LTG George Sammet, Jr.

George Sammet, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois on September 18, 1919 and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1940. Sammet entered the Army via ROTC in 1942. He received a reserve commission in the Field Artillery and was on active duty with the 359th Field Artillery Battalion in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. The 359th FA was assigned to the 95th Infantry Division. While serving in the ETO with this unit, he received the Bronze Star (V), and the Purple Heart.

Upon deactivation of the 95th Division in October 1945, he was released from active duty. In July 1946, he received a Regular Army commission and was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division in Japan.

Returning to the States in June 1950, he first attended the Artillery Advanced Officers’ Course at Fort Sill, and then was assigned to the Staff and Faculty, eventually becoming the Director of Airborne and Special Operations. Following his attendance at the Command and General Staff College (1954-1955), General Sammet was assigned as the Director of Instruction at the Turkish Artillery School for two years. He was then given command of the 7th Artillery Battalion (1st Infantry Division), where he remained until 1 July 1959. In July 1959, he was assigned to the Office, Chief of Research and Development, where he successively held positions in the International Division; eventually becoming the Deputy Director of Development.

In 1960, he became project manager for the M109 self-propelled howitzer. He was also a member of the Army Reorganization Planning Team in 1962 and a member of the small group which planned for and established the U.S. Army Limited War Laboratory. Following graduation from the National War College in 1963, Sammet became the Commanding Officer of the 4th U.S. Army Missile Command in Korea. In September 1964, he was again assigned to the Office of Research and Development (OCRD), first as the Deputy Director of Missiles and Space and then as Executive Officer. Promoted to Brigadier General in August 1967, he became Deputy Director of Development, Army Materiel Command, on 1 September. From 1968-1969, he was Senior Advisor, First ROK Army and Commander, Detachment L (Provisional), USA Advisory Group, Korea. In December 1969, he was again assigned to OCRD as Director of Plans and Programs.

Promoted to Major General in November 1970, he became Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development on 1 January 1971. On 23 October 1973, he returned to AMC as the DCG for Materiel Acquisition. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on 3 October 1975 and became DCG for Materiel Development. On 1 February 1977, General Sammet was named Commander, U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command (formerly AMC).

He became known as "The Father of Project Management for the Army." General Sammet retired as Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command in 1977.

Promotions

Brigadier General - August 1967

Major General - November 1970

Lt. General - October 3, 1975

Education

He has a B.S. from the University of Illinois.

M.S in International Relations from George Washington University.

M.P.E. from the Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh.

An Honors Graduate from the National War College.

Artifact: Swagger Stick, presented in Korea

#Leadership #Duty #LifelongLearning #math #purpleheart