David Barno David W . Barno ( born 1954 ) is a retired Lieutenant General of the United States Army . He was head of Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan from 2003 – 2005 . Early life . Barno is a native of Endicott , New York . He is a graduate of Union Endicott High School Class of 1972 . Education . Barno ' s military education includes the United States Military Academy ( USMA ) at West Point , New York ( Class of 1976 ) ; Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses , Command and General Staff College , and the U . S . Army War College . In his civilian studies , he earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies at Georgetown University . Service career . Barno was commissioned a Second lieutenant of Infantry upon graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point , New York , Class of June 1976 . He started his career with the 25th Infantry Division , where he served as a rifle , weapons and scout platoon leader . He commanded companies in the 25th Infantry Division and the 1st Ranger Battalion , leading a Ranger Rifle Company during the invasion of Grenada in 1983 . In 1988 Barno returned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion as S - 3 ( Operations ) where he parachuted into Panama during Operation Just Cause . He subsequently served as the aide de camp to the Commanding General of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command . General Barno commanded the 3rd Battalion , 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg , North Carolina , followed by command of the 2nd Ranger Battalion at Ft Lewis , Washington . Following attendance at the Army War College , he commanded the Warrior Brigade , a multi - functional support brigade at Fort Polk , Louisiana , which supported the Joint Readiness Training Center and was then the largest brigade in the Army . He then directed the Joint Task Force training program at Joint Forces Command , Norfolk , Virginia . With three Ranger Battalion tours and command of the 3rd Bn , 505th PIR in the 82nd Airborne Division , he accumulated over 110 parachute jumps during his career , to include a 500 foot night - time parachute assault into Panama in 1989 , during which 11 of 15 jump aircraft were struck by enemy fire . He holds two awards of the coveted Combat Infantryman ' s Badge as well as the Ranger Tab and Master Parachutist Badge with Combat Jump Star . Following selection to Brigadier General , General Barno served as the Assistant Division Commander ( Operations ) for the 25th Infantry Division as well as Deputy Director of Operations , US Pacific Command . Barno was promoted to Major General in 2001 and served as the Commanding General , Ft Jackson , SC , the Army ' s largest training base . During his time at Ft Jackson , he led Chief of Staff Army Task Forces on the Future Force Soldier and Warrior Ethos . Barno was the principal author of the Army ' s 2003 culture - changing Warrior Ethos which dictates : " Mission First , Never Accept Defeat , Never Quit , and Never Leave Behind a Fallen Comrade . " In January 2003 , Barno was deployed to Hungary as the Commanding General of Task Force Warrior tasked to train Free Iraqi Forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . General Barno was promoted to 3 - star General in 2003 at age 49 , becoming the first member of his West Point class of 1976 to achieve that distinction . In October 2003 , he deployed to Afghanistan where he was designated to establish a three - star headquarters in Kabul and ultimately command over 20 , 000 Coalition Forces for 19 months as the first Commander , Military Operations - Afghanistan ( later redesignated Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan , United States Central Command , OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM , Afghanistan ) . During his tenure , he forged a close relationship with U . S . Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad , co - locating his command at the US Embassy compound and creating an integrated civil - military Counter - insurgency campaign plan for Afghanistan focused on the Afghan population , the first of its kind established in advance of the publication of an official post - Vietnam COIN doctrine by the US military in 2006 . After command in Afghanistan , General Barno was reassigned to The Pentagon in Washington , DC where he served briefly on the Army Staff as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management ( ACSIM ) for the US Army until his decision to retire in the spring of 2006 . Following his retirement from active duty , Barno served as the Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington , D . C . for four years and joined the Center for a New American Security as a Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow in May 2010 . From 2007 – 2009 he served as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans and Families for the Secretary of Veterans ' Affairs . He has testified numerous times before Congress on counter - insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan , Al Qaeda and Joint Professional Military Education , and lectures and writes often on those topics . He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies . Present career . General Barno retired from active duty in 2006 and is currently a Senior Advisor and Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington , D . C . From 2006 until April 2009 , he served as the Director of the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University . From 2007 - 2009 he served as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans and Families for the Secretary of Veterans ' Affairs . He testifies frequently before Congress on counter - insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan , Al Qaeda and Joint Professional Military Education , and lectures and writes often on those topics . Barno often travels throughout the Middle East and South Asia region and has lectured at Harvard , Yale , Tufts , Johns Hopkins SAIS , West Point , and the US Army and Naval War Colleges . General Barno ' s many awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge , the Defense Distinguished Service Medal , the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , the Defense Superior Service Medal ( three awards ) , the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster , the Bronze Star Medal , the Meritorious Service Medal ( with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters ) , the NATO Meritorious Service Medal , the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award , the Army Commendation and Achievement Medal s and several campaign and unit awards for combat actions . He also has been awarded the Master Parachutist Badge with Combat Star , Pathfinder Badge , the Ranger Tab , and the German parachutist badge . He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the International Institute of Strategic Studies .