Stephen J. Townsend

{{Infobox military person

| name = Stephen J. Townsend

| image = Townsend Africom.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Official portrait, 2019

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1959}}

| death_date =

| birth_place = Scheinfeld, West Germany{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/03/18/battle-brings-soldier-closer-to-his-ethnic-roots/c08af4d6-9c62-4a6e-8192-5b6eefc34532/|title=Battle Brings Soldier Closer to His Ethnic Roots|date=18 March 2002|newspaper=Washington Post|publisher=Thomas E. Ricks|access-date=5 April 2017}}

| death_place =

| placeofburial =

| nickname = "Steve"

| allegiance = United States of America

| branch = United States Army

| serviceyears = 1982–2022

| rank = General

| unit =

| commands = United States Africa Command
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command
Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve
XVIII Airborne Corps
10th Mountain Division
3d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division

| battles = Invasion of Grenada
Operation Uphold Democracy
American invasion of Panama
Global War on Terrorism

| awards = Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ "C" device
Army Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Defense Superior Service Medal (2)
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star Medal (5) w/ "V" device
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal (6)

| spouse = Melissa Crawford

| children = 2

| laterwork =

}}

Stephen J. Townsend (born 1959) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Commander United States Africa Command from 26 July 2019 to 8 August 2022. He previously commanded the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from March 2018 until June 2019 and XVIII Airborne Corps from May 2015 until January 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/173729/new_operation_inherent_resolve_commander_continues_fight_against_isil|title=New Operation Inherent Resolve commander continues fight against ISIL|date=22 August 2016|publisher=United States Army|access-date=8 September 2016}}

Townsend has served with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 7th Infantry Division, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 78th Division (Training Support), and the 10th Mountain Division. He fought in Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause, and Operation Uphold Democracy. With the 10th Mountain Division, he served in the War in Afghanistan, leading a task force in Operation Anaconda. Townsend commanded the 3d Brigade Combat Team,{{cite web|url=https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/002id3bde.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621043620/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/div/002id3bde.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 June 2008 |title=Lineage and Honors Information - U.S. Army Center of Military History |publisher=History.army.mil |date= |accessdate=2022-08-13}} 2d Infantry Division leading it in the Battle of Baqubah in the Iraq War, and later served in command of the 10th Mountain Division in the War in Afghanistan. He became commander of XVIII Airborne Corps in May 2015 and, in late August 2016, took command of the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, until III Corps commander Lieutenant General Paul E. Funk II took over command of the operation in 2017.

Early life and education

Townsend was born in Scheinfeld, Bavaria, West Germany, in 1959 to a German art student mother and a Pashtun Afghan medical student father, the result of a love affair. He was adopted soon after birth by an American military family in Germany. His adoptive father, James Townsend, was a staff sergeant in an armored unit.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/159428/departing-commander-reflects-three-tours-his-favorite-installation|title=Departing commander reflects on three tours at his 'favorite' installation|last=Kim|first=Kap|date=26 March 2015|work=DVIDS|access-date=8 September 2016}} Townsend grew up in Griffin, Georgia, graduating from Griffin High School in 1978. Townsend graduated from North Georgia College in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.{{cite web|url=http://ung.edu/news/articles/2016/08/ung-alumnus-gen.-townsend-to-lead-fight-against-isil.php|title=UNG alumnus Gen. Townsend to lead fight against ISIL|last=Rogers|first=Eddie|date=3 August 2016|publisher=University of North Georgia|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=11 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911034540/http://ung.edu/news/articles/2016/08/ung-alumnus-gen.-townsend-to-lead-fight-against-isil.php|url-status=dead}} He was commissioned into the Infantry from the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps thereafter. Townsend also earned a Master of Military Arts and Sciences (MMAS) degree at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) degree at the Army War College.[https://www.ausa.org/people/gen-stephen-j-townsend Stephen J. Townsend.] Association of the United States Army.

Military career

File:Lt. Gen. Townsend and Col. Sylvia, Qayyarah, September 2016.jpg, Iraq, September 2016.]]

