David H. Huntoon

David Holmes Huntoon Jr. is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who served as the 58th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York from 2010 to 2013.^[2]

David H. Huntoon Jr.
Huntoon in 2010
58th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy
In office July 19, 2010 – July 16, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Franklin L. Hagenbeck
Succeeded by	Robert L. Caslen
Personal details
Born	(1951-10-27) October 27, 1951 (age 73) Germany[1]
Alma mater	United States Military Academy
Military career
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1973-2013
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, Commandant of the United States Army War College
Awards	Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Legion of Merit (with five oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachute Qualification Badge, Ranger tab

Early life

Huntoon is a 1973 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.^[2]

Military career

Huntoon is promoted to lieutenant general by his family at the U.S. Army War College on January 25, 2008.

Huntoon served as an infantry officer in a series of command and staff assignments in the United States and Germany. Following attendance at the Command and General Staff College and the School for Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, he was assigned to XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There, he was deployed as a Senior War Plans Officer for Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield,^[3] and Operation Desert Storm.^[4] He commanded a mechanized infantry battalion at Camp Casey, South Korea, and served in Combined and Joint Plans for the Combined Forces Command and United Nations Command in Seoul. He was the Army's National Security Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He then took command of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Following his service as the Executive Officer to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, he was selected as an Army brigadier general.^[2] His general officer assignments were as Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; leadership of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College;^[5] Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy for the US Army; Commandant of the U.S. Army War College and Director of the Army Staff in the Pentagon.^[2]

In 2012 the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General found that Huntoon had misused his office while at West Point by asking subordinates to perform personal tasks for him.^[6] According to The Washington Post, the Inspector General and the Army kept the information confidential until required to release it after a Freedom of Information Act request shortly before he retired in 2013. Huntoon remained the Convening Authority for West Point while he was under investigation, when he was convicted and when he was censured.^{[citation needed]}

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date
	Second Lieutenant	Regular Army	June 6, 1973
	First Lieutenant	Regular Army	June 6, 1975
	Captain	Regular Army	June 6, 1977
	Major	Regular Army	October 1, 1984
	Lieutenant Colonel	Regular Army	January 1, 1991
	Colonel	Regular Army	September 1, 1995
	Brigadier General	Regular Army	November 1, 1999
	Major General	Regular Army	January 1, 2003
	Lieutenant General	Army of the United States	January 25, 2008[7]
	Lieutenant General	Retired List	2013

Awards and decorations

Army Distinguished Service Medal[8][9] with two bronze oak leaf clusters

Legion of Merit[8][9] with silver oak leaf cluster

Bronze Star[10][8]

See also

• Biography portal

• List of United States Military Academy alumni (Superintendents)