CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Richard A. Cody
General, USA (R), & 31st Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army
General (USA, Ret) Richard A. Cody was born in Montpelier Vermont. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point on 6 June 1972 with a BS. He is a graduate of the Transportation Corps Officer Basic and Advance Course, the Army’s Aviation Maintenance Test Pilot School, the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. He is a master Army Aviator, rated in over 19 Helicopters and has over 5000 of flight time.
During his 36+ years of service, General Cody served in six of the Army’s combat divisions, the 25th Infantry Division, the 2nd Infantry Division, the 24th Infantry Division (MECH), the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 1st Cavalry Division and the 4th Infantry Division (MECH). General Cody’s command time includes Company Commander, E Company, 24th Aviation Battalion; Company Commander, B Company, 229th Attack Helicopter Battalion; Battalion Commander, 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment (AH-64); Commander, 4th Brigade (Avn) 1st Cavalry Division; Commander, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment; and Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Fort Campbell, Ky. During Operation Desert Storm, , then LTC Cody led Task Force Normandy, a flight of 8 Apache helicopters, into Iraq at 0200 hours 17 January 1991 and destroyed two critical Iraqi Radar Sites prior to the start of the Allied air campaign.
General Cody held several key staff positions to include Assistant Division Commander, 4th Infantry Division (MECH); Deputy Commanding General, Task Force Hawk in Albania; Director of Operations, Plans and Mobilization, Department of the Army; Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Department of the Army (G-3); and he served as the 31st Vice Chief of Staff, Army from June 2004 to August 2008.
General Cody currently is a Senior VP for L-3 Communications, Inc. He is also the Chairman of the Board and National Chairman for Homes for Our Troops, a Board Trustee of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a Board Trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation, he is on the Advisory Board for Hope for the Warriors, a Trustee of NOBLIS. He is the founder and lead pilot for Operation Flying Heroes an organization that provides flights for Iraq and Afghanistan Wounded Warriors. General Cody is a 2008 inductee of the Army Aviation Hall of Fame. General Cody and his wife of 37 years Vicki have two sons, Major Clint Cody and Major Tyler Cody-both have multiple combat tours with the 101st Airborne Division (AAslt).
