# Douglas Sims II

Douglas Arthur Sims II is a United States Army lieutenant general who has served as director of the Joint Staff since January 2024. He most recently served as the director of operations of the Joint Staff from 2022 to 2024. He served as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley from 2020 to 2022, and prior to that served as deputy director for Regional Operations and Force Management of the Joint Staff from 2018 to 2020.
In October 2023, Sims was nominated for appointment as director of the Joint Staff.

## Biography

Sims was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1991 after graduating from the United States Military Academy with a bachelor of science degree in political science. His education also includes a master of arts degree in management from Webster University, the United States Army Basic and Advanced Infantry Officer Courses, and the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
From November 1991 to April 1994 he was a platoon leader in the 505th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and then until August 1995 he was a platoon leader in the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington. Sims was a student at the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, between 1995 and 1996, and became an assistant professor of military science at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from April 1996 to May 1998. He was then a battalion headquarters company commander in the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 172nd Infantry Brigade, at Ford Richardson, Alaska, until February 2000. Between March 2000 and May 2001 Sims became the commander of C Company in the 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), at Fort Myers, Virginia, and then the regimental assistant operations officer. After that, he was the aide-de-camp to the commanding general, United States Army Military District of Washington at Fort McNair, Washington, DC, until July 2002.
Sims was a student at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College from August 2002 until June 2003, and then a battalion executive officer in the 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, Washington until June 2004. He was the operations officer of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team and took part in the Iraq War during that time, until September 2005. Between then and May 2008 Sims held several positions at the United States Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. From July 2008 to January 2009 he was deputy commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, stationed in Germany, and was deployed to Iraq again. After that, Sims became the commander of 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment until July 2011, and in the role had a deployment to Afghanistan. From August 2011 to June 2012 he was a Senior Service College Fellow in security studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He was the commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment between January 2013 and July 2014, during which time he led it in Afghanistan, and after that he was the chief of staff of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado from August 2014 to July 2016. Sims was then the Deputy Commanding General (Support) of the 1st Cavalry Division until May 2017, with another deployment to Afghanistan. He was the U.S. Army Director for Operations, Readiness and Mobilization at the Army Staff from June 2017 to June 2018, before becoming the Deputy Director for Regional Operations and Force Management at the Joint Staff, The Pentagon, until June 2020. Sims commanded the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas, from August 2020 to May 2022, and then was appointed as Director for Operations of the Joint Staff. In January 2024, he was made the Director of the Joint Staff.

## Dates of promotion

| Rank | Branch | Date |
| Second lieutenant | Army | 1 June 1991 |
| First lieutenant | Army | 1 June 1993 |
| Captain | Army | 1 June 1995 |
| Major | Army | 1 May 2002 |
| Lieutenant colonel | Army | 1 June 2007 |
| Colonel | Army | 1 October 2012 |
| Brigadier general | Army | 2 August 2017 |
| Major general | Army | 2 June 2020 |
| Lieutenant general | Army | 10 June 2022 |