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Raymond T. Odierno, a retired four-star Army general and who served as the chief of staff during the height of the war in Iraq, has died at the age of 67.
Odierno's family confirmed he passed away on Friday (October 8) after "a brave battle with cancer" in a statement shared with NBC News on Saturday (October 9).
“The general died after a brave battle with cancer; his death was not related to COVID,” a family statement said. “There are no other details to share at this time. His family is grateful for the concern and asks for privacy.”
The family confirmed a funeral and interment information were not available at the time of the statement and declined to say where Odierno died on Friday.
The Rockaway, New Jersey native graduated from the U.S MIlitary Academy at West Point, New York in 1978 and served in a wide range of Army and Defense Department roles during his military career, which included tours abroad in Iraq, Germany, Albania and Kuwait during his 39-year career of military service.
Odierno was an assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving as the main military adviser to the secretary of state as a three-star general.
Odierno served three tours in Iraq, which included two years -- 2008 to 2010 -- as the U.S. Army's top commander in Baghad, proceeding Gen. Lloyd Austin, the current U.S. secretary of defense, and previously serving as the commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq from 2006 to 2008, before retiring from service in 2015.