Robert J . Wood Robert Jefferson Wood ( June 9 , 1905 – July 8 , 1986 ) was a United States Army four - star general who helped organize the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) military organization in the early 1950s and later served as director of the military assistance program from 1962 to 1965 . Early career . Wood was born in Petersburg , Virginia . He attended Randolph - Macon College from 1925 until entering the United States Military Academy in 1926 . Upon graduating on June 12 , 1930 , he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps . During World War II , Wood served in the Mediterranean theater , advancing through the grades from captain to colonel . As a lieutenant colonel , he served in the G - 3 section of the Fifth Army staff under Major General Alfred M . Gruenther , future NATO supreme commander . Following the war , he attended the National War College and served as a military aide to Secretary of Defense James Forrestal . NATO . In 1951 , Wood was assigned to the Advanced Planning Group charged with creating Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE ) , the NATO headquarters organization . The chief of the Advanced Planning Group was now - Lieutenant General Alfred Gruenther , who was still using Wood as his " personal dog robber " , or staff troubleshooter , so Wood took the job of staff secretary as it seemed to them to be the best control point . " General Gruenther is an extremely able staff officer , " Wood later observed . " I learned more about staff work in the 5th Army and SHAPE from him than I ever did at Leavenworth Command and General Staff School . " As staff secretary , Wood dealt with a diverse set of issues ranging from critical tasks such as helping the planning group organize itself while concurrently working out the nature and organization of the command as a whole , developing the necessary infrastructure , and transitioning the previous planning groups into the actual command headquarters organization ; to comparatively trivial tasks such as devising the SHAPE logo and motto and rescheduling the SHAPE activation date to avoid April Fool ' s Day . Following SHAPE ' s activation on April 2 , 1951 , Wood continued to serve as secretary of the staff at SHAPE headquarters until May 1952 , when he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as Chief of the Defense Annual Review Team for the U . S . Mission to NATO and the European Regional Organization ( USRO ) . In July 1953 , he was assigned as deputy defense advisor to the United States Ambassador to NATO in Paris , France . Senior positions . In January 1956 he was appointed deputy commanding general of the U . S . Army Antiaircraft Artillery and Guided Missile Center at Fort Bliss , Texas , and became commanding general of Fort Bliss and commandant of the Antiaircraft Artillery and Guided Missile School on May 1 , 1956 . On July 1 , 1957 , Wood was assigned as the Army ' s Deputy Chief of Research and Development , working on a variety of projects including antimissile weapons and germ and gas warfare systems . He served on the Army Aircraft Requirements Review Board , also known as the Rogers Board , which was established on January 15 , 1960 by the Army Chief of Staff to review the Army Aircraft Development Plan and the related industry proposals . The Rogers Board ' s members included Major Generals Hamilton H . Howze , Thomas F . Van Natta , Alva R . Fitch , Richard D . Meyer , Ernest F . Easterbrook , and chairman Lieutenant General Gordon B . Rogers ; and its results prefigured the more influential Howze Board on airmobility . In 1960 , he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as commanding general of the Army Air Defense Command ( ARADCOM ) in Colorado Springs , Colorado , assuming command on August 1 , 1960 . Director of Military Assistance . On September 1 , 1962 , he succeeded General Williston B . Palmer as director of the military assistance program in the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs , with rank of full general . The Director of Military Assistance supervised the operational details of arms transfer to NATO allies and other friendly countries , as guided by the State Department . As chief of staff of the foreign military aid program , he was considered to be on the same level as the chiefs of staff of the Army , Navy , and Air Force and of comparable military rank , but without a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff . When Wood retired , the position was downgraded to three stars and eventually its title was changed to deputy assistant secretary of defense ( international security affairs ) for military assistance and sales . Retirement . Wood retired on September 1 , 1965 , but was recalled to active duty on February 1 , 1968 to serve as Director of the Overseas Base Requirements Study Group , a special interdepartmental study group planning future overseas military base locations . Upon completion of this assignment , he returned to the retired list on March 31 , 1969 . He subsequently served on a presidential task force on international development and consulted for the Research Analysis Corporation in McLean , Virginia . He married the former Sarah Thomas on September 4 , 1930 . He died on July 8 , 1986 and was survived by his wife and one daughter . His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal , Legion of Merit ( 2 ) , and the Purple Heart . He attended the Coast Artillery School , the Command and General Staff School , the Armed Forces Staff College , and the National War College .