THE ARMY UNIVERSITY, FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas – Four international officer alumni of Command and General Staff College were inducted into the International Hall of Fame March 28, 2025, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Inducted into the hall of fame were His Excellency, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Command and General Staff Officer Course Class of 1988; General Luciano Portolano, Chief of Defense Staff, Italian Armed Forces, CGSOC Class of 1995; Lieutenant General (Retired) Gregory Bilton, Former Chief of Joint Operations, Australian Defence Force, CGSOC Class of 1999; and, General Carsten Breuer, Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Chief of Defence, German Armed Forces, CGSOC Class of 2002.
The four join more than 300 other international officers in the IHOF.
The IHOF has been recognizing international officer alumni of the highest merit since 1973.
It represents international officers who have returned to their home countries and risen to the highest position of uniformed leadership within their respective defense forces.
This class of inductees represents experts in security and diplomacy, and transformation and readiness of U.S. partner nations military forces.
Each reflected on the leadership skills learned as students of the Command and General Staff Officer Course that have driven their unmatched careers while also emphasizing the withstanding power of the interpersonal piece of their educations.
Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
His Excellency is one of only two Bahrainian graduates in the IHOF.
He achieved the pinnacle of his career in his current position in 2020.
Lt. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr., explained His Excellency has created a career of highest scholarship and service, receiving the sword of honor and title of Master Logistician upon his CGSOC graduation in 1988.
“He has used his knowledge as a powerful tool to develop both military and civilians alike. As an esteemed educator, Dr. Al Zayani has mentored and inspired future generations at some of the top institutions across the world,” Beagle explained. “His influence is seen not just in the lessons he's taught but in the leaders that he's empowered.”
Al Zayani shared the foundational lessons of command and control, initiative, depth, and agility are skills he was able to nurture during his time as a student.
“Throughout the 37 years since graduating from this prestigious college, I have worked to implement the principles and values I learned here at Fort Leavenworth. I have sought to use the fruits of this education to advocate for regional and global peace and security particularly the need for genuine international cooperation and partnerships to tackle critical issues and to foster true peace security and stability,” he said.
With his induction, Al Zayani expressed his re-commitment to focus on implementing knowledge to apply effective leadership skills to continue to make a lasting impression of global peace and security.
General Lucian Portolano
General Lucian Portolano, a graduate of CGSOC Class of 1995, earned his current career apex title in October 2024.
“He has commanded at every possible level and served in a variety of critical operational and institutional support assignments in support of national, NATO, and United Nations, requirements,” Beagle explained.
His current position and career experience has placed him allowed him to generate critical transformation and readiness for the Italian Armed Forces.
While sharing with Al Zayani the significance of the professional development, Portolano included the impact the interpersonal aspects of his time as a CGSC student were nearly as important.
“All the colleagues with whom I shared this significant experience, the relationships and their friendships I built here have represented, without any doubt, values that contributed to my professional growth and development of what I consider effective leadership,” he said.
He further explained many of the relationships forged during the “Best Year of His Life” have been invaluable during his career, creating professional touchpoints that have played vital roles in decisions.
He also encouraged the current class in attendance of the event to consider and hold fast to the non-traditional lessons CGSOC provides.
“In order to efficiently operate in such context a true leader must possess a dynamic attitude. He or she has to be able to see and look beyond; think and judge quickly, adaptively, and decisively,” Portolano explained. “I would say outside books, in this perspective, the lessons and experiences I gained during my time spent here been precious references to me.”
Retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Bilton
Retired Lt. Gen. Gregory Bilton, alumni of the CGSOC Class of 1999, joined only one other Australian IHOF inductee.
Bilton achieved is current career honor in June 2019.
Throughout his career, he has held notable national security positions of leadership as well as taught at the Australian Command and Staff College.
