Thomas Spoehr assumed duty as the Executive Director for Operations, American Battle Monuments Commission on August 1, 2024. Operating from the Commission’s Paris Office, Spoehr has the solemn responsibility to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for America through the operation and maintenance of 26 commemorative memorial cemeteries and 32 federal monuments located in 17 overseas countries. Spoehr is a member of the Senior Executive Service.
Spoehr is an expert on U.S. national defense policy and strategy, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on defense strategy, budgets, military recruiting, and equipment modernization. From 2016 to 2023, Spoehr served as the director of a major U.S. think tank’s national defense research portfolio, supervising a team of eleven personnel and authoring numerous reports and articles.
Prior to this, Spoehr served for over three decades in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Lieutenant General. His military service included operational assignments involving protecting Army forces from weapons of mass destruction, senior leadership positions in the Pentagon, responsible for charting the Army’s future year financial plans, developing equipment modernization strategies, and achieving business efficiencies and reform.
Spoehr’s operational experience includes service with U.S. Army combat units including the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Armored Division. Spoehr participated in Operation Urgent Fury (the invasion of Grenada) and in 2011 served as the Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Forces Iraq in Operation New Dawn, where he successfully oversaw the safe withdrawal of all U.S. forces and equipment from Iraq ahead of schedule, one of the most complex and logistically intensive operations attempted by the U.S. military.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, a Masters of Arts in Public Administration from Webster University in St. Louis, MO, and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, PA.
Prior to this assignment in France, he and his wife, Cynthia, lived in Alexandria, Virginia, where he enjoys sea kayaking, home repair, and hiking. They have two grown children, Catherine and Peter, and five grandchildren.