Gen. (ret.) Charles “Chuck” Jacoby, Jr.
Gen. (ret.) Chuck Jacoby, who capped a 37-year Army career as commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, passed away unexpectedly at his home in North Carolina on April 1. He is remembered as a thoughtful and humble servant leader-a soldier-scholar who met every mission without letting the demands of the day obscure his long view of his profession and the nation or distract him from investing in his family, mentoring the next generation of leaders, and finding joy in the camaraderie of the soldier’s life.
Chuck was born in Detroit on June 19, 1954, the second of three children born to Charles and Roberta Johnson Jacoby. Charles Sr. was an amphibious combat engineer who participated in thirteen landings while island-hopping across the Pacific in World War II. Of Chuck’s three uncles, one was badly wounded at Okinawa, one with Patton’s Third Army in Europe, and one enlisted in the Air Force just after the war.
Growing up in that legacy of service, Chuck never really considered another path. He commanded at every level and eventually earned four stars, but the path was anything but smooth. Denied admission to West Point out of high school, he enrolled in ROTC at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. While Chuck studied and trained, his mother applied and reapplied to the Academy on his behalf; he was finally admitted with the Class of 1978. Commissioned as an infantry officer, he commanded a company of the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation URGENT FURY in Grenada and then earned a master’s degree from the University of Michigan on his way back to teach history at West Point.
He married Grace Dorta while in school at Fort Leavenworth as a major, which he said gave him love, balance, and babies-a center of gravity to his life that made him a better person in every way, including a better soldier. Grace was the best partner imaginable in his life of service. Retired as a lieutenant colonel herself, duty and sacrifice were instinctive to her.
He commanded a battalion in the 82nd as a lieutenant colonel, and Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras as a colonel. He was working in the Pentagon as a new one-star when terrorists flew a plane into the building on September 11, 2001. In the wars that followed, he deployed to Afghanistan with the 25th Infantry Division, Commanded Army forces in Alaska, and, as a three-star, commanded all coalition forces in Iraq in 2009 and 2010. He also served as Director of Strategy, Plans, and Policies on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon.
From 2011-2014, Gen. Jacoby served as Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, the only Army officer to have held that post. In this capacity, he led the military response to Hurricane Sandy, reorganized the joint and bi-national command for greater effectiveness, defended U.S. and Canadian airspace 24/7/365, and advanced military partnerships with Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas.
Throughout a busy career focused on current operations at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels, Gen. Jacoby established a reputation as a prescient strategist, a student of the profession of arms, and a thought leader on the future of the Army and the Joint Force. He published frequently, his writing combining a historian’s sensibility with a commander’s voice and a soldier’s common sense. He was a staunch advocate of Professional Military Education, often calling it the best dollar-for-dollar defense investment we can make. He championed joint integration, insisted on the sanctity of civil-military relations, and sounded early warnings about the erosion of American deterrence as the War on Terror sapped readiness and delayed modernization. His writing, like his life, was suffused with the values of integrity and selfless service, with love of country, and the privilege of being a soldier.
In his retirement, Chuck served as the inaugural Distinguished Chair of the Modern War Institute at West Point, helping establish that new organization as a resource for the Academy and a respected voice on the future of warfare. He also served as a senior mentor to rising general officers. On the corporate side, he served as Vice-Chairman and board member at Agilion Systems, previously Tilman & Company. He co-authored a book on agility, adapting for the corporate world the model of leading through uncertainty he had perfected in uniform. He also served on several non-profit boards, including the U.S. Army Infantry Museum.
Chuck is survived by his sister and brother, Kay Birket and Robert Jacoby; by Grace, his loving wife of 35 years; and his sons CJ (Camilla), Victor, and Michael (Brooke), each of whom carries forward his legacy of service. Chuck often said that his sons were, hands down, the great pride and privilege of his life-the best thing he’ll ever achieve.
He is also survived by a legion of leaders who benefited from his mentorship and example. Perhaps the most important of the many lessons he imparted is that rank, titles, and awards are not the true accomplishments; they are merely the platform for the real achievement-the impact you have on those who come after you, who carry forward your values and continue the mission when you’re gone. By that measure, he more than met the mission that matters most. His example endures in those he loved, led, and inspired.
Visitation will be held from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, 2025, at William F. Hogan Funeral Home, 135 Main St., Highland Falls, NY. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, at The Most Holy Trinity Chapel, 699 Washington Rd., West Point, NY. Interment will follow at West Point Cemetery.