John B. Sylvester
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John B. Sylvester is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General and decorated Vietnam and Gulf War veteran, best known for his command of the famed Tiger Brigade of the Hell on Wheels Division attached to the 2nd Marine Division in the first Gulf War, and his three tours of duty in the Balkans culminating as the commander of SFOR. Sylvester was awarded the Silver Star during Operation DESERT STORM.
[edit] Early life
Sylvester was born at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina, but was raised in Texas. He attended Texas A&M University, graduating in 1967. He enlisted in the Army immediately afterward.
[edit] Military career
Graduating from OCS at Fort Benning in 1968, Sylvester was sent to Armor Officer Basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was then assigned to 2nd Battalion, 13th Armor. In 1970, he was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. While serving on combat duty in Vietnam, Sylvester was awarded the Bronze Star.
After Vietnam, he rose through the ranks, serving in numerous assignments both stateside and abroad. In 1987 he graduated the US Army War College. In 1994 he was served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the ACE Rapid Reaction corps (ARRC) stationed at Rheindahlen, Germany and later deployed with the Corps in NATO's first combat deployment to Bosnia. He later served as Director of Operations, Headquarters, AFCENT Allied Forces Central Europe, based in The Netherlands.
In 1998 Sylvester was named as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations for NATO forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina. From 1999 until his retirement he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff for Training and later the Chief of Staff of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)at Fort Monroe, Virginia, then, on promotion to three star rank he deployed on his third tour to the Balkans as the NATO force Commander, COMSFOR. His final tour on active duty was as the Chief of Staff of the US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Following his retirement he accepted a position with MPRI, as a manager for several Joint Venture companies performing law enforcement work in support of the US Department of State and the Department of Justice.
