John F . Campbell ( general ) General John F . Campbell is a United States Army general who currently serves as the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army . Prior to his current assignment , Campbell was the Deputy Chief of Staff G - 3 / 5 / 7 of the United States Army . Campbell also served as Commanding General , 101st Airborne Division from 2009 to 2011 . Military career . Campbell graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1979 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry . His first assignments were as a Rifle Platoon Leader , Company Executive Officer , and Anti - tank Platoon Leader with the 3rd Battalion , 28th Infantry Regiment in Wiesbaden , Germany . After attending the Infantry Officers Advance Course and the Special Forces Qualification Course , Campbell served as a Battalion Adjutant and Operational Detachment Alpha Commander in 1st Battalion , 5th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) at Fort Bragg , North Carolina followed by assignments in the 82nd Airborne Division as commander of Bravo Company , 3rd Battalion , 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment and as the Division G - 3 Air Officer . Campbell was then assigned as the Assistant Professor of Military Science and then the Professor of Military Science at the University of California , Davis . He was selected to attend the Command and General Staff College , after which he was again assigned to Ft Bragg and the 82nd Airborne Division , where he served as the Division G - 3 Training Officer , Brigade Operations Officer for the 2nd Brigade , 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment and as the Aide - de - camp for the XVIII Airborne Corps Commander ( deployed during Operation Uphold Democracy ) . Campbell commanded the 2nd Battalion 5th Infantry Regiment , 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks , Hawaii followed by attendance at the United States Army War College in Carlisle , Pennsylvania . Upon graduation he was assigned to the Joint Staff . Campbell commanded the 1st Brigade , 82nd Airborne Division and the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and deployed his Brigade Combat Team to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . Following command Campbell was assigned to the Army Staff and served as the Executive Officer to the 35th Chief of Staff of the United States Army , Peter J . Schoomaker . General officer assignments . After promotion to general officer , in 2005 , Campbell was assigned to Fort Hood , Texas as the Deputy Commanding General for Maneuver ( DCG - M ) for the 1st Cavalry Division and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the DCG - M for Multi - National Division – Baghdad for both the 4th Infantry Division and the 1st Cavalry Division . Campbell ' s following assignment was as the Deputy Director for Regional Operations , J33 , The Joint Staff . In 2009 , Campbell was named Commanding General , 101st Airborne Division , in Fort Campbell , Kentucky . While serving as the Commanding General , he also commanded Combined Joint Task Force 101 the operational headquarters for Regional Command East in Afghanistan from June 2010 to May 2011 . Upon relinquishing command of the 101st Airborne Division in August 2011 to Major General James C . McConville , Campbell was promoted to Lieutenant General and became the Army Deputy Chief of Staff , G - 3 / 5 / 7 . Campbell was promoted to General and sworn in as the Army Vice - Chief of Staff on 8 March 2013 . Awards and decorations . General Campbell has received six Overseas Service Bar s .