Ricardo S. Sanchez Bio

For former United States Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the majority of his life has been serving in the U.S. military. A ROTC scholarship led him to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He transferred to Texas A&M University, where he graduated in 1973 as a double major in both Math and History. Sanchez graduated in the top 10 percent of all ROTC cadets in the nation and was named the Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG).

Sanchez served as Commander of Coalition Ground Forces in Iraq spanning three high-level assignments as part of U.S. special forces missions, including as Lieutenant Colonel successfully leading the 197th Infantry Brigade into Basra during Operation Desert Storm, where he did not take any casualties. As Commander in Iraq, he was also part of the mission to target Uday and Qusay Hussein as well as capture Saddam Hussein.

Sanchez was promoted to Colonel and commanded the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Southern Command, eventually becoming the Director of Operations.

Promoted to General, Sanchez became Commander of V Corps’ 1st Armored Division in 2001. He held that position for nearly two years before assuming command of the entire corps. He also became Commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, the coalition ground forces in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.

After the Gulf War, Sanchez was Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq during a period when report of the abuse of prisoners occurred at Abu Ghraib prison. He served over 33 years in the U.S. military before retiring in Nov. 2006, making him the highest-ranking Hispanic in the U.S. Army. In 2008, he released his book Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story.

• Lieutenant General, Multi-National Force Iraq (MNF-I), 2004
• General, Commander of V Corps’ 1st Armored Division, 2001-2004
• Major General, Commander of Combined Joint Task Force 7, 2003
• Director of Operations, U.S. Southern Command
• Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Southern Command
• Colonel, Command of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division
• Lieutenant Colonel, Battalion Commander, 197th Infantry Brigade (Operation Desert Storm), 1991
• Named Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG), 1973
• Platoon Leader, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1971

• Graduated, (double major) History and Math, Texas A&M University, 1973

• Wiser in Battle: A Soldier’s Story (Co-written with Donald T. Phillips), 2008

Website: HarperCollins Publisher
 Email: [email protected]