After receiving his commission as a second lieutenant in 1982, Townsend served as platoon leader, executive officer and assistant plans, operations, and training officer (assistant S3) in 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 505th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division. He participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. He was transferred to the 7th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Ord as the 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry S3. He became commander of the battalion's Company A. After being transferred to Fort Benning, Townsend became S3 (Air) and assistant S3 at 75th Ranger Regiment headquarters. He participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama and later became commander of Company C, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.{{cite web|author=U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) |url=https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0075ra003bn.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324112459/http://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0075ra003bn.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 March 2008 |title=3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment | Lineage and Honors |publisher=History.army.mil |date= |accessdate=2022-08-13}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bragg.army.mil/index.php/about/leadership/commanding-general|title=Lieutenant General Stephen J. Townsend|publisher=United States Army Fort Bragg|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823210307/https://www.bragg.army.mil/index.php/about/leadership/commanding-general|url-status=dead}}

Townsend graduated from the Command and General Staff College and returned to Fort Benning, where he was Senior Liaison Office for the 75th Ranger Regiment headquarters and the S3 of the 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He participated in Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. Townsend was transferred to United States Pacific Command in Hawaii as J-5 Action Officer. He later became Special Assistant to the Combatant Commander. Townsend was sent to Fort Drum in New York, becoming S3 of the 2d Brigade, 78th Division (Training Support) in 1999. In 2000, he became commander of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry in the 10th Mountain Division (Light). Townsend became commander of Task Force Polar Bear, deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda in 2002. Townsend graduated from the United States Army War College and became Division G3 of the 10th Mountain Division (Light) in 2003. From 2004,{{Cite news|url=http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140907/NEWS03/140909461|title=Q&A: Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Fort Drum|last=Block|first=Gordon|date=7 September 2014|work=Watertown Daily Times|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823204002/http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140907/NEWS03/140909461|url-status=dead}} he was Director of Operations, C/J3 for Combined Joint Task Force 180 during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Townsend was appointed commander of the 3d Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. He led Task Force Arrowhead during the Iraq War. Townsend led the brigade in the Battle of Baqubah in June 2007.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062501845.html|title=Troops Take Embattled Baqubah Bit by Bit, U.S. Commander Says|last=Partlow|first=Joshua|date=26 June 2007|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=8 September 2016}} Townsend became executive officer for the United States Central Command commander at Tampa, Florida. He then became senior commander at Fort Campbell and then was Deputy Commanding General (Operations) for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) from 2009. Townsend served in the same position for Combined Joint Task Force 101 during Operation Enduring Freedom. He became Director of the Pakistan/Afghanistan Coordination Cell at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On 4 December 2012, Townsend became commander of the 10th Mountain Division.{{Cite news|url=http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20121204/NEWS03/712049844|title=Fort Drum welcomes new 10th Mountain Division commander at ceremony|last=Block|first=Gordon|date=4 December 2012|work=Watertown Daily Times|access-date=8 September 2016|archive-date=14 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914203322/http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20121204/NEWS03/712049844|url-status=dead}} He also led Combined Joint Task Force 10 and Regional Command East at Bagram.

On 4 May 2015, Townsend became commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant general shortly before.{{Cite news|url=https://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/officer/2015/05/04/xviii-airborne-corps-stephen-townsend-new-commander/26876643/|title=XVIII Airborne Corps welcomes new commander|last=Tan|first=Michelle|date=4 May 2015|work=Army Times|access-date=8 September 2016}} Townsend became commander of Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) – Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) on 21 August 2016, replacing Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland. In this capacity he commanded US forces as they engaged in an air war (supported by special forces and limited Marine deployments plus material and intelligence support to bolster allied ground forces) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). U.S. airstrikes killed tens of thousands of ISIL fighters and catalyzed enormous losses in territory for them.{{cite web|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/once-promised-paradise-isis-fighters-end-up-in-mass-graves|title=Once promised paradise, ISIS fighters end up in mass graves|publisher=The Straits Times|date=15 October 2017|accessdate=11 December 2017}} File:Townsend Takes Reins of U.S. Africa Command 190726-A-LV553-1044C.jpg on 26 July 2019]]

Under Townsend, the CJTF-OIR coalition together with allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Iraqi Security Forces, and the Libyan Government of National Accord launched simultaneous successful offensives against ISIL's capitals in Syria, Iraq, and Libya respectively: the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017), the Battle of Mosul (2016–2017), and the Battle of Sirte (2016). By the end of 2017 ISIL no longer held any territory in Iraq or Libya, held very little territory in Syria, and was down to under ten thousand fighters in total. The Iraqi Parliament declared in December 2017 that ISIL had effectively been eradicated from Iraq, though ISIL insurgent activity continued regularly.Ahmed Aboulenein (10 December 2017). "Iraq holds victory parade after defeating Islamic State". Reuters. Retrieved 11 December 2017.

