US Army Lieutenant General, Foreign Policy Scholar. He graduated from West Point in 1954 and received a master's degree from Columbia University in 1962 and a doctorate in 1970. He was assigned to a variety of command and staff positions in the US and overseas, including service in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. From 1972 to 1974 Odom was a military attaché at the US Embassy in Moscow, where he continued the study that made him a recognized authority on Russia and the Soviet Union. In 1977 he became Military Assistant to President Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and he was Director of the National Security Agency during President Reagan's second term. He served in the Army until 1988 and attained the rank of Lieutenant General, and his awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit. After leaving the Army, General Odom was a college professor, authored seven books and numerous articles and papers on foreign policy, and commented on foreign affairs and current events for several television news programs. Though he did not identify with either the Democratic or Republican parties, General Odom's previous reputation as an opponent of compromise with the Soviet Union caused him to stand out as an opponent of US involvement in Iraq. Well before the 2003 invasion, he warned against military action, and in 2007 he delivered on behalf of the Democratic party a national radio address on Iraq that was critical of President Bush.
US Army Lieutenant General, Foreign Policy Scholar. He graduated from West Point in 1954 and received a master's degree from Columbia University in 1962 and a doctorate in 1970. He was assigned to a variety of command and staff positions in the US and overseas, including service in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. From 1972 to 1974 Odom was a military attaché at the US Embassy in Moscow, where he continued the study that made him a recognized authority on Russia and the Soviet Union. In 1977 he became Military Assistant to President Carter's National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, and he was Director of the National Security Agency during President Reagan's second term. He served in the Army until 1988 and attained the rank of Lieutenant General, and his awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit. After leaving the Army, General Odom was a college professor, authored seven books and numerous articles and papers on foreign policy, and commented on foreign affairs and current events for several television news programs. Though he did not identify with either the Democratic or Republican parties, General Odom's previous reputation as an opponent of compromise with the Soviet Union caused him to stand out as an opponent of US involvement in Iraq. Well before the 2003 invasion, he warned against military action, and in 2007 he delivered on behalf of the Democratic party a national radio address on Iraq that was critical of President Bush.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Odom memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
