Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, who commanded Iraq War strategy, dies at 67

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Kelly offered a statement from the Odierno family members confirming his death.

“It is with deep regret that I can ensure the demise of Typical Raymond T. Odierno on Oct 8th, 2021,” the Odierno relatives statement reads. “The typical died soon after a brave struggle with most cancers his dying was not related to COVID. There are no other aspects to share at this time.”

It ongoing: “His household is grateful for the issue and asks for privacy. Funeral services and interment details are not still out there.”

The family’s statement did not specify the spot of Odierno’s death. He was 67, according to an Association of the US Army assertion confirming his death.

President Joe Biden and 1st lady Jill Biden said in a assertion Saturday, “We can think of no person who greater encapsulated that fundamental creed of obligation, honor, country than Typical Ray Odierno. He manufactured our complete nation much better, more powerful, and a lot more protected.”

Odierno retired in 2015 following far more than 37 a long time of army provider, including deployments to Europe and 3 tours to Iraq.

He commanded the 4th Infantry Division from Oct 2001 to June 2004, primary the division at the commence of the Iraq War.

“There are handful of moments when you run into people today as trustworthy, as values-dependent, and as brave as Ray Odierno. And he was physically a mountain of a male, and emotionally he was a rock many of us moored ourselves to,” retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who served with Odierno in Iraq, stated Saturday on CNN.

Beneath his leadership, the 1st Brigade Beat workforce of the 4th Infantry Division found and captured Saddam Hussein.”He was in the base of a gap with no way to fight back again,” Odierno said at the time of the former Iraqi dictator. “He was caught like a rat.”

As Odierno’s very first tour in Iraq arrived to an finish, his son Army Capt. Tony Odierno was severely hurt there. Whilst on patrol in Baghdad on August 2004, Tony Odierno’s Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in his reduction of an arm.

Ray Odierno told CNN’s Barbara Starr in a 2006 interview that his son’s injuries deepened his comprehending of what countless numbers of America’s military services households go via.

“I assume, for the very first time, it strike house to a lot of individuals that this is reality, this transpires and it could impact anyone,” he explained.

Odierno returned to Iraq as the operational commander of the surge of forces from 2006 to 2008, in cost of halting Iraq’s brutal insurgency and aiding Iraqi troops acquire more than their country’s stability.

He later on served as the commanding common for the Multi-Countrywide Force in Iraq, subsequently the US Forces – Iraq, from September 2008 until September 2010.

He briefly served as commander of the US Joint Forces Command ahead of former President Barack Obama tapped him to be Army main of workers in 2011.

Obama introduced a statement Saturday expressing unhappiness about Odierno’s passing.

“As President, I relied on Ray’s deep know-how, constant management, and powerful judgment. It’s why I trusted him to assist come up with the strategy to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Iraq, and to execute it in a way that retained our forces and the Iraqi individuals safe and sound,” the previous President explained.

He continued: “I was significantly from the only man or woman to count on Ray’s counsel, and to recognize both of those his strategic and operational abilities. Currently, our army is stronger and the entire world is safer many thanks to Ray’s provider, and for that I will always be grateful.”

Odierno was born in Rockaway, New Jersey, and graduated from West Point.

Odierno is survived by his spouse Linda Odierno and their three small children, which includes retired Capt. Tony Odierno.

This tale has been updated with extra track record data.