Robert B. Abrams

Robert Bruce Abrams (born November 18, 1960) is a four-star general in the United States Army who currently serves as the commander of United States Forces Korea.[2] He concurrently serves as the commander of United Nations Command and commander of R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command. He previously served as the 22nd commanding general of United States Army Forces Command from August 10, 2015 to October 17, 2018. He is a 1982 graduate of the United States Military Academy where he was commissioned as an armor officer. During his years of active service, he has held command and staff positions across the Army and joint community in Germany, the United States, Southwest Asia and South Korea. Abrams comes from a family of career military officers. His father was former Army Chief of Staff, General Creighton W. Abrams Jr., and both of his elder brothers, Creighton and John, were Army general officers.[3]

Robert B. Abrams
Robert B. Abrams as Commander, United States Forces Korea in 2018
Nickname(s)	Abe
Born	November 18, 1960[1] Germany
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1982–present
Rank	General
Commands held	United Nations Command United States Forces Korea Combined Forces Command United States Army Forces Command 3rd Infantry Division Fort Irwin National Training Center 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars	Gulf War Iraq War War in Afghanistan
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Legion of Merit (6) Bronze Star Medal (4)
Relations	General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr. (father) Brigadier General Creighton W. Abrams III (brother) General John N. Abrams (brother)

Assignments

Abrams' tours of duty with war-fighting units include the 3rd Armored Division as a lieutenant; the 1st Cavalry Division as a captain, and as a major in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, as a lieutenant colonel (including battalion command and as the Division G3) and colonel (including command of a brigade combat team and as the division chief of staff). His joint experience includes serving as a Strategic War Planner for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with responsibility for the United States Central Command's Area of Operations; and as the Director of the Joint Center of Excellence for IED Defeat, a subordinate of the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency (JIDA).

Commands

Abrams has commanded at every level from company through divisional command. His first command was of D Company and Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. He deployed the company in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Abrams's next command assignment was at battalion level, with 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.

Later, Abrams served as the commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team (Iron Horse), 1st Cavalry Division, where he deployed to East Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, as commanding general of Fort Irwin & the National Training Center, and most recently as commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia from 2011 to 2013, during which he served as commander of Regional Command South in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Abrams has extensive operational experience, having served as an operations officer at squadron, regimental and divisional level. Abrams has also served as an instructor, written doctrine and developed training at the United States Army Armor School, and as executive officer to the Commanding General United States Army Europe and Seventh Army.

Abrams's general officer assignments also include service as the Deputy Commanding General, Combined Arms Center-Training, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and the commander of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

In 2015, Abrams was assigned as Commanding General, United States Army Forces Command, which oversees all United States Army combat units in the continental United States.

On October 11, 2018, the Senate confirmed his nomination to command United States Forces Korea.[4] Abrams relinquished command of Army Forces Command to his deputy commander, Lieutenant General Laura Richardson, on October 16,[5] and assumed command of United States Forces Korea from General Vincent K. Brooks on November 7.[3]

In 2020, Abrams was considered to be the leading candidate to replace Admiral Philip S. Davidson as the commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command,[6] but Admiral John C. Aquilino was nominated instead.[7][8][9]

Education

Abrams holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, and a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

His military schooling includes the Armor Basic [Cavalry] and Advanced Courses, Basic Airborne Course, Ranger School [Class 5–83], the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

Awards and decorations

Medals and awards earned by Abrams include:[10][11]

Combat Action Badge

Personal Awards

Defense Distinguished Service Medal

Army Distinguished Service Medal w/ one bronze oak leaf clusters	Legion of Merit w/ one silver oak leaf cluster	Bronze Star Medal w/ three bronze oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal	Meritorious Service Medal w/ two oak leaf clusters	Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal w/ three oak leaf clusters	Army Achievement Medal w/ two oak leaf clusters	National Defense Service Medal w/ one bronze service star
Southwest Asia Service Medal w/ three bronze campaign stars	Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/ one campaign star	Iraq Campaign Medal w/ two campaign stars
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal	Army Service Ribbon	Army Overseas Service Ribbon w/ bronze award numeral 4
NATO Medal for Service with ISAF	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)	Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

Unit Awards

Joint Meritorious Unit Award w/ 4 oak leaf clusters

Valorous Unit Award

Meritorious Unit Commendation

Identification and service badges

8th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia	Basic Parachutist Badge	Ranger tab
1st Cavalry Division Combat Service Identification Badge[12]	Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge	Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

United Nations Command Badge[13]

4 Overseas Service Bars

References

1. "Register of Graduates and Former Cadets of the United States Military Academy". Association of Graduates, USMA. 18 July 1991 – via Google Books.
2. "Commander UNC/CFC/USFK - Gen. Robert B. Abrams". www.usfk.mil. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
3. Gamel, Kim (2018-11-07). "Abrams takes command of USFK amid nuclear talks with North Korea". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
4. Kheel, Rebecca (2017-10-12). "U.S. commanders for troops in South Korea, South America confirmed by Senate". TheHill. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
5. Meinhardt, Eve (2018-10-17). "Abrams relinquishes command of FORSCOM". www.army.mil. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
6. LaGrone, Sam (2020-12-03). "PACFLT Commander Aquilino Formally Nominated to Lead INDO-PACOM". USNI News. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
7. Lubold, Gordon; Youssef, Nancy A. (2020-11-30). "Trump Expected to Name New Indo-Pacific Command Head". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
8. "Flag Officer Announcement". U.S. Department of Defense. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
9. "PN2393 - Adm. John C. Aquilino - Navy, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
10. "BG Abrams Bio" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-04.
11. "BG Abrams bio on DoD" (PDF).
12. "USFK Change of Command". DoD.
13. "USFK Change of Command". DoD.

External links

• Appearances on C-SPAN