Gary E. Luck

Receiving a bachelor's degree in engineering from Kansas State University in 1959, Luck also holds a master's degree from Florida State University and a doctorate in business administration (Operations Research and Systems Analysis, a/k/a ORSA) from George Washington University. In addition, Luck has attended numerous military schools and courses, to include the Armor Basic and Advanced Officer courses, Army Aviator training, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the United States Army War College.[2]

Luck is a combat veteran of both the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and has held a variety of command and staff positions throughout his army career, to include: Chief of Staff, 8th Infantry Division, U.S. Army, Europe; Director, Force Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, HQ Department of the Army; Assistant Division Commander, 101st Airborne Division; Commanding General, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea; Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command (1989–1990); Commanding General, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; and Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (1990–1993). His last military assignment before retiring from active duty was as Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command (Korea)/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea.[3]

Since his retirement from the Army, Luck has served in a variety of senior advisory positions in support of the Department of Defense, overseeing exercise control during Exercise Millennium Challenge 2002, and as an advisor to then-Commander of United States Central Command, General Tommy Franks, prior to the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was sent back to Iraq in early 2005 in order to investigate various areas of operation, identifying any weaknesses and reporting back to commanders at The Pentagon with a confidential assessment on what could be done to install democracy in Iraq and to set a date for the withdrawal of American and coalition forces. That same year, Luck was also the 2005 recipient of the Doughboy Award from the National Infantry Association.[4]