Peter Schoomaker Peter Jan Schoomaker ( born February 12 , 1946 ) is a retired four - star general of the United States Army and served as the 35th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from August 1 , 2003 to April 10 , 2007 . Schoomaker ' s appointment as Chief of Staff was unique in that he was recalled and came out from retirement to assume the position . Schoomaker voluntarily retired from the Army for the second time in 2007 after completing the full four - year term as Chief of Staff . Prior to his last assignment , Schoomaker spent over 30 years in a variety of assignments with both conventional and special operations forces – he is the first Special Forces - trained Army Chief of Staff and the second to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( General Henry H . Shelton was the first , when he served as Chairman ) . His brother , Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker , M . D . , PhD , was the 42nd Surgeon General of the United States Army . Biography . Schoomaker was born on February 12 , 1946 in Michigan . He was raised in an army family . After attending East Lansing High School , Schoomaker graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education administration . A football player , he was a starter on Wyoming ' s Sugar Bowl team . He holds a Master of Arts degree in management from Central Michigan University , and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Hampden - Sydney College . Military career . Schoomaker participated in numerous deployment operations including Eagle Claw in Iran , Urgent Fury in Grenada , Just Cause in Panama , Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm in Southwest Asia , Uphold Democracy in Haiti , and supported various other operations . After being commissioned as a second lieutenant after participating in the ROTC program at the University of Wyoming , he went to the Armor School at Fort Knox . Schoomaker soon became a Reconnaissance Platoon Leader and Rifle Company Commander with 2nd Battalion , 4th Infantry , and a Cavalry Troop Commander with 1st Squadron , 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany . He then served in Korea as the S - 3 Operations Officer of 1st Battalion , 73rd Armor , 2nd Infantry Division . From 1978 to 1981 , he commanded a squadron of the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta ( 1st SFOD - D ) , commonly known to the public as " Delta Force " , at Fort Bragg , North Carolina . Following a year at the Army ' s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , General Schoomaker served as the Squadron Executive Officer , 2nd Squadron , 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany . In August 1983 , he returned to Fort Bragg , to serve as Special Operations Officer , J - 3 , Joint Special Operations Command . From August 1985 to August 1988 , General Schoomaker commanded another squadron of the 1st SFOD - D . Following the National War College in Washington , D . C . , he returned to command Delta Force from June 1989 to July 1992 . Subsequently , General Schoomaker served as the Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division , Fort Hood , Texas , followed by a tour in the Headquarters , Department of the Army staff as the Deputy Director for Operations , Readiness and Mobilization . General Schoomaker served as the Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command from July 1994 to August 1996 , followed by command of the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg , North Carolina through October 1997 . His most recent assignment prior to assuming duties as the Army Chief of Staff was as Commander in Chief , United States Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base , Florida , from November 1997 to November 2000 . According to the 9 / 11 Commission , Schoomaker wanted to take action against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan using his special operators but was unable to gain approval for the mission . Post - military career . After his retirement from active duty , Schoomaker served as a Director for DynCorp , as well as on the advisory boards of Camber Corporation and EWA - Government Systems Inc . Concurrently , Schoomaker was the Director of CAE USA Inc . ( from November 2007 to February 2009 ) , where he still serves a member of the Human Resources Committee as well as an independent director and consultant on defense matters . Schoomaker is also currently a Director of Aeroflex Incorporated and several private and non - profit companies , including the Special Operations Warrior Foundation .