Major General
John S. Caldwell
Major General John S. Caldwell, Jr. assumed command of the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command on 13 August 1999. He has held a wide variety of important command and staff positions culminating in his current assignment. Most recently, General Caldwell served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition, Headquarters, Army Material Command.
General Caldwell graduated from the United States Military Academy West Point, in 1967 and was commissioned in the Armor/Cavalry. He has commanded armored cavalry units from platoon through battalion. He had combat duty with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and two tours in the Federal Republic of Germany- the last as Battalion Commander of 2-66 Armor, 2nd Armored Corps in 1990.
General Caldwell’s other assignments include: Director, Army Digitization Office, Headquarters, Department of the Army; Assistant Deputy for system Management and International Cooperation, Office of the Assistant Professor for the Department of Engineering at USMA; Research and Development Coordinator, Office of the Project Manager, Abrams Tank Systems; Operations and Training Officer (S-3) for 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment; Operations Staff Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Plans and Training for the Army Staff; Research and Development Staff Officer, Army Studies Group for the Office of the Chief of Staff, Army; Chief, Strategy Application Branch of the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate (J-5) for the Joint Staff, and, Project Manager, Abrams Tank Systems.
General Caldwell’s awards include the Distinguished Service medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak leaf Cluster), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with Oak leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
General Caldwell earned a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (1973), graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College 1979), participated in the Army’s Training with Industry Program at the FMC Corporation (1979-1980), Industrial College of the Armed Forces (1987-1988), and graduated from the Defense Systems Management College, Program Management Course (1991).
General Caldwell and his wife, the former Judy Nisbet, hail from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he graduated from Tuscaloosa High School in 1963.
