freedom II; and served as Commanding General of Multi-National Corps-Iraq under General George W. Casey, Jr.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Seattle University; a Master of Public Administration degree from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington; and a Master of Arts degree in National Security Strategy from Salve Regina University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Command and Staff College and the National War College.

His most recent assignments have been as Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, from March 2007 to August 2008, and his current assignment as the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army from 4 August 2008 to the present.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Defense Distinguished Service Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Defense Superior Service Medal
Bronze Star Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Achievement Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
National Defense Service Medal with 2 Bronze Service Stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Service Stars
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with Award Numeral 3
NATO Medal (Yugoslavia)
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Army Superior Unit Award
Combat Action Badge
Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge
Army Staff Identification Badge

He also received the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award.

Honors

The Hero of Medicine Award was presented on 4 May 2011 to Army Vice Chief of Staff General Peter W. Chiarelli for his efforts to help Soldiers with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress. The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine presented the award at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, during a Center for Public-Private Partnerships event.