BIO
The U.S. Army Special Operations Command honors the life and legacy of Gen. Carl W. Stiner, who recently passed away on 2 June 2022 at the age of 85.
Stiner, a Special Forces and Ranger-tabbed officer, served in the Army for more than 35 years. After a number of conventional infantry assignments, his first Army Special Operations tour was from 1964 to 1966 as a captain with the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, NC, where he served as a counterinsurgency training officer and operations officer.
Throughout his distinguished career, Stiner was assigned leadership roles in joint special operations. In 1980, after being promoted to brigadier general, Stiner was assigned as the Chief of Staff of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force, the predecessor to U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Upon promotion to major general in 1984, Stiner became Commanding General of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Fort Bragg.
In January 1987, Stiner was assigned as Commanding General, 82nd Airborne Division. Then, in October 1988, he was named Commanding General of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg. From that position, he was designated as Commander, Joint Task Force - South, and served as the operational commander during Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama in December 1989-January 1990.
Promoted to full general in 1990, Stiner became the second Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at MacDill Air Force Base, where he commanded joint special operations forces during Operations DESERT SHIELD/STORM in 1990-1991.
Gen. Stiner retired in 1993. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2004 and the All-American Hall of Fame in 2019 for his distinguished service in the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps.