The man the Army Chief of Staff called “a soldier’s soldier,” Gen. Peter Chiarelli, retired as vice chief of staff yesterday in emotional ceremonies at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.
The Defense Department’s top leaders found passion and innovation to admire in the life and career of the revered 61-year-old general who retired after 40 years of service.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Chiarelli always was “honest, he was direct, he called it as it was and he pulled no punches and he made clear what needed to be done.” Panetta recalled those characteristics early on from a September 2006 visit to Iraq when he was part of the Iraq Study Group.
Gates, also on that visit, was so impressed he sought Chiarelli out to become his military assistant. Chiarelli offered Gates insight into how his decisions impacted the men and women in the battlefield. That was a hallmark of his career, Panetta said, the “depth of his concern for the welfare of every soldier.”
Panetta characterized Chiarelli as someone his Italian family would call a buon uomo, a good man, a special person.
“Pete and Beth made an extraordinary difference,” inspiring redoubled efforts “to protect the men and women who protect us, Panetta said. “The Light you have lit will continue to shine and light our way in future.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, a former Army chief of staff, said Chiarelli was an innovative leader, the only one for example, who spent time to prepare his staff for Iraq by visiting a town council to see how to run a city.
Once in Baghdad, finding command and control architectures fundamentally flawed, Chiarelli became a champion for what is called Command Post of the Future, driving the Army to the command and control architecture of today, Dempsey said.
He also championed the Tactical Ground Reporting System so he could build context from the bottom up-the squad leader.
Those efforts led to his support for the Army’s effort to build a network and its Network Integration Evaluation to connect soldiers, weapons and sensors.
Back from war, he drove the Army to recognize the problem of traumatic brain injury (TBI), reduce the stigma and confront it, Dempsey said. He also took on an effort to reduce suicide.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno said Chiarelli will be in the history books, as a “leader of character, with moral and ethical values and willing to stand up for what is best for our soldiers.”
He said, “You have to live with a passion for something. The goal is not just to make a living but to make a difference.”
Chiarelli made a difference, and not just among defense leaders. He was recognized by soldiers as well, who lined the way between his Pentagon office and the parking lot, holding a clap out–clapping his way out of the building. The effort was led by non-commissioned officers, not the Army Staff, nor Chiarelli’s staff.
Army Secretary John McHugh said Chiarelli thought outside the box, in working out the partnership with the National Football League to conduct TBI research to better understand it, and working out a five-year partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health to understand the complexities of suicide.
Chiarelli, who led task force efforts on the invisible wounds of a decade of war–post-traumatic stress and TBI, said he hoped to continue to “champion and contribute” in a meaningful way in these areas in his retirement.
But before his retirement becomes official, Chiarelli said he would wear his uniform one more time: at a pre-school share-day for his granddaughter.
Dempsey told the media straight out: “Report this: “We have never had a finer man in the uniform of this country than Pete Chiarelli and never a finer couple than Pete and Beth Chiarelli.”
Gen. Lloyd Austin was sworn in yesterday afternoon as 33rd vice chief of staff. Austin commanded U.S. troops in Iraq, his deployment ending when the last U.S. troops left Iraq.