Samuel V . Wilson Lieutenant General Samuel Vaughan Wilson ( born 23 September 1923 ) , aka " General Sam " , completed his active military career in the fall of 1977 , having divided his service almost equally between special operations and intelligence assignments . He served as President of Hampden - Sydney College from 1992 – 2000 and as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from May 1976 - August 1977 ; for his foundational work in doctrine for low intensity conflict , where he coined the term " counterinsurgency " ( COIN ) ; and for facilitating the drafting and passage of the Nunn - Cohen Amendment to the Goldwater - Nichols Act creating the US Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict ( ASD / SOLIC ) . He is also credited for helping to create Delta Force , the U . S . Army ' s premier counterterrorism unit . As a general officer , some of his assignments included : Assistant Division Commander ( Operations ) , 82nd Airborne Division ; ( First ) United States Defense Attaché to the Soviet Union ; Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community ; and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency . In his post - military career , he has been a Professor of Political Science and subsequently Wheat Professor of Leadership at the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest at Hampden – Sydney . Early life . A native of Rice , Virginia , Samuel Vaughan Wilson grew up on a tobacco , corn and wheat farm in Southside Virginia hard by the Saylers Creek battlefield , where on 6 April 1865 , the Army of Northern Virginia fought its final battle before limping on westward to surrender three days later at Appomattox Courthouse . As a boy , Sam Wilson often rode his pony over the battlefield area looking for the footprint of two armies locked in combat . What still remained of his spare time after arduous farm chores was spent hunting , fishing , reading and pursuing his musical interests . His mother had been a public school teacher , and his father was a ruling elder in the local Presbyterian church . Both parents taught Sunday school – his mother was his first Sunday School teacher and raised the Wilson siblings in the church . Both parents were readers and deeply influenced their children to love books and enjoy reading , especially history . Sam began his formal education in the fall of 1929 , daily walking the two miles one - way to Rice High School and return to the farm . He graduated at the head of his class on 26 May 1940 . Two weeks later he jogged seven miles through a rainy night from the family farm to the local National Guard armory , where he added two years to his actual age to qualify and was sworn into military service . Education . Lieutenant General Wilson is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Advanced Course , the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Air War College , where he was the distinguished graduate in the Class of 1964 . Following World War II , General Wilson studied at Columbia University and in Europe as a member of the US Army Foreign Area Specialist Training Program ( FASTP ) , later known as the Foreign Area Officer ( FAO ) Program , mastering several languages and becoming a specialist on the former Soviet Union . He has attended a number of night schools , taken numerous correspondence courses and is the recipient of several honorary degrees . Military career . Sam Wilson joined the 116th Infantry Regiment , Virginia National Guard ) as a 16 - year old private bugler in June 1940 . By early 1942 , he had become successively a squad leader , platoon sergeant and acting first sergeant before being sent to Infantry Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) , where he graduated as an 18 - year old second lieutenant at the head of his class and was selected to remain at The Infantry School , Fort Benning , Georgia , as an instructor . As a young officer , Wilson taught guerilla and counterguerilla tactics at the Infantry School at Fort Benning , Georgia , in 1942 and 1943 . In 1943 , already a first lieutenant at the age of 19 , he joined the Office of Strategic Services ( OSS ) and subsequently responded to a presidential call for volunteers for “ a dangerous and hazardous mission ” to be undertaken by an elite regimental - sized unit . This move resulted in his becoming chief reconnaissance officer for the 5307th Composite Unit ( Provisional ) , better known as Merrill ' s Marauders , which operated behind enemy lines in Burma during World War II . His role in that theater was later memorialized in Charlton Ogburn ' s book " The Marauders " , which subsequently was made into the 1962 movie " film " . Then - Lt . Col . Wilson served as technical advisor for the film and was cast as General Merrill ' s deputy " Bannister " under the pseudonym Vaughan Wilson ; he also appeared in the film trailer introducing the film and narrating the trailer . Upon returning stateside from the China - Burma - India Theater as a combat veteran in fall 1944 with his fifth consecutive appointment in hand to the US Military Academy , Wilson was denied admission to West Point for medical reasons . His tour in Burma had ended with multiple medical ailments , including malaria , amoebic dysentery , mite typhus and severe malnutrition . He returned to the Infantry School where he developed and taught courses in military leadership for the next two years . During this period he applied for and was granted a commission in the Regular Army . This move exposed the fact that he had been a fraudulent enlistment , having told a “ white lie ” earlier about his age , and resulted in his being appointed a second lieutenant in the Regular Army as of age 21 — by which time he had already become a combat - experienced captain , Army of the United States ( AUS ) . In September 1947 , although he was only a high school graduate from a small rural