James McConville | |
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.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Birth name | James Charles McConville |
| Born | (1959-03-16)16 March 1959 (age 66) Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1981–2023 |
| Rank | General |
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McConville's opening statement at aSenate Armed Services Committee hearing on the FY2023 Army budget Recorded 5 May 2022 | |
James Charles McConville (born 16 March 1959) is a retiredUnited States Armygeneral who served as the 40thchief of staff of the Army from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as the 36thvice chief of staff of the Army from 2017 to 2019.
McConville was born and raised inMassachusetts and was commissioned as an Army officer from theUnited States Military Academy in 1981. He served as an aviator, becoming a helicopter pilot. He was deployed toIraq andAfghanistan several times, including as the commander of the4th Brigade,1st Cavalry Division, during theIraq War and as the commander of the101st Airborne Division during thewar in Afghanistan. He became the longest serving commander of the 101st Airborne Division, from 2011 to 2014, and later served asDeputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the Army from 2015 to 2017.
James Charles McConville was born on 16 March 1959[1] to Joe and Barbara McConville.[2] His father was aU.S. Navy veteran of theKorean War.[2] He was born and raised in theMerrymount neighborhood ofQuincy, Massachusetts, nearBoston. He graduated fromArchbishop Williams High School inBraintree and then attended theUnited States Military Academy, from where he was commissioned as anInfantry officer in theUnited States Army after his graduation in 1981.[3][4] McConville had been nominated to the U.S. Military Academy by SenatorTed Kennedy.[2] He earned aBachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, aMaster of Science degree inAerospace Engineering fromGeorgia Institute of Technology in 1990, and was a 2002 National Security Fellow atHarvard University.[5][6] He also attended theUnited States Army Command and General Staff College.[2]
McConville became amaster army aviator qualified in theOH-58 Kiowa Warrior, theAH-64D Longbow Apache, theAH-6,AH-1 Cobra and other aircraft.[5] Early in his career, McConville's assignments included command of an air cavalry troop in the7th Infantry Division (Light) atFort Ord, California, command of 2nd Squadron,17th Cavalry Regiment in101st Airborne Division atFort Campbell, Kentucky, and command of an air cavalry brigade in the1st Cavalry Division atFort Hood, Texas.[7]
McConville commanded the 1st Cavalry Division's4th Brigade, a unit with 64 helicopters, during theIraq War from 2004 to 2005. His air cavalry brigade took part in hundreds of combat missions in Iraq and was selected as the 2004 AAAA Aviation Unit of the Year. McConville served as the Deputy Commanding General (Support) for 101st Airborne Division, Combined Joint Task Force 101, andRegional Command East in Afghanistan duringOperation Enduring Freedom from 2008 to 2009.[2][7] Much of his time in Afghanistan was spent focusing on development programs.[2]
McConville's early staff assignments include S-3 for Flight Concepts Division, S-3 for 5th Squadron,9th Cavalry, S-3 for the25th Combat Aviation Brigade, J5 Strategic Planner for theUnited States Special Operations Command, G-3 for the 101st Airborne Division, Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and Deputy Chief and Chief of the Office of Legislative Liaison.[7]
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He became the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division on 12 August 2011.[8] During his tenure, the division was deployed to Afghanistan, where he also led Combined Joint Task Force 101 in Regional Command East. McConville commanded the 101st Airborne Division until 20 June 2014, becoming its longest serving commander, and the longest serving division commander in Army history.[9][6] His next assignment was as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (G-1) of the U.S. Army inWashington, D.C.[9]
He was nominated for appointment asvice chief of staff on 24 April 2017, for chief of staffMark Milley.[10][11] On 25 March 2019, McConville was nominated for appointment aschief of staff of the Army.[12] He took office on 9 August 2019, succeeding Milley, and becoming the first aviator to be the head of the Army.[6] In that role, he continued the Army modernization program that he had worked on with Milley when he was the vice chief, and presided over the Army's response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[13] McConville visited Europe in July 2022, where he met with representatives from the armies of 30 European countries and discussed NATO's response to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[14] He relinquished office as chief of staff on 4 August 2023.[15][16][17]
McConville and his wife, Maria, have three children serving in the military.[5]
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  Air Medal with bronzeaward numeral 2 |
 Joint Service Commendation Medal |
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 Global War on Terrorism Service Medal |
 Army Service Ribbon |
  Army Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 4 |
.svg) NATO Medal for service with ISAF |
 Kartika Eka Paksi Utama (Army Meritorious Service Star), First Class (Indonesia) |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
Media related toJames C. McConville at Wikimedia Commons| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Commander of the 101st Airborne Division 2011–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the United States Army 2015–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army 2017–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Staff of the United States Army 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
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