On 26 March 2017, United States forces allegedly bombed the Tabqa Dam in Syria using bombs including at least one BLU-109 bunker-buster bomb with a 2,000 lb warhead. This attack was under a "no-strike" list due to the hundreds of thousands people that lived downstream of the dam, roughly 10,000 of which were estimated to have died if the dam failed. Townsend, then in command of the Combined Joint Task Force, called claims that the US had struck the dam "crazy reporting" and "the coalition has taken every precaution to ensure the integrity of Tabqa Dam".{{Cite news|last=Dave|first=Philipps|date=20 January 2022|title=A Dam in Syria Was on a 'No- Strike' List. The U.S. Bombed It Anyway|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/us/airstrike-us-isis-dam.html|access-date=20 January 2022}}

On 27 November 2017, Townsend was nominated for appointment as the next commanding general of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and promotion to general.[https://www.defensenews.com/land/2017/12/15/townsend-expected-to-be-new-us-army-tradoc-commander/ Townsend expected to be new US Army TRADOC commander]{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/1264|title=PN1264 — Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend — Army|date=27 November 2017|website=U.S. Congress|access-date=28 November 2017}} The nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on 20 December.{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/1264|title=PN1264 — Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend — Army|date=20 December 2017|website=U.S. Congress|access-date=21 December 2017}} Townsend took command of TRADOC on 2 March 2018.

Townsend became the fifth commander of the United States Africa Command on 26 July 2019. He leads a command responsible for building defense capabilities, responding to crises, deterring and defeating transnational threats in order to advance United States national interests and promote regional security, stability, and prosperity, all in concert with interagency and international partners. Africa Command is one of seven United States Department of Defense geographic combatant commands. In September 2022, upon his retirement, GEN Townsend was succeeded at AFRICOM by General Michael Langley of the United States Marine Corps.{{fact|date=August 2022}}

Awards and decorations

Townsend is the recipient of the following awards:

135px

|Combat Infantryman Badge with star (denoting 2nd award)

135px

|Expert Infantryman Badge

110px

|Combat Action Badge

80px

|Master Parachutist Badge

|Spanish Parachutist Badge

110px

|German Parachutist badge in bronze

80px

|United States Africa Command Badge

70px

|10th Mountain Division Shoulder sleeve insignia

40px

|75th Ranger Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia

50px

|10 Overseas Service Bars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}8px Defense Distinguished Service Medal with "C" device

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}14px14px Army Distinguished Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=US Defense Superior Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=60}} Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|name=Bronze Star ribbon|width=60}}12px14px14px14px14px Bronze Star Medal with "V" device and four oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} Defense Meritorious Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} Meritorious Service Medal with silver oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}14px14px Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Joint Service Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} Joint Service Achievement Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}14px14px14px14px Army Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Joint Meritorious Unit Award ribbon.svg|width=60}}14px14px Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Valorous Unit Award ribbon.svg|width=60}} Valorous Unit Award

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=60}}14px14px Meritorious Unit Commendation with two oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}11px11px Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with two service stars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|name=Afghanistan Campaign ribbon|width=60}}11px11px11px Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three campaign stars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Iraq Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}11px11px Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal with campaign star

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary ribbon.svg|width=60}} Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon.svg|width=60}} Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|name=Humanitarian Service ribbon|width=60}} Humanitarian Service Medal with service star

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}} Army Service Ribbon

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=numeral|ribbon=Army Overseas Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}}11px Army Overseas Service Ribbon with bronze award numeral 6

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=NATO Medal ISAF ribbon bar.svg|width=60}} NATO Medal for Service with ISAF