Korean War

Following graduation from Oxford, Rogers was aide to the chief of Army Field Forces from 1950 from 1951, being promoted to temporary major in July 1951. He graduated from the Infantry School advanced course in 1952.

Rogers was then deployed to the Korean War, where he commanded the 3d Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment from 1952 to 1953, being promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel in August 1953.

Interbellum

Rogers' next assignment was as aide to the commander in chief and staff intelligence officer of the United Nations and Far East Commands from 1953 to 1954. Rogers returned to the United States and graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1955.

Rogers next commanded the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry Regiment from 1955 to 1956, then served in the Coordination Division, Office of the Chief of Staff from 1956 to 1958. This was followed by duty as executive and senior aide to the chief of staff from 1958 to 1959 and promotion to permanent major January 1959 and temporary colonel in September 1959.

Selected to attend the Army War College, Rogers graduated in 1960 and was appointed to command the 1st Battle Group, 19th Infantry,^[4] 24th Infantry Division in Europe from 1960 to 1961. His next assignment in the division was as chief of staff and he also served as chief of the Troop Operation Branch, Operations Division, United States Army, Europe from 1961 to 1962. Rogers' next duty was as military assistant and executive officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Maxwell Taylor, from 1962 to 1966.^[1]

Vietnam War

Rogers was promoted to permanent lieutenant colonel in January 1964 and temporary brigadier general in October 1966, moving on to become the assistant commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967. He served under General William E. DePuy and General John H. Hay, and took part in two major offensives, Operation Cedar Falls and Operation Junction City, later writing an account of them at the request of General William Westmoreland.^[5] As assistant commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Rogers was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross—the Army's highest award for valor after the Medal of Honor—for leading a successful counterattack against a Vietcong raid on a South Vietnamese special forces camp. He rallied troops on the ground and personally scouted enemy positions from a low-flying helicopter under heavy fire. Rogers was one of only a few individuals to receive the Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam for actions taken while serving as a general.

After returning from Vietnam, Rogers served two years as Commandant of the Corps of Cadets at West Point from 1967 to 1969, being promoted to permanent colonel in June 1968.

Division and senior commands

Rogers became one of a select few senior officers chosen for division command, and was assigned commanding officer of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized), and Fort Carson, Colorado, from 1969 to 1970. At that time, the 5th "was considered to be one of the most disorganized and unprepared units in the Army. Racial conflict and drug abuse were serious problems. The division also experienced a high turnover rate as soldiers rotating back from their tours of duty in Vietnam served out the remainder of their enlistments."^[6]: 99

At a time of falling morale, Rogers made sweeping changes in the daily routine of soldiers by abolishing kitchen duty (KP), reveille, roll call and Friday night "GI parties", in which soldiers scrubbed the barracks for Saturday inspections. On February 17, 1970, Rogers issued Fort Carson Regulation NO. 600–16, "Enlisted Men's Council," which established a two-way channel of communication for enlisted men to relay their grievances and suggestions for improvements. The twenty-member "Fort Carson Enlisted Men's Council" elected as its chair 20-year old combat veteran Specialist 4 Scott M. Gray; at its first meeting the council pointed out eighteen issues and suggested ways of solving them. Rogers concurred with the council and ordered the implementation of all recommended improvement initiatives. After four months, 192 issues were discussed by the council; 107 improvements were recommended; 69 were implemented by Rogers.^[6]: 102 Later, councils for junior officers and racial minorities to express their concerns were introduced, and a Greenwich Village-style free speech coffeehouse, complete with folk singers, was set up. Old-line officers were aghast, and two decorated brigade commanders were relieved by Rogers from their duties, but his new strategy worked as morale improved, racial tensions de-escalated and re-enlistments rose. Specialist 5 William J. Rosendahl told The New York Times that he, "had just about given up any hope of working for change within the system when Bobby [Senator Robert F. Kennedy] was shot. Now General Rogers has given me a new faith in that at least some people in the power structure are willing to listen."^[7] Rogers became known as one of the brightest thinkers in the army after he shared his innovative ways of dealing with disciplinary, racial, drugs and other problems at the annual Army Commanders Conference on November 30, 1970.

