Bernard William Rogers was born in Fairview, Kansas, on 16 July 1921; graduated from the United States Military Academy, 1943; was commissioned a second lieutenant, June 1943, and attended the basic course at the Infantry School, Fort Benning; was promoted to temporary first lieutenant, December 1943, and assigned to the 275th Infantry, 1943?1944; married Ann Ellen Jones, 1944; was instructor of economics, government, and history at West Point, 1944?1946; was promoted to temporary captain, February 1945; was aide to the High Commissioner to Austria and to the commander of the Sixth Army, 1946?1947; attended Oxford University, England, as a Rhodes scholar, 1947?1950, receiving bachelor and master of arts degrees in philosophy, politics, and economics; was aide to the chief of Army Field Forces, 1950?1951; was promoted to permanent captain, January 1949, and temporary major, July 1951; graduated from the Infantry School advanced course, 1952; commanded the 3d Battalion, 9th Infantry, in Korean operations, 1952?1953; was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel, August 1953; was aide to the commander in chief and staff intelligence officer of the United Nations and Far East Commands, 1953?1954; graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, 1955; commanded the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry, 1955?1956; served in the Coordination Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, 1956?1958; was executive and senior aide to the chief of staff, 1958?1959; was promoted to permanent major (January) and temporary colonel (September), 1959; graduated from the Army War College, 1960; commanded the 1st Battle Group, 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, in Europe, 1960?1961; was chief of staff of the 24th Division and chief of the Troop Operation Branch, Operations Division, United States Army, Europe, 1961?1962; was military assistant and executive officer to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, 1962?1966; was promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel, January 1964, temporary brigadier general, October 1966, and permanent colonel, June 1968; was assistant division commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam operations, 1966?1967; was commandant of cadets at West Point, 1967?1969; was commander of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) and Fort Carson, 1969?1970; was promoted to temporary major general, February 1970, and permanent brigadier general, August 1971; was chief of legislative liaison, 1971?1972; was promoted to temporary lieutenant general, November 1972, and permanent major general, June 1973; was deputy chief of staff for personnel of the Army, 1972?1974; was promoted to temporary general, November 1974; was commander of the United States Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, 1974?1976; was chief of staff of the United States Army, 1 October 1976?21 June 1979; supervised the Army?s move to a 24-division all-component force, established priorities for near-term readiness, midterm modernization, and long-term sustainability, established a program to enhance the quality of life of Army personnel, and suggested a limited draft to fill the Individual Ready Reserve; was appointed Supreme Allied Commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, July 1979; retired from active service, June 1987.