Harry E. Soyster

He was chief of staff, 24th Infantry Division and Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence Systems and Automation, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army.

General Soyster served in diverse and significant assignments before becoming DIA director.

He then served as commander, Division Artillery and then Chief of Staff, 24th Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Upon promotion to brigadier general he was assigned as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Department of the Army, Washington, D.C.

He was promoted to major general and assigned as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Arlington Hall Station, Virginia.

Then promoted and assigned, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency

He returned overseas to serve as commander of the 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea, and later as commander, 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea.

Upon return to the United States, he served at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, as chief of oral history, U.S. Army Military History Research Collection.

After attending the National War College at Fort McNair, he was assigned chief of the Audit and Inspection Compliance Division, U.S. Army Inspector General Agency, Washington, D.C.

Harry Edward Soyster (born 6 June 1935) is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General.

Soyster served as the Commanding General of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

Harry Edward Soyster was born on 6 June 1935 in Altoona, Pennsylvania and was raised in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.

He attended school there and was subsequently appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.

General Soyster was an Eagle Scout, Class President, member of the first all-star football team from Hollidaysburg, and captained the first undefeated basketball team in the history of the school.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recognized General Soyster for the highest average grade in math and science in his school.

He was also recognized as best "All-Around Boy" by local town officials.

General Soyster worked in a stone quarry and in construction during summer breaks from school.

In Vietnam, he was executive officer (XO) and subsequently operations officer (S3) of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Artillery, II Field Force, U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV).

On return to the United States he was assigned as a personnel staff officer, Strength Requirements Branch, Capabilities and Analysis Division, Procurement and Distribution Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. He served as staff operations watch officer and later operations and plans officer, Joint Reconnaissance Center, Operations Directorate, J3, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C.

Lieutenant General Soyster was commissioned a second lieutenant of Field Artillery, and awarded a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1957.

Upon retirement he was the VP for International Operations for the private military firm Military Professional Resources Inc. He later served as Special Assistant to the SEC ARMY for World War II 60th Anniversary Commemorations.

Soyster is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and currently serves on numerous boards of directors and participates in studies on current issues.

Lieutenant General Soyster has three daughters (Karin Soyster Fitzgerald, Megan Soyster Heinz, and Allison Moser) and six grandchildren (Julia Moser, Sloan Soyster Heinz, Stephen Moser, Maxwell Soyster Heinz, Reed Soyster Heinz, and Clark Soyster Heinz).

He also holds a master of science degree in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1963 and a master of science degree in management from the University of Southern California and attended programs at Harvard University.

His military education includes completion of the Field Artillery School, Basic and Advanced Courses; the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College graduating in 1968, and the National War College at Fort McNair, Washington DC graduating in 1977.

Soyster has held a wide variety of important commands and staff positions including tours in Vietnam and Korea.

His initial overseas assignment was in Italy with the 1st Battalion, 80th Artillery as platoon leader and assistant operations officer (AS3).

He was next an assistant professor of chemistry at the US Military Academy.

This operation demonstrated the benefits of increased cooperation and planning that had been achieved between DIA and operational force planners, especially when compared to the 1983 Grenada incursion (Operation URGENT FURY).

The Agency provided threat data on "hot spots" throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and weighed the impact of changes in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and to a lesser degree, Asia, on the rest of world.

Upon promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General, Soyster served as the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. Soyster served in this role from December 1988 to September 1991.

General Soyster oversaw the Defense intelligence effort in support of the successful U.S. intervention in Panama in 1989 (Operation JUST CAUSE).

It supplied decision makers with intelligence support concerning the final Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, events surrounding the downing of two Libyan jets, the civil war in Liberia, the Flight 103 investigation at Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre in China.

Weapons acquisition issues, counternarcotics, counterterrorism remained a high priority throughout the Defense Intelligence Community.

The end of the Cold War resulted in a reevaluation of the intelligence mission throughout the Intelligence Community as a new era began with the fall of the Communist Party in many East European countries, the reunification of Germany, and ongoing economic reforms in the region.

Emphasis was placed on improved management of DoD-wide intelligence production, but reduced resources threatened to have a negative impact on Agency objectives and manpower levels.

Organizationally, the general emphasized the functional manager system as a programming mechanism for addressing the issues of the Unified & Specified Commands.

The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence) relationship to DIA was enhanced with authority, direction, and control prerogatives.

The deputy director position became a civilian position to insure that a substantive intelligence officer would hold that position.

The previous two-star position was moved to the Pentagon's J2 office, and the title changed accordingly.