school , he entered the Army ' s Foreign Area Specialist Training Program ( FASTP ) and was enrolled in graduate school at Columbia University , specializing in the Russian language and related background and area subjects . Following a successful stint in graduate school , he was assigned for 3½ years to Europe as a language and area student , where he developed near - native fluency in the Russian language , as well as a working knowledge of several other languages . Noteworthy extra - curricular activities during this period included being assigned to the State Department ’ s Diplomatic Pouch and Courier Service , which led to extensive travels throughout the Iron Curtain countries and the Soviet Union , as well as to other countries peripheral to the USSR ; functioning as an official interpreter in Berlin , Potsdam and Vienna ; and serving in a liaison capacity with elements of the Soviet Armed Forces in East Germany and in Eastern Austria . Newly promoted to major , Wilson returned to Washington and was assigned to the General Staff ( Intelligence ) in fall 1951 , where he handled a variety of sensitive special projects until re - assignment to attend the Infantry Officers Advanced Course in 1953 . Upon graduation from this course , he was placed on special assignment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense , where he worked on Coordinating Board ( OCB ) matters as a consultant on Soviet affairs . In the fall of 1955 , Wilson began a three - year assignment with CIA ’ s clandestine services , serving part of this period as a CIA case officer running a series of clandestine operations against the Soviet Union from a cover office in West Berlin . His success in obtaining Soviet secrets allegedly led the Soviets to send a false defector on an ultimately unsuccessful assassination mission . Following completion of the US Army Command and General Staff Course and promotion to lieutenant colonel , Wilson was assigned in June 1959 as Director of Instruction of the US Army Special Warfare School , Fort Bragg , NC . Over the next two years , he gained considerable notoriety for his foundational work on doctrine for small wars , insurgency and counter - insurgency . In June 1961 he was appointed Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Special Operations , serving in that capacity for the next two years and playing a key staff support role at such critical moments as the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 . Upon graduation from the US Air War College in Spring 1964 , LTC Wilson was placed on loan with the State Department and assigned to the US Agency for International Development ( USAID ) under the terms of the Participating Agency Service Agreement ( PASA ) . In this capacity , he was employed at the temporary rank - equivalent of a class one foreign service officer and posted to Nam as Associate Director for Field Operations , where he was concerned with pacification and nation building efforts by the Americans and South Vietnamese . Some sixteen months later , he was appointed by the US Ambassador to Vietnam as United States Mission Coordinator and Minister - Counselor of the US Embassy in Saigon , receiving in connection with this latter post a presidential appointment to the personal rank of Minister . Returning to active military duty in the summer of 1967 , Wilson , now an Army colonel - his military service had been continued for promotion and retirement purposes during his temporary foreign service appointment , assumed command at Fort Bragg of the 6th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) , with a mission orientation on the Middle East . He was shifted From this post in late 1969 to the position of Assistant Commandant of the newly named US Army John F . Kennedy Institute for Military Assistance ( formerly the US Army Special Warfare School ) , where he again worked on doctrinal concepts pertaining to the role and mission of US military advisor s - especially in insurgency , counter - insurgency and nation building environments — and played a key role in the establishment of the Military Assistance Officers Program ( MAOP ) , which subsequently was merged with the Army ’ s Foreign Area Specialist Training Program ( FASTP ) under the designation Foreign Area Officers Program ( FAOP ) . Upon being selected for promotion to brigadier general in the summer of 1970 , he was assigned as Assistant Division Commander for Operations , 82nd Airborne Division Between 1971 and 1973 Brigadier General Wilson was US Defense Attaché ( USDATT ) in the US embassy in Moscow , USSR , at the height of the Cold War . He was the first general officer to hold that particular portfolio . ( He reportedly was the CIA Chief of Station during that same period . ) A former US Marine corporal recalls in an article that Wilson knew each embassy Marine by name and was considered “ our general ” by the Marine contingent there . General Wilson ’ s 1971 - 73 tour in Moscow was marked by his achievement of marked professional rapport with senior officers of the Soviet military high command . His near - native fluency in Russian , plus the fact that he earlier had majored in Russian and Soviet history — especially military history — and had practically memorized the major battles on the Soviet - German front during the course of World War II , provided a fortuitous entré into Soviet military circles on which he fully capitalized . His insights into Soviet strategic and doctrinal thinking gained thereby were subsequently recognized as critically useful to policy makers and planners of the US national security establishment . Wilson again returned stateside , and between 1973 and 1976 held positions in the Defense Intelligence Agency as Deputy Director for Estimates and Deputy Director for Attaché Affairs , followed by an assignment in the rank of lieutenant general as Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community ( D / DCI / IC . ) In May 1976 , Wilson , now a lieutenant general , was tapped as the new Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and oversaw the agency through " the death of Mao Zedong , aircraft hijackings , unrest in South Africa , and continuing Mideast dissension . " link Director Wilson gave a speech to retired intelligence officers in September 1976 , which was declassified in 1993 and included the following notable excerpts : The revelation of true intelligence secrets makes exciting reading in the morning paper . It is soon forgotten by most readers , but not by our adversaries . Enormously complex and expensive technical intelligence collection systems can be countered . Need I remind this particular audience that dedicated and courageous men and women who risk their lives to help America can be exposed and destroyed ? I don ' t think the American people want this to happen especially when our adversaries dedicated to the proposition that we eventually must be defeated - are hard at work . But Americans must understand or they will inadvertently cause this to happen . [ O ] ur primary function is to provide the leadership of this nation with the deepest possible understanding of the military , political , social , and economic climate of countries that affect vital American interests . Our mission is to see that our leaders know about what may happen in the world beyond our borders and about the forces and factors at work there . The American taxpayer should know we do this job well , despite our problems . Wilson is also credited with this statement : " Ninety percent of intelligence comes from open sources . The other ten percent , the clandestine work , is just the more dramatic . The real intelligence hero is Sherlock Holmes , not James Bond . " Responding to the precarious health condition of his wife , Wilson retired on 31 August 1977 . On his return he walked back in the late evening from the local National Guard armory to the family farm , retracing his steps over the same seven - mile route he had traversed 37 years earlier to enter military service . Civilian career . After leaving the Army and CIA directorship in August 1977 , Wilson began teaching at Hampden - Sydney College in Hampden - Sydney , Virginia and continued to consult with and provide advice to intelligence leaders , legislators and U . S . presidents , including former CIA Director William Colby , then - Senator Al Gore and President George H . W . Bush . In 1992 Wilson became President of Hampden - Sydney College and served an 8 - year term during which he shepherded the college through major challenges such as the college ' s contentious internal debate over whether to remain all - male ( it did ) and a major capital campaign drive . He remains involved on campus as a fellow of the eponymous Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest . In 1993 , Wilson was inducted into the U . S . Army Ranger Hall of Fame " for heroism , extraordinary achievement , and continued service to his country and the special operations community . " General Wilson is also a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame . Post - military activities . Activities following retirement from the Army and DIA Directorship in August 1977 include the following : A recent letter to him from General David H . Petraeus , Commanding General , USCENTCOM , reflects the fact that Wilson ’ s earlier work on doctrine for small wars , insurgency , counterinsurgency and nation - building is still considered to be useful . ) Military awards , decorations and badges . Lieutenant General Wilson ’ s personal awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross , Defense Distinguished Service Medal , Distinguished Service Medal ( Army ) with two Oak Leaf Clusters , Silver Star for " “ Gallantry in action ” " with Oak Leaf Cluster , Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster , Bronze Star for Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster , Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters , Army Good Conduct Medal ( for enlisted service ) , American Defense Service Medal , Asia - Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars , World War II Victory Medal , American Campaign Service Medal , National Defense Service Medal , Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal , Vietnam Service Medal with four stars , Army Service Ribbon , Army Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 2 , the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm , and the Vietnam Campaign Medal . Unit awards include the Presidential Unit Citation , and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation . Badges include the Combat Infantryman Badge , Master Parachutist Badge , Joint Staff Identification , Army General Staff Identification Badge , Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge , Defense Intelligence Agency Badge , and the Expert Marksmanship Badge . General Wilson is also the recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal ( 2x ) , the US Special Operations Distinguished Service Medal , the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal , the William Oliver Baker Award , the Arthur D . “ Bull ” Simon Award ( Special Operations ) , the Annual Rylander Award from the National Defense Industrial Association ( NDIA ) , SOLIC Division , for outstanding contributions in Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict ( SO / LIC ) , and the Military Intelligence Corps Association Knowlton Award . He has received the following awards from other nations : The Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm ( Republic of Vietnam ) , the Vietnamese National Administration Medal for Exemplary Service , Vietnam Campaign Medal ( Republic of Vietnam ) . He was awarded the George Washington Honor Medal by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge in 1976 .