Glenn K. Otis

Who was Glenn K. Otis?

General Glenn Kay Otis was a retired United States Army four-star general who served as Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command from 1981 to 1983; and as Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Europe/Commander, Central Army Group from 1983 to 1988. He was a native of Plattsburgh, New York.

Otis enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946 and served on occupation duty in post-World War II Korea. He was later picked from the ranks to attend the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1953. He holds a master's degree in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and, in 1965, was one of the first student officers to receive a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the Command and General Staff College.

During the Vietnam War, Otis distinguished himself in the Tet Offensive as commander of the 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. While defending Tan Son Nhut air base, his unit was faced with an enemy battalion of 600 men, his squadron killed 300 and took 24 prisoners. Throughout his tour in Vietnam, Otis received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit, and eight Air Medals. The squadron he commanded received the Presidential Unit Citation.