Biography

Robert H. Clegg was born in Boston, Massachusetts into an Army family in 1946. He entered the military profession after graduating from ROTC as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1969 from the University of Rhode Island. While at URI, he was on both the URI soccer team for four years and the wrestling team for two years. He was also the treasurer for the Phi Mu Delta fraternity and president of the Scabbard and Blade.

Colonel Clegg’s assignments started as an Armor officer at the 1st AIT Brigade, Ft Dix, NJ and then in Germany with the 8th Infantry Division. As a tank platoon leader, he qualified his M-60 tanks in Grafenwehr. Rotating from Baumholder, he proceeded to Vietnam after graduating from Special Forces Officer Course as a Military Intelligence officer.

In Vietnam, he served as the G2 Air for the MACV Team 1/First Regional Assistance Command. His duties included managing B-52 Archlight operations and intelligence in the five northern most provinces of South Vietnam which contributed to the success of the Easter Offensive in Hue and Quang Tri in 1972. He also served as a crewmember flying with air cavalry troops and was shot down in a fire fight.

He was dispatched to Washington D.C. where he introduced digital satellite imagery to the tactical echelons of the Army as a Branch Chief, US Army Imagery Intelligence Center. After completing Command and General Staff College, Colonel Clegg returned to Washington as the Department of the Army Topographic Programs Officer furthering such initiatives as the Global Positioning System and the Army Terrain Analysis Force Structure. As a member of the Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he monitored the intelligence collection operations of aircraft assets, such as the SR-71 and U-2, worldwide.

Colonel Clegg returned to Germany as the Commander, Special Security Command, U.S. Army Europe, Heidelberg, responsible for the secure use of Sensitive Compartment Information with detachments in four countries and Berlin. He then assumed the G-2 duties for the 56th Field Artillery Command during the introduction and fully operational capability of the Pershing II nuclear missiles, defending against terrorists, protesters, and hostile intelligence operatives. He returned to the US as a professor at the US Military Academy, West Point.

COL Clegg deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm to command the Joint Imagery Production Complex, J2, CENTCOM, consisting of an Air Force Squadron, two Marine Companies, two Army Companies, an assortment of sailors and special operations soldiers, and 36 Brits, Canadians, and Australians, all of whom provided imagery intelligence to CENTCOM operational forces. His final assignment was Commander, Central Security Facility at Fort Meade, Maryland until 1993.

Since retirement, Colonel Clegg has been sharpening the spear of the officer corps as a professor at the Joint Forces Staff College, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, the Army War College and the Air Command and Staff College Distant Learning Master’s Degree.  His holds degrees from the University of Rhode Island with two Master degrees in Civil and Environment Engineering and in Geography from the University of Wisconsin, and a doctorate degree in Geography from the University of Maryland.

Colonel Clegg’s military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and Army Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal, and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. His badges include: Special Forces Tab, Airborne, Air Assault, Air Crewman, Department of Army Staff and Office of the Joint Chiefs.
As an avid runner, he ran the equivalent of around the world, has been in all major league baseball parks; is a hunter and rode a Harley in Rolling Thunder. Colonel Clegg and his wife Jean reside in Clifton, VA.

Colonel Clegg has spent his entire life serving his community and nation during peace and war. His exemplary devotion to duty, personal bravery and outstanding leadership are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon his country, his family and the University of Rhode Island.