Lieutenant General William E. Odom

Lt. General William E. Odom graduated from Columbia Military, then, in 1954, the United States Military Academy, West Point. He attended Armor, Airborne, Ranger and The Command and General Staff College. He received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in 1970.

During the Carter Administration, from 1977 to 1981, General Odom was a senior member of the National Security Council Staff and Military Aide to the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs, Zbigniew Brzezinski. At the NSC, General Odom worked on Strategic Planning, Soviet Affairs, Nuclear Strategy, Telecommunications Policy, Terrorism and Persian Gulf Security Affairs.

From 1981 to 1985, General Odom served as Deputy Assistant, then Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, responsible for all Army intelligence operations.

General Odom was Director of the National Security Agency from 1985 to 1988, Advisor to The Secretary of Defense, The Director of Central Intelligence, and The Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In 1988 he retired from the Army with 34 years of service. General Odom was a prolific writer having published five books and numerous papers on Soviet World Politics, Capabilities and Goals.