Ricardo Sanchez
|
|
Born into a poor family in Rio Grande City, Texas, Sanchez studied hard throughout school. He spent one year at the University of Texas on an ROTC scholarship, eventually transferring to Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M University-Kingsville) in Kingsville, Texas, where he graduated in 1973 with a double major in math and history.
Shortly after graduation, Sanchez was commissioned into the Army, becoming a paratrooper platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne Division stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. By 1977, he was transferred to Armor. He received promotions swiftly and was stationed all over the United States, in Korea, Panama and Germany.
In 1991, then-Colonel Sanchez served as a battallion commander during Operation Desert Storm, successfully leading his battalion to Basra without losing any men. Shortly after the Gulf War, Sanchez was promoted to Brigadier General in charge of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. Afterwards, he served in various duties as deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Southern Command and then as U.S. Southern Command's director of operations.
On July 10, 2001, General Sanchez became commanding general of V Corps' 1st Armored Division. He held that position for nearly two years before assuming command of the entire corps on June 14, 2003. On this date he also became commander of coalition ground forces in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. During his tenure in Iraq, Sanchez oversaw the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein, the capture of Saddam Hussein and less auspciciously war crimes which occurred most notably at Abu Ghraib prison.
In his role as commander of allied ground forces in Iraq, Sanchez was succeeded by a four-star general, former Army Vice Chief of Staff George Casey. It was speculated in the news media that Sanchez was relieved of this role and not promoted to a fourth star because of the Abu Ghraib scandal. Sanchez is currently continuing his tenure as commander of V Corps in Germany.
External links
- US commander 'allowed prison abuse' (http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/671E10BC-DCC9-41C7-B057-6903E2D1D1E8.htm) (Friday 27 August 2004, Aljazeera)es:Ricardo S. Sánchez