Charles Miller (US Army)

Charles R. Miller is a United States Army Officer and Strategist who has served both in the United States and in Iraq.

Early life

Charles Miller was born in Staunton, Virginia the hometown of President Woodrow Wilson in 1967 and spent the formative part of his life on a farm in rural Virginia, where he dreamed of joining the Army. Miller applied to and was accepted at The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. As a cadet, he was the First Sergeant of Company D, 4th Regiment and, later, the 4th Regimental Honor Representative while a senior, or "Firstie." Miller graduated as a member of the West Point Class of 1990. [West-Point.Org, [http://tools.west-point.org/listing.mhtml?g=usma1990] , Retrieved November 6, 2007.]

Young Lieutenant

Following his graduation, Miller was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the United States Army and was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, the "Iron Rakkasans" of the fabled 101st Air Assault Division, the "Screaming Eagles." His first Battalion Commander was then Lieutenant Colonel David Petraeus. Arriving too late to join his battalion in Operation Desert Storm, LT Miller was nonetheless given impressive leadership assignments of increasing responsibility, to include Battalion Logistics Officer and Support Platoon Leader.

Promoted to Captain, Miller traveled to Fort Benning, Georgia for the Infantry Officers' Advanced Course and assignment to the prestigious Ranger Training Brigade (RTB), where he became the Adjutant and Personnel Officer. Shortly thereafter, CPT Miller took command of Alpha Company, 4th Battalion of the RTB where he was responsible for the training of Ranger candidates in the first phase of Ranger School.

Columbia and Iraq

Captain Miller was selected to return to West Point following his successful command as an associate professor of international relations. Before classes started, however, he spent two years at Columbia University [http://sipa.columbia.edu/index.html] earning a Master's Degree in International Relations and completing the course work for his PhD. Miller studied under the legendary Robert Jervis, who also served as Miller's dissertation advisor. While simultaneously teaching at West Point, Miller wrote and defended his dissertation on doctrinal change in the United States Army and earned his PhD, [http://sipa.columbia.edu/index.html] the first of his cohort to do so. While at West Point, Miller was tapped to be the Executive Secretary of the Senior Conference [http://www.seniorconference.usma.edu/about.htm] , a gathering of distinguished academicians, senior policy makers and public intellectuals. Miller also authored several articles while balancing duties as a professor and PhD candidate, including one on "Defense Policy and Doctrinal Insulation." [Public Administration & Management: An Interactive Journal, Volume 10 Number 2, [http://www.pamij.com/v10n2/pam10-2--miller.pdf] , Retrieved November 6, 2007.]

Following West Point, Miller went to SOUTHCOM in Miami, Florida where he served in the Commander's Action Group for General Hill. In 2004, he was selected by then Lieutenant General David Petraeus to serve as his Executive Officer as Petraeus took command of the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq and NATO Training Mission-Iraq. In his role as right hand man and "consigliere" to Petraeus, Miller was instrumental in helping equip and train Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police units that would, in later years, become the backbone of Iraq's Security Forces.

Back to Iraq

After more than a year working for Petraeus, Miller returned to the United States and in the J5 for the Joint Staff, where he worked on the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's risk assessments [http://www.jcs.mil/cjs/AOs_of_Month_JanFeb.html] of the National Military Strategy and the Quadrennial Defense Review. His respite was brief, however, as General Petraeus once again called Miller to service. Petraeus had recently taken command of Multi-National Force-Iraq, following a unanimous confirmation in the United States Senate. LTC Miller deployed to Iraq in support of the Surge, this time as the Deputy Director of General Petraeus's Commander's Initiatives Group. In this position, Miller provided insight and policy review and has worked tirelessly on balancing the "heavy hand of Persia." Miller returned to the Joint Staff in April 2008 and currently works as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen.

"Best and Brightest"

Miller's hard work and low-profile have kept him out of the spotlight, but there is little doubt of his influence. He has emerged as part of a de facto group of the new "best and brightest" - a collection of officers and military intellectuals who have collectively and individually contributed volumes to the policy debate. Other members include, but are not limited to, COL Mike Meese, Lieutenant Colonels John Nagl, Paul Yingling, Douglas Ollivant, Jen Easterly, and Bill Ostlund as well as Counterinsurgency expert Dr. David Kilcullen. Many of these bright young minds met and first interacted while associate professors at the United States Military Academy's Department of Social Sciences.

Family and personal information

LTC Miller is married to Samantha and they have two children, Robert and Natalie, both of whom are Tae Kwon Do enthusiasts.

LTC Miller is a graduate of Ranger School, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, and Air Assault School. He speaks Spanish frequently and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

References

External links

* Columbia University Reunion in Baghdad [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/07/08/baghdad.html]
* Organizer, West Point Senior Conference [http://www.seniorconference.usma.edu/about.htm]
* New Rules for New Enemies [http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/10/2088425]
* Multi-National Force-Iraq Homepage [https://mnfi.intranet.iraq.centcom.mil/default.aspx]
* MNF-I Commander's Initiatives Group Unclassified Homepage [https://mnfi.intranet.iraq.centcom.mil/C8/Commander's%20Initiatives%20Group/default.aspx]
* Flaws Cited In Efforts to Train Iraqi Troops [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/21/AR2006112100171_pf.html]
* David Petraeus: An Open Mind for a New Army [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31petraeus.htm]
* Fm 3-24 US Army and United States Marine Corps COIN Manual [http://usacac.army.mil/CAC/Repository/Materials/COIN-FM3-24.pdf]

Written works

* Author, "Defense Policy and Doctrinal Insulation" [http://www.pamij.com/v10n2/pam10-2--miller.pdf]
* Author, "Should I Stay or Should I Go? The post-Cold War US Army Personnel Dilemma [http://www.princeton.edu/~jpia/pdf1998/Vol9_Spring98_4.pdf]
* Author, "Serving Two Masters: Doctrinal Evolution in the 20th Century US Army" an unpublished PhD dissertation submitted at Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/polisci/]
* Manuscript Review of Richard Betts' "Is Strategy an Illusion?" [http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/016228800560444?cookieSet=1&journalCode=isec]