Volney F. Warner

Volney Frank Warner (7 June 1926 – 13 November 2019) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander-in-Chief, United States Readiness Command (USCINCRED) from 1979 to 1981.

Early career Warner was born in Woonsocket, South Dakota. He enlisted in the Navy in 1944, then was transferred to the Army the following year upon receiving an alternate appointment from South Dakota to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1950, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry. The RDJTF became United States Central Command in 1983 and REDCOM was replaced by United States Special Operations Command in 1987.

Post-military Warner retired from the Army on 31 July 1981. Subsequently, Warner was Vice President of Applied Technology, Vertex Systems, Incorporated, and later established V.F. Warner and Associates, a Washington-based consulting firm. He resided in McLean, Virginia.

Personal life Warner's awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star with V Device (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medals with V Device, Army Commendation Medal with V Device (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantryman Badge (2nd Award), and Master Parachutist Badge. His military education includes the Command and General Staff College in 1963; Armed Forces Staff College in 1965; and the National War College in 1969, at which time he also received a Master of Science degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

Warner married Belva Janice Forbes in 1950, and had two daughters and two sons, one a retired brigadier general and the other a retired colonel. On 18 August 2005, Warner's granddaughter, First Lieutenant Laura Margaret Walker, was killed in action in Delak, Afghanistan, making her the first female West Point graduate to die in combat. Warner later come out to publicly criticize the Iraq War, and proposed pre-emptive peace as an alternative to pre-emptive war for the future. Volney Warner died on 13 November 2019, at the age of 93.

The Wounded Knee Siege of 1973 While serving as Chief of Staff to the 82nd Airborne Division, Warner was seconded to the White House by General Alexander Haig, then Chief of Staff to President Nixon. Warner was to serve as the senior federal representative to address the standoff at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Warner successfully resolved the issue without bloodshed. Attorney Kenneth Tilsen, representing the American Indian Movement, commented that "Warner was the only one who really knew what he was doing...".

Boots on the ground Warner is credited with coining the phrase "boots on the ground", to mean the actual forces engaged in a conflict. The first use of the phrase is identified as a quote in the Christian Science Monitor (11 April 1980) in reference to the Iran hostage crisis: "US options grow more difficults as the chance of a Soviet response increases. However, many American strategists now argue that even light, token US land forces – 'getting US combat boots on the ground' as General Warner puts it – would signal to an enemy that the US is physically guarding the area and can only be dislodged at the risk of war."