John Shalikashvili

Infobox Military Person
name=John Malchase David Shalikashvili ( _ka. ჯონ მალხაზ შალიკაშვილი)
born birth date and age|1936|6|27
died=
placeofbirth= Warsaw, Poland
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=General John Shalikashvili US Army (Ret.)
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Army
serviceyears=1958-1997
rank= General
commands=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
unit=
battles= Vietnam War
awards=Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star (with "V" Device) Meritorious Service Medal (4) Air Medal
relations=
laterwork=visiting professor, Stanford University Director, Frank Russell Trust Company Director, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. Director, Plug Power Inc. Director, United Defense Industries, Inc.
General John Malchase David Shalikashvili ( _ka. ჯონ მალხაზ შალიკაშვილი) (born June 27, 1936) is a retired officer of the United States Army who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. He was born in Warsaw, Poland to Georgian refugee parents.

General Shalikashvili is the only immigrant to reach the rank of four-star General in the U.S. ArmyFact|date=January 2008. He served in every level of unit command from battalion to division. [Luttwak, " Why Clinton Called Upon Shalikashvili", Sacramento Bee, 22 August 1993]

Early Life and Family

John Shalikashvili is a scion of the medieval Georgian noble house of Shalikashvili. His father, Prince Dimitri Shalikashvili, served in the army of Imperial Russia. After the Bolshevik Revolution, he became a lieutenant-colonel in thearmy of the Democratic Republic of Georgia. When the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Georgia in 1921, he was on diplomatic service in Turkey. Dimitri then joined other Georgian exiles in Poland, where he met and married John's mother, Maria. They had three children: Othar, John, and Gale. Dimitri served in the Polish Army (along with other Georgian exiles) as a contract officer. In 1939, he fought against the German invasion of Poland. After the Polish defeat, Dimitri was demobilized. In 1941, he enlisted in the the Georgian Legion, a force of ethnic Georgians recruited by Germany to fight against the Soviet Union [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,979163,00.html] [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F0061EF63C5A0C7B8EDDA10894DB494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fS%2fShalikashvili%2c%20John%20M%2e] ] The unit was later incorporated into the SS-Waffengruppe Georgien and transferred to Normandy. Dimitri surrendered to British forces and was a prisoner of war until after the war. A collection of Dimitri Shalikashvili's writings are on deposit at the Hoover Institution.

Meanwhile, Maria, John, and his two siblings lived through the destruction of Warsaw. As the Red Army approached Warsaw in 1944, the family fled to Pappenheim, Germany where they were reunited with Dimitri. They stayed with relatives there for eight years.

In 1952, when John was 16, the family immigrated to Peoria, Illinois. They were sponsored by Winifred Luthy, the wife of a local banker, who was previously married to Dimitri's cousin. The Luthys and the Episcopal Church helped the Shalikashvili family get started, finding jobs and a home for them. Dimitri worked for Ameren, and Maria was a file clerk at Commercial National Bank.

When John arrived in Peoria he spoke little English. He has recalled it this way: cquote
I spoke a little bit [of English] . But not much beyond yes and no and what time is it. And the stories that subsequently have been told that I learned English by watching John Wayne movies is only a little bit of a stretch... As school was over [at Peoria High School] , I would run to the local movie theater. There I would sit through movies in order to learn English. In those days movies didn't start at a specific time and end at a specific time, but they would roll continuously... The first time through it wouldn't make much sense to me. But the second time through, it would begin to make a little more sense. Now in my memory, that is probably very faulty, a lot of those movies were John Wayne movies or at least were Wild West movies.

Shalikashvili went to Peoria High School, where he was a long distance runner. He attended Bradley University in Peoria, and received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1958. He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.

In May 1958, Shalikashvili and his family became American citizens. It was the first citizenship he ever held. He had previously been classified as "stateless", since he had been born to parents who had been refugees.

Army career

After graduation he had planned to work for Hyster Lift Truck, but received a draft notice in July 1958. He entered the Army as a private, enjoyed it, and applied to Officer Candidate School. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1959.

Shalikashvili served in various Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery positions as a platoon leader, forward observer, instructor, and student, in various staff positions, and as a company commander. He was sent to Vietnam where he served as a senior district advisor for Advisory Team 19, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), from 1968 to 1969. Immediately after his Vietnam service, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1970, he became executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery at Fort Lewis, Washington. Later in 1975, he commanded 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery, 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. In 1977, he attended the U.S. Army War College and served as the Commander of Division Artillery (DIVARTY) for the 1st Armored Division in Germany. He later became the assistant division commander. In 1987, Shalikashvili commanded the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis.

Shalikashvili achieved real distinction with his considerable success as the commander of Operation "Provide Comfort", the peacekeeping and humanitarian activity in northern Iraq after the Gulf War. This assignment involved intense and complex negotiations with the Turkish government, and tough face-to-face meetings with the Iraqi military. [GOLDSTEIN, LYLE J. (Spring 2000) General John Shalikashvili and the Civil-Military Relations of Peacekeeping. In Armed Forces & Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26, p387.]

Shalikashvili was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993 by President Clinton, effective October 25. He retired from the Army in September 1997, after serving for 38 years.

Recent and current activities

He was an advisor to John Kerry's 2004 Presidential campaign. He is now a visiting professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He also serves as a director of Russell Investments, L-3 Communications, Inc., Plug Power Inc., United Defense, Inc., and the National Bureau of Asian Research.

He is married and has one son, Brant, a graduate of Washington State University.

General Shalikashvili suffered a severe stroke on August 7, 2004.

In 2007, General Shalikashvili penned an Op-Ed in the New York Times calling for a reversal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/opinion/02shalikashvili.html Second Thoughts on Gays in the Military - New York Times ] ]

Decorations and Badges

*Inter-American Defense Board Medal
*Combat Infantryman Badge
*Parachutist Badge
*Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
*Army Staff Identification Badge
*Vietnam - Vietnam Gallantry Cross with two Silver Stars (Division citation) and one bronze star (Regiment citation)
*Vietnam - Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal (First Class)
*Vietnam - Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 bar
*Canada - Meritorious Service Decoration (Military Division), M.S.C. [http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=240]
*Germany - Bund Naturschutz Medal [http://www.nbg-mil-com.de/Commanders/co.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200701/NAT20070102b.html Retired General Changes Mind on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell']
* [http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/01/tns.Shalidontask070102/ Shalikashvili calls for rethinking ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’]