John B. Sylvester
Description
LTG John Syvester Graduated from Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning in 1968, Sylvester was sent to Armor Officer Basic training at Fort Knox in Kentucky. He was then assigned to 2nd Battalion, 13th Armor. In 1970, he was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam.
He is best known for his command of the "Tiger" Brigade of the 2nd Armored Division OPCON to the 2nd Marine Division in the Gulf War, and his three tours of duty in the Balkans culminating as the Commander of Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR). Other commands included 3rd Bde 1st Cavalry Division and 1st Battalion, 68th Armor.
After Vietnam, Sylvester rose through the ranks, serving in numerous assignments both stateside and abroad. He earned a M.S. degree in Education and Counseling from Long Island University. In 1987, Sylvester graduated from the United States Army War College. In 1994, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff G2/G3 for the Allied Command Europe (ACE) Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) stationed at Rhein Dahlen, Germany, and later deployed with the Corps during NATO's first combat deployment to Bosnia. He later served as Director of Operations, Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (today known as Joint Force Command Brunssum), based in the Netherlands.
In 1998, Sylvester was named as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations for NATO forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He held two senior tours with the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Virginia, as Deputy Chief of Staff for Training and later as the Chief of Staff. In 2001, he was promoted to the three-star rank and then deployed on his third tour to the Balkans as the NATO force Commander, COMSFOR. His final tour on active duty was as the Chief of Staff of the United States European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart, Germany. He retired in August 2004 and was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal during his retirement ceremony.
His Combat and Service Awards include the DDSM (3), Silver Star, DSSM, LOM (3), and Bronze Star w/V.
His Honorary Awards include the OCS Hall of Fame, National Order of Merit of France, National Order of Merit from Hungary, and the Gold Medallion of the Order of St George.
