Ben Hodges
Frederick Benjamin "Ben" Hodges III[1] (born 16 April 1958) is a retired United States Army officer who served as commanding general, United States Army Europe. He has been Senior Advisor to Human Rights First since June 2022 and also serves as NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics.[2] He previously held the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis.[3]
Ben Hodges
April 16, 1958
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
United States
1980–2018
United States Army Europe
Allied Land Command
Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell
1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division
A 1980 United States Military Academy graduate, Hodges became an infantry officer, serving as a platoon leader and company executive officer in the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in Germany. After completing the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1984, he served with the 101st Airborne Division. In March 1989 Hodges became an instructor at the United States Army Infantry School. He studied at the Command and General Staff College and graduated from the School of Advanced Military Studies in 1993, becoming G-3 (Chief of Plans) of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea.
Hodges served as a battalion executive officer with the 101st Airborne before becoming aide-de-camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe in August 1995. He became a battalion commander in the 101st Airborne in 1997. He was Congressional Liaison Officer at the Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison between 1999 and 2000. After graduating from the National War College in 2001, Hodges served at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk. Taking command of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne in 2002, Hodges led the brigade in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2004, Hodges became G-3 of the XVIII Airborne Corps and later simultaneously served as CJ3 of Multi-National Corps – Iraq. He became chief of staff of the XVIII Airborne Corps and was deputy chief of Legislative Liaison at the Office of the Secretary of the Army from 2007. In August 2009, Hodges became director of operations of Regional Command South in Afghanistan. In December 2010 he became director of the Pakistan Afghanistan Coordination Cell at the Joint Staff and in November 2012 took command of Allied Land Command. Hodges became commander of United States Army Europe in November 2014, holding that position for three years until retiring from the United States Army in January 2018.[3]
Early life and education[edit]
Hodges was born on 16 April 1958[4] in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of army veteran and life insurance agent Frederick Benjamin Hodges Jr. and Nell Davis Hodges.[5][6] He graduated from James A. Shanks High School in Quincy, Florida, in 1976.[7] Hodges entered the United States Military Academy, graduating in early May 1980 with a commission in the infantry.[8]
Later life[edit]
Hodges retired to Florida and began work for the think tank Center for European Policy Analysis,[17] [22] becoming the latter's Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies.[23] At CEPA, Hodges has advocated for a stronger NATO.[24] On defense expenditures, Hodges has said, “We need a more sophisticated approach to the spending guideline. The 2-percent number gets tossed around like dues in a club, which is unhelpful... I think the Alliance should take a hard look at the 2-percent calculus to redefine it.”[25]
He has argued for including dual-use infrastructure in the 2-percent, a "win-win" that would address "the most urgent problem in European security" in military mobility, while also offering benefits to civilian life.[26] On Iran, Hodges said, "I was disappointed that we were leaving the agreement with Iran. Not because it's a good deal, but because cooperation with our allies is very important... It worries me when we show contempt for such important allies as Great Britain, Germany or France. The cohesion of our nations was our strength and advantage. Considering all the factors, one must remember that one must not stand against the allies."[27] He has also advocated for placing greater priority on the Black Sea region.[28][29]
His comments on NATO and European security have appeared in several international media outlets, including an interview on LNK Info TV in Lithuania[30] and Anne Will,[31] and articles in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany.[26] In a BBC interview, Hodges stated that Brexit could threaten the NATO alliance.[32] He coauthored a book with General John R. Allen and Julian Lindley-French, Future War and the Defence of Europe, in 2021.[33]
He endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election in an op-ed with Ambassador Robert A. Mandell and Lieutenant General Donald M. Campbell Jr.[34] He has spoken about the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colored).[35] As of 2018, he is an Advisory Board Member of Spirit of America, a 501(c)(3) organization.[36]
Hodges' commentary on foreign militaries, such as his assessment on the strategic weaknesses of Russia's armed forces, has been distributed by news agencies such as Times Radio.[37][38] In September 2022, he penned an op-ed for the British publication The Daily Telegraph in which he argued that Russia would lose in its war against Ukraine at a comprehensive level that will then be followed by the disintegration of the Russian Federation. He labeled the failures of governance under Russian leader Vladimir Putin as the trigger of a current "crisis of confidence" without an easy or simple outcome.[39]