Rogers was promoted to temporary major general in February 1970, permanent brigadier general in August 1971, temporary lieutenant general in November 1972 and permanent major general in June 1973. The latter came while serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel of the Army, from 1972 to 1974. He was promoted to temporary general in November 1974, and was chosen to command the United States Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson from 1974 to 1976.

Army Chief of Staff

Following this assignment Rogers was selected to be Chief of Staff of the United States Army, a post he held from October 1, 1976, until June 21, 1979, the last World War II veteran to do so. Some highlights of his tenure include supervising the army's move to a 24-division, all-component force; establishing priorities for near-term readiness, midterm modernization, and long-term sustainability; establishing a program to enhance the quality of life of army personnel; and suggesting a limited draft to fill the Individual Ready Reserve.

Rogers continued the reforms he began as a division commander as Chief of Staff, improving training programs and developing plans for a modern "quick-strike" force. He also took steps to make the army more friendly toward women and minorities, calling on commanders to "eliminate any discriminatory handling of soldiers." He also authorized the formation of Delta Force, the first United States military counter-terrorist unit.

Rogers was responsible for starting the army's renaissance after falling into a state of low morale and readiness following the Vietnam War. His innovations and reforms were continued under his successor, General Edward C. Meyer.

Supreme Allied Commander

General Rogers presenting King Baudouin of the Belgians to the national military representatives and to the national representative of the Belgian gendarmerie to SHAPE.

Rogers was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), North Atlantic Treaty Organization in June 1979 and, concomitantly, as Commander in Chief of United States European Command. He assumed his duties as SACEUR on July 1, 1979.^[1]

Rogers in Germany in 1983

In his role as SACEUR, Rogers would have been in command of all NATO forces in the event of an attack by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact on Western Europe. His emphasis on combat readiness led some soldiers to comment that there were two armies – one in Europe ready for war and one in the United States that was not.

Despite his charmed career, Rogers was eager to leave the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Pentagon behind when he assumed his NATO post in Belgium.

You've heard that phrase from a country song that goes: "Happiness is Lubbock, Texas, in the rearview mirror"? ... Well, for me, happiness is the Pentagon in the rearview mirror.

— Bernard W. Rogers

When the Reagan administration signed a treaty with the Soviet Union requiring each side to withdraw intermediate-range missiles from Europe, Rogers called the agreement "foolish." He said the Warsaw Pact's superiority in foot soldiers and conventional weapons left NATO forces at risk of being quickly overrun. His stance drew a pointed rebuke in 1987 from Secretary of State, George P. Shultz, who called the general's comments "way out of line." Rogers soon retired. He served as SACEUR for eight years, longer than any other NATO Supreme Allied Commander. He retired from the army after 47 years of service in June 1987.

Historiographers note that the implementation of AirLand Battle doctrine that he brought with him to NATO was the source of inter-allies friction.^[8] The then-current NATO battlefield strategy for the conventional defense of Central Europe was summarized in a 1987 thesis.^[9]

SACEUR Rogers was troubled by NATO's inadequate conventional military forces when faced with a Warsaw Pact that dominated his on a numeric basis, and ceteris paribus, he would need to resort to the nuclear option. To improve NATO's conventional defence capability, Rogers proposed a novel idea he labelled the "Follow-on Forces Attack" (FOFA) Concept, which theorized to counter a Warsaw Pact invasion by making deep conventional attacks the enemy's second and third echelon forces to prevent them from reaching NATO's defensive positions.^[10]

Individual awards

^[20]

Unit awards

Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation

Other awards

• Combat Infantryman Badge
• Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
• Army Staff Identification Badge
• 1st Infantry Division "Combat Patch"