Maj. Gen. John C. Thompson, USA (Ret.)
Major General John C. Thompson USA (Ret) retired from active duty in 2001.
His military assignments included serving as Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board and Director of the Inter-American Defense College. He was also Commanding General of the U.S. Total Army Personnel Command; Director of Operations of the United States Southern Command in Panama; Assistant Division Commander, 5th Infantry Division Mechanized at Ft. Polk; Deputy Director of Operations, National Military Command Center at the Joint Staff in the Pentagon; and Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth.
His decorations and awards include Defense Distinguished Service Medal,The Army Distinguished Service Medal, The Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, The Legion of Merit The Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and Oak Leaf Cluster Meritorious Service Medals, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medals, The Parachutist Badge and the Ranger Tab.
Foreign awards include the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm and Silver Star, Colombia's Defense Distinguished Service Medal and the Grand Cross of General Jose Maria Cordova The Brazilian Order of Military Merit, Grand Officer Class, The Argentine Grand Cross of Belgrano, The Uruguayan Order of Military Merit and Grand Officer. General Thompson was born in Bastrop, Louisiana, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1965. He was commissioned into the Armor Branch. His military training and education include the Airborne and Ranger courses; the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School; the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College.
General Thompson earned a Masters Degree in Military Art and Science at Fort Leavenworth, and was a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University. He also participated in the Army's Advanced Management program at Stanford University. He also attended National Security Leadership Courses at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and at Johns Hopkins University.
General Thompson has a Masters Degree from Middlebury College which required study in Madrid, Spain. He did post graduate study in History at New York University and at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is a member of the Americas Society; Inter-American Dialogue; the Inter-American Council; the Association of the United States Army and the Armor Association. He is a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Task Force on Venezuela.
