R . Steven Whitcomb R . Steven Whitcomb is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General . He was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from the University of Virginia in 1970 . His most current assignment he served as the Inspector General in the Office of The Inspector General ( OTIG ) of the United States Army Inspector General Agency . Company grade assignments . Whitcomb served in his first assignment as a rifle and weapons platoon leader in Company C , 2d Battalion , 508th Infantry ( Airborne ) , 82d Airborne Division . His first Platoon Sergeant was Sergeant First Class Richard Sikes . Branch transferring to Armor , his initial assignments included Commander , Company B , 2d and then 3rd Battalion , 64th Armor , 3rd Infantry Division . First Sergeant Arthur L . Jones served as the company ' s First Sergeant . Following company command , he served as Assistant Professor of Military Science , California University of Pennsylvania . Field grade assignments . Next assigned to the Republic of Korea , Whitcomb served as S3 , 524th Military Intelligence Battalion . Posted to Fort Hood , Texas he served as Deputy G2 , 2d Armored Division , and then S3 and XO , 3rd Battalion , 67th Armor , as well as Aide - de - Camp to the Commanding General , III Corps and Fort Hood . His next assignment was in Germany where he commanded the , 2d Battalion , 70th Armor , 1st Armored Division , deploying the battalion to combat in Desert Shield / Desert Storm . The Battalion Command Sergeant Major was Command Sergeant Major Ralph Broughton . After battalion command , he served as a staff officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans , Headquarters Department of the Army . Colonel assignments . Whitcomb served as Commander , 2d Brigade , 24th Infantry Division , with elements of the brigade deploying to Somalia and Haiti . Command Sergeants Major Ben Palacios and Joseph John served with him . His follow - on was a second tour at Headquarters , Department of the Army as a director in Force Development followed by service as Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff , Army . General Officer assignments . After completing his tour of duty at Headquarters , Department of the Army , Whitcomb assumed the duties of Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver , 1st Cavalry Division , Fort Hood , Texas , deploying with elements of the Division to Bosnia , followed by an assignment as Deputy Commanding General , Fort Knox , Kentucky with Command Sergeant Major Carl Christian . During his second tour of duty in the Republic of Korea , Whitcomb served as the C3 / J3 , United Nations Command , Combined Forces Command , United States Forces Korea , and Deputy Commanding General , Eighth United States Army . He was again reassigned to Fort Knox , Kentucky where he served as the Commander , U . S . Army Armor Center - Command Sergeants Major Carl Christian and then Joe Gainey served as part of the command team . In January 2003 , he was assigned to US Central Command , serving as the Chief of Staff , CENTCOM during OIF and OEF . Whitcomb assumed command of Third Army , US Army Central , ( CFLCC ) Forward Camp Arifjan , Kuwait on October 13 , 2004 and ended this tour December 18 , 2007 . Whitcomb became the 63rd Inspector General of the Army on February 14 , 2008 . He retired on August 13 , 2010 . Education . Whitcomb ' s education includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course , Counter Intelligence Officer Course , the Armor Advance Course , Command and General Staff College , and the U . S . Army War College . His civilian education includes a Bachelor ' s of Arts Degree in History from the University of Virginia and a Masters Degree in Education from California University of Pennsylvania . Decorations . Whitcomb has been awarded the following military decoration s :