“Gen. Bilton's ability to lead, to adapt, and to mentor has left a lasting impression on the force and the people who serve within it.” Beagle explained. “His extensive operational leadership reflects Gen. Bilton's deep sense of duty and ability to build strong teams in the toughest of environments.”
Bilton discussed the current highly contested operational environments that not only him and his fellow inductees command in, but those the students in attendance will be leading forces in upon graduation.
The blended classrooms of international and U.S. military students were invaluable additions to his time at CGSOC, Bilton explained, and encouraged the current class to lean into those secondary educational opportunities.
“Where else in the world was I going to get that sort of exposure? Where else in the world was I going to share those sort of insights? That professional military development was important but the relationships, the insights, the experience, the diversity that existed in my class were the real gifts,” he said.
Gen. Carsten Breuer
Gen. Carsten Breuer is a graduate from the CGSOC Class of 2002.
He reached his current honorable position in March 2023.
“He has demonstrated remarkable range and flexible leadership that enabled him to lead in academic and policy formulation organization and diverse commands…” Beagle, classmate of Breuer explained.
Breuer is the ninth German inductee to the IHOF.
Like his fellow inductees, Breuer reflected on the power of the friendships and perspective learning within the classrooms.
He also explained, the class of 2002 faced a historically defining moment for America; the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“The memory of the lessons we learned in the classroom may fade over time but the trust and the understanding, the friendship we build, especially during those demanding times, they endure,” Breuer reflected.
Following the ceremony, each inductee was shown the IHOF in the Lewis and Clark Center, where their photos will hang with the rest of the portraits.
The IHOF is a highlight for visitors to Army University and symbolizes the dedication to military excellence and the quality critical joint force education delivered at CGSC.
View photos from the event here: Command and General Staff College’s Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/usacgsc/albums/72177720324736248/
Additional information of the inductees follows.
Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashed Al Zayani
Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashed Al Zayani was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs on February 11th 2020. He served as the Secretary general of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf from 2011 to 2020. His experience in the Bahrain Defence Force includes serving in the 1st Royal Mechanized Battalion, the Royal Air Defence, and the Royal Bahraini Air Force. He was the Director of Planning and Organizations, the Director of Joint Operations. Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations in charge of joint operations, plans, training, force development, and command and control. In June 2004, he transferred from the Bahrain Defence Force to the Ministry of the Interior to take up the appointment of the Chief of Public Security.
While in the Ministry of the Interior he was appointed as the Chief of Public Security in 2004. Responsible for commanding and for modernizing the Police Force, Special Forces, the Coastguard, and the Civil Defence and Fire Service. Responsible for all aspects of security and safety within the Kingdom, including -- Operational Policing, Counter terrorism and civil disorder. Coordination of all aspects of Crisis, Consequence and Disaster Management. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General in 2010. His experience in the Ministry of affairs includes -- Adviser of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the rank of Minister on 10th June 2010 and Chairman of Joint Steering Committee between kingdom of Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
General Luciano Portolano
General Luciano Portolano was appointed Italian Chief of Defense on October 4th, 2024.
Born in Sicily, General Portolano attended the 161st Course at the Army Military Academy in Modena, where he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1981.
Throughout his career, General Portolano commanded military units at every level, from platoon to brigade. He participated in numerous Operations and Missions, in which the Italian Armed Forces contributed to international stability, security and peace protecting and safeguarding vital and strategic national interests.
His most significant assignments include:
- Military Attaché at the Italian Embassy in United Kingdom
- Commander of the Italian "Sassari" Mechanized Infantry brigade
- Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
- Chief of Staff and Head of European Union Command Element of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples
- Commander Italian Joint Operations Command
- Italian Secretary General of Defense and National Armaments Director.
His operational tours include:
- UN Mission UNIMOG, Iran and Iraq
- UN Mission UNIKOM, Iraq and Kuwait
- Operations JOINT GUARANTOR, Republic of North Macedonia
- Operation JOINT GUARDIAN, Kosovo
- Operation ANTICA BABILONIA, Iraq
- International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan
Gen. Portolano’s education includes, among others, the Italian Joint Staff College, as well as the US Army Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, USA.
