Ricardo S. Sanchez

Ricardo S. Sánchez (1953) is an American soldier of Mexican origin. He commander of the United States Army during the invasion and occupation of Iraq beginning June 14, 2003.

Biography

Sánchez was born in 1953 in the border city of Río Grande, Texas, into a poor family of Mexican descent and received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and history at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University (Texas A&M). After graduation he began his military career in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and in 1977 transferred to the Armored Corps. After assuming various responsibilities at US military bases in Korea, Panama and Germany, he was appointed battalion commander during Operation Desert Storm, seizing control of the Iraqi city of Basra in 1991 without losing a single man.

After assuming leadership of allied ground forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom in early 2003, Sánchez took responsibility for the attack that killed Uday and Kusay Hussein and the capture of his father, Saddam Hussein.