Chiarelli, who championed welfare of soldiers, retires as Army vice chief

Chiarelli, who championed welfare of soldiers, retires as Army vice chief
By CHRIS CARROLL
Published: January 31, 2012
WASHINGTON – Gen. Peter Chiarelli retired Tuesday, stepping aside as Army vice chief of staff but insisting that in civilian life he’d continue working to improve care for what he called “the signature wounds of this war” – post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

Chiarelli, 61, who was honored in a ceremony at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Va., led a task force to cut down the rising rate of soldier suicides and pushed to improve diagnosis and treatment for troops with invisible injuries.

“When former [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates promoted Pete to that post, he said that he knew that as long as there was a single soldier in harm’s way, as long as there was a single Army family in need, Pete would not rest,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. “And for more than three years as vice chief of staff, Pete has not rested.”

Chiarelli said that while progress has been made – including a slight reduction in the overall Army suicide rate – work healing the strains of 10 years of war is far from over.

“We must, must, must continue” the efforts now in place, he said Tuesday.
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