TRADOC honors legendary commanding general in building dedication ceremony

Photo By Wesley Farnsworth | U.S. Army Gen. Robert W. Cone, left, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command commanding general, and Karen Starry, unveil the dedication plaque at Ft. Eustis' Starry Hall, June 8, 2012. The building was renamed for Karen's late husband, Gen. Donn Starry, a prolific commanding general of TRADOC and the architect of the Army doctrine FM-100-5, “AirLand Battle,” which modernized the Army's warfighting concepts.  

FORT EUSTIS, VA, UNITED STATES

06.11.2012

Story by Senior Airman Jason Brown 

Joint Base Langley-Eustis

FORT EUSTIS, Va. -- The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command honored its second commanding general, the late Gen. Donn Starry, in a building dedication ceremony here, June 8.

The command renamed Building 661 "Starry Hall" in honor of the general, who is credited with revolutionizing the Army in the post-Vietnam era through his doctrinal renaissance and intuitive leadership concepts.

Gen. Robert Cone, TRADOC's commanding general, addressed the audience before joining Starry's wife, Karen, and his son, Michael, to unveil a bronze plaque at the entrance to the building and ceremonially cut a ribbon to "reopen" the building under its new name.

"For me, having been exposed to the military my entire life, this is a big deal," said Michael Starry, who serves as TRADOC's deputy director of concepts development and leadership. "My siblings and I grew up as kids in an Army family, and we recognize the effort, energy, and commitment it took from TRADOC to have the building named after our father.

"We're so very proud to experience this," he continued. "It's an incredible honor."

From 1977 through 1981, Starry commanded TRADOC, and was credited with formulating the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine. That doctrine better prepared the Army for modern-day warfare in the 1980s, 1990s and into the early 21st century.

Through his AirLand Battle doctrine, Starry headed modernization initiatives that eventually led to procurement of weapons systems still in use by the Army today, including the M1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Starry's maneuver-based warfighting vision proved itself in defeating the Iraqi army in 1991 and 2003.

The general capped his 40-year career as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Readiness Command, retiring in 1983. He passed away in August 2011, and was interred at Arlington National Cemetery the following January.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Army News Service's J.P. Leipold contributed to this report.

• Date Taken: 06.11.2012
• Date Posted: 06.13.2012 13:52
• Story ID: 89919
• Location: FORT EUSTIS, VA, US