Jeffrey W. Talley

Lieutenant General Jeffrey W. Talley is the 32nd Chief of Army Reserve (CAR) and 7th Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command (USARC). As the Commanding General, USARC, he reports directly to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and commands all Army Reserve troop program units worldwide, with total end strength of 205,000 Soldiers and 12,600 civilians. As CAR, he is the principal staff adviser to the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff on all Army Reserve Affairs. He develops Army Reserve budgets, training programs and policy decisions; manages the Army Reserve troop program units, individual mobilization augmentees, and the active guard/reserve program; and serves as the appropriation director of all Army Reserve funds.

Military career
Talley graduated from Louisiana State University in 1981 with a Regular Army commission in the Corps of Engineers. In February 2003, he mobilized and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraq Freedom as Chief of Operations, 416th Engineer Command, Coalition Joint Forces Land Component Command. Upon return from theater, he served in the Pentagon as a strategic planner in the Deputy Directorate for the War on Terrorism, Strategic Plans & Policy Directorate (J-5), Joint Chiefs of Staff. In January 2008, he mobilized again, deploying in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM where he was the Commander, 926th Engineer Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad and the Baghdad Provincial Engineer.

His efforts, described as "Engineering the Peace" enabled the people of the Iraqi capital and its government to advance security and stability efforts. From June 2009 to April 2012 he served as Commanding General, 84th Training Command at Fort Knox where he was responsible for assessing the readiness of Army Reserve units through Combat Training Center-like exercises. He also served on the Secretary of Defense’s Reserve Forces Policy Board from 2009 to 2012.

Civilian career
As a Citizen-Soldier, Lt. Gen. Talley was President and CEO of Environmental Technology Solutions (ETS Partners), in Phoenix, Arizona. (Spivey, 2012); and also, an Adjunct Professor at The Johns Hopkins University. He has over 30 years in various academic, design, consulting, and military positions involving hundreds of different environmental sites and business projects throughout the United States and abroad.

Education
Talley holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an Executive M.B.A. from the University of Oxford in England. He also holds multiple master’s degrees in strategic studies, environmental engineering and science, liberal arts (history and philosophy), and religious studies. He is a graduate of the Army War College. He is a registered Professional Engineer, a Board Certified Environmental Engineer in Environmental Sustainability, and a Diplomate, Water Resources Engineer.

Military Awards
Talley’s military awards and decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal, three Bronze Star Medals, the USACE Silver De Fleury Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, Parachutist and Air Assault Badges, Ranger Tab, Joint Staff and Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badges.

Vision for the Army Reserve
Talley shared his Rally Point 32 strategy with Army Reserve leaders at the Senior Leader Conference in Raleigh, June 10, 2012. Rally Point 32 ties together the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army’s Marching Orders, Army Reserve Vision and Strategy 2020, and the Army Reserve Campaign Plan. It describes the Talley’s intent to sustain a high-quality, all-volunteer, operational Army Reserve for Army and Joint Force missions at home and abroad.

Talley said the Army Reserve will posture itself through “progressive readiness” by providing appropriate levels of readiness at the right place and right time. Another key component of Rally Point 32 is getting back to basics through home-station training. He is putting the responsibility for these training requirements on the unit command teams with support from the training commands and USARC staff.

The reason for the existence of the Army Reserve is to serve the Army, Talley stated. He added that Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army chief of staff, coming to Fort Bragg for the change of command ceremony, sends a “pretty clear message to the Army how important the Army Reserve is .”.