Daniel W . Christman Daniel William Christman ( born May 5 , 1943 ) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general , former Superintendent of the United States Military Academy ( 1996 – 2001 ) , and the current Senior Vice President for International Affairs , U . S . Chamber of Commerce . A 1965 graduate of West Point , he went on to earn multiple post - graduate degrees and hold numerous commands during his army career . Christman served in highly visible and strategically important positions and four times was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal , the nation ' s highest peacetime service award . Early life and education . A native of Hudson , Ohio , Christman attended Western Reserve Academy for high school and graduated first in his class from West Point in 1965 . He holds master ’ s degrees in civil engineering and public affairs from Princeton University and graduated with honors from George Washington University law school . He is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College . He is a member of the Pennsylvania and Washington , D . C . , bar associations and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations . He is a graduate of the army Ranger School and Airborne School . Military command positions . Christman ' s military career included company commands with the 2nd Engineer Battalion , Changpo - Ri , Korea ( 1966 ) , and the 326th Engineer Battalion , Hue , Vietnam ( 1969 – 1970 ) . His battalion command was with the 54th Engineer Battalion in Wildflecken , Germany ( 1980 – 1982 ) . He commanded the Savannah District , U . S . Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah , Georgia , ( 1984 – 1986 ) . He then was the Commanding General , U . S . Army Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood and Commandant , U . S . Army Engineer School , Fort Leonard Wood , Mo . , ( 1991 – 1993 ) . Christman served as the 19th U . S . Representative to the NATO Military Committee , Brussels , Belgium ( 1993 – 1994 ) before taking command at the United States Military Academy as the 55th Superintendent ( 1996 – 2001 ) . Major military staff positions . Christman ' s major staff assignments involved service as Staff Assistant with National Security Council , the White House ( 1975 – 1976 ) . He was a Staff Officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations , Department of the Army , Washington , D . C . , ( 1976 – 1978 ) . In both of these assignments , Christman was responsible for advising the Army Chief of Staff and senior staff on the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks ( SALT ) . He was also called upon to testify before the House Select Committee on intelligence regarding Soviet compliance with earlier arms control agreements . Christman also served for 21 months as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John M . Shalikashvili . In this capacity , he supported Secretary of State Warren Christopher as a member of the Middle East Peace Negotiating Team and in arms control negotiations with the Russian Federation . Additionally , Christman served for a year and a half as Army adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , Admiral William J . Crowe , and then as Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States for National Security Affairs . Christman also served as Director of Strategy , Plans and Policy in Department of Army Headquarters , Washington , D . C . His duties in this assignment focused on negotiations relating to the Conventional Forces in Europe ( CFE ) arms control talks between NATO and the Warsaw Pact . In the course of supporting these negotiations on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Chairman , JCS , Christman briefed former President Bush and traveled to Europe to brief allied heads of state and the NATO Secretary General . Post military . Christman has appeared as a military analyst for CNN International during Operation Iraqi Freedom . He is a frequent contributor to CNN , and has also appeared on ABC , Fox , MSNBC , CNBC , and C - SPAN to discuss defense and national security issues . Christman has written and lectured extensively on leadership and national defense , including the ongoing war against international terrorism . Christman was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Ultralife Corporation of Newark , New York , in August 2001 . He is currently Senior Vice President International Affairs for the U . S . Chamber of Commerce , a position he has held since June 2003 , and was previously the Executive Director of the Kimsey Foundation in Washington , D . C . He also currently serves as a director of United Services Automobile Association , an insurance mutual corporation and Entegris , Inc . , a semi - conductor equipment manufacturer .