- David L. Grange
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David L. Grange
Major General David L. GrangeBorn January 29, 1947
Long Island, New YorkAllegiance United States of America Service/branch United States Army Years of service 1970—1999 Rank Major General Unit Delta Force Commands held 75th Ranger Regiment
1st Infantry DivisionBattles/wars Vietnam War
Operation Eagle Claw
Invasion of Grenada
Gulf War
Yugoslav warsAwards Silver Star (3)
Defense Superior Service Medal
Purple Heart (2)Relations LTG David E. Grange, Jr. (father) Other work Chief Executive Officer of Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) David L. Grange is a retired United States Army Brigadier General, son of retired Lieutenant General David E. Grange, Jr. After retiring in 1999, David L. Grange served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the McCormick Foundation in Chicago. In September 2005, Grange became the foundation's President and Chief Executive Officer. In May 2009, Grange became Chief Executive Officer of PPD LLC, a Contract Research Organization based in North Carolina. [1] Grange. also serves as a CNN military analyst and is a founder of ViaGlobal Group[2]
Born on December 29, 1947, in Long Island, New York, Grange graduated from North Georgia College in 1970 with a bachelor of science degree and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry. Grange later earned a master’s degree in public service from Western Kentucky University.
Military career
Grange first saw significant combat action as a second lieutenant assigned to the 101st Airborne's "lima" Ranger company in the I Corps Province of Vietnam in 1971. This unit was part of the 75th Infantry and attached to the 2/17th Cavalry. As a first lieutenant in 1972, Grange was an adviser to the Vietnamese Airborne Division. He commanded C Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which supported Operation Eagle Claw in 1980. In 1982, he was assigned to Delta Force. He commanded a squadron during the invasion of Grenada.
Grange volunteered for service in Korea in 1987 and commanded the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division. He served as a special-operations officer in Special Operations Command in Washington, D.C., then as deputy commander of the 1st SFOD-D Delta Force, in which job he commanded a task force during Desert Storm.
From 1991 to 1993, he commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment. He then served as deputy commanding officer of United States Army Special Operations Command. After his selection as a general officer, he served as both ADC for support and maneuver in the 3rd Infantry Division at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany.
In 1997, Grange returned to Germany and took command of the 1st Infantry Division and Task Force Eagle in Bosnia,[1] where he was responsible for U.S. forces and operations in Macedonia and Kosovo during the Yugoslav civil wars. In 1999, Grange relinquished command of the 1st ID to John Abizaid and retired from active duty. In December of that same year, he published a critique of the Army's obsolete way of measuring unit readiness in the Armed Forces Journal.
Grange had not served long enough as a Major General to receive that rank's retirement benefits, and so his official rank in retirement is Brigadier General.
Awards and decorations
BG Grange has been decorated for service, to include:
References
- ^ Smith Jr., W. Thomas (4 October 2004). ""The Big Red One" mopping-up after launching a major offensive". National Review. http://old.nationalreview.com/smitht/smith200410040816.asp. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
Categories:- United States Army generals
- American military personnel of the Vietnam War
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Recipients of the Purple Heart medal
- Recipients of the Ranger tab
- Recipients of the Combat Infantryman Badge
- United States Army Rangers
- Living people
- 1947 births
- Recipients of the Special Forces tab
- Colonels of the 75th Ranger Regiment
- Western Kentucky University alumni
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