page_title: John Abizaid
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: John Abizaid / Career
caption_attribution_description: Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates and General John P. Abizaid present the Commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. William J. Fallon. Fallon took charge of CENTCOM at a Change of Command ceremony held at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.
context_page_description: John Philip Abizaid is a retired United States Army general and former U.S. Central Command commander who is currently the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
  Abizaid retired after 34 years of service. As of 2007, Abizaid is employed as a fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He assumed the Distinguished Chair of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point in December 2007. Abizaid was appointed to the board of directors of RPM International on January 24, 2008, and also sits on the board of directors of the Defense Ventures Group. In 2008 he was selected as a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College.
  On November 13, 2018, he was nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He was confirmed by the United States Senate as Ambassador on April 10, 2019 and sworn in on April 30, 2019. Abizaid formally presented his credentials to King Salman on June 16, 2019.
context_section_description: Abizaid was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Class of June 1973. He started his career with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as a rifle and scout platoon leader. He commanded companies in the 2nd and 1st Ranger Battalions, leading a Ranger Rifle Company during the invasion of Grenada. In 1983, he jumped from an MC-130 onto a landing strip in Grenada and ordered one of his Rangers to drive a bulldozer like a tank toward Cuban troops as he advanced behind it—a move highlighted in the 1986 Clint Eastwood film, Heartbreak Ridge.
  Abizaid commanded the 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Regiment combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, during the Persian Gulf War and deployed with the battalion in Northern Iraq to provide a safe haven for the Kurds.
  His brigade command was the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. He served as the Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armored Division, in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following that tour, he served as the 66th Commandant at the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, he reined in hazing rituals and revamped the curriculum. Later, he took command of the 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One," in Würzburg, Germany, from David L. Grange, which provided the first U.S. ground forces into Kosovo. He served as the Deputy Commander (Forward), Combined Forces Command, U.S. Central Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  Staff assignments include a tour with the United Nations as Operations Officer (G-3) for Observer Group Lebanon and a tour in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. European staff tours include assignments in both the Southern European Task Force and Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe. Abizaid also served as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of Strategic Plans and Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff and Director of the Joint Staff.
  Following the Iraq War and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, he assumed command of Central Command from General Tommy Franks.
  On December 20, 2006, it was announced that Abizaid would step down from his position and retire in March 2007. He had planned to retire earlier, but stayed at the urging of Donald Rumsfeld. On March 16, 2007, Abizaid transferred command to Admiral William J. Fallon, after serving longer as Commander, U.S. Central Command than any of his predecessors.
  On September 8, 2016, Abizaid was appointed advisor to Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
  On November 13, 2018, he was nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He was confirmed by the United States Senate as Ambassador on April 10, 2019 and sworn in on April 30, 2019. Abizaid formally presented his credentials to King Salman on June 16, 2019.
caption: Robert Gates with Fallon and Abizaid at a CENTCOM change of command ceremony in March 2007.
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