He holds a University degree in Strategic Sciences, a Human Resources and Complex Systems Management Master’s degree and a Master’s degree in Strategic Sciences.
General Portolano has been awarded a number of medals, including the U.S. Legion of Merit – Officer Degree (twice), the French Légion d’honneur and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal (twice).
He speaks fluent French and English. He enjoys outdoor activities, playing the piano and reading science books.
General Carsten Breuer
General Carsten Breuer took office as 17th Chief of Defence of the Bundeswehr on 17 March 2023. As the highest-ranking military officer in the Bundeswehr, he is the military advisor to the Federal Government. He is married, has three children and was born in Letmathe, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Prior to becoming Chief of Defence, General Breuer established the Homeland Defence Command of the Bundeswehr and became its first commander. As such, he simultaneously served as national territorial commander. In a rather unconventional military role, General Breuer led the coronavirus pandemic task force at the Federal Chancellery that was to better coordinate the whole-of-government effort to fight the pandemic in Germany.
Originally trained on the GEPARD self-propelled armoured air defence gun system General Breuer went on to serve in various positions in the German Army. He commanded 12 Armoured Air Defence Gun Battalion, served as chief of staff at 41 Armoured Infantry Brigade, commander of 37 Armoured Infantry Brigade, and later headed the Directorate for Operations in the German Army Headquarters. In Afghanistan, General Breuer served as Director Current Ops at the ISAF Joint Command in Kabul. In the early 2000s, he was deployed as commander of the German elements at the KFOR Multinational Brigade South-West in Prizren, Kosovo.
Over the course of his career, General Breuer has held various positions in the Federal Ministry of Defence, including Chief of Division 1 at the Directorate-General for Security and Defence Policy. Additionally, he was in charge of drafting the 2016 White Paper, the Federal Government’s top-level security policy document. From 1999 until 2001, he worked as staff officer at the office of the Deputy Chief of Defence. From 2008 until 2010, Breuer served as deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Representative in Europe at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
General Breuer attended the 40th Army General Staff Officer Course at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College. From 2001 until 2002, Breuer attended the US Command and General Staff Officer Course in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States.
Lieutenant General Greg Bilton
Lieutenant General Greg Bilton was the Chief of Joint Operations at Headquarters Joint Operations Command from June 2019 to July 2024. In this appointment he was responsible for the planning and execution of all Australian Defence Force operations and joint exercises both domestically and internationally.
In executing the Theatre Headquarters mission, Lieutenant General Greg Bilton oversaw all Australia’s military campaigns, contingency planning and deployments undertaken to meet Australia's national objectives.
Lieutenant General Bilton was born in Melbourne, Australia. After completing his secondary education at Melbourne High School, he entered the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1983 and graduated to the Royal Australian Artillery in 1986.
He completed regimental appointments as a Lieutenant through to Major in the 1st and 4th Field Regiments, the 8th/12th Medium Regiment and the School of Artillery. Lieutenant General Bilton held command appointments as Brigade Commander 7 Brigade, Deputy Commanding General United States Army Pacific, Deputy Chief of Joint Operations Joint Operations Command and Forces Commander Australia. He has served in staff appointments in the Directorate of Officer Career Management, the Directorate of Force Structure (Army) and as Director General Development and Plans (Army). He has also been an instructor at the Australian Command and Staff College.
Lieutenant General Bilton deployed on Operation MAZURKA in 1993 to the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Headquarters. In 2008, he deployed on Operation SLIPPER as Deputy Chief of Staff for Security Sector Reform on Headquarters Regional Command South, Afghanistan. Lieutenant General Bilton is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, Deakin University, the Long Gunnery Course at the UK School of Artillery, the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies, Weston Creek.
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