Robert Louis Caslen Jr. (born November 30, 1953) is a retired United States Army officer who served as the 59th superintendent of West Point from 2013 until 2018 and as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina from July 2019 until May 2021. Between January and May 2019, Caslen was senior counsel to the president and interim chief financial officer at the University of Central Florida. On July 19, 2019, the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina elected him as the school's 29th president, a position he assumed on August 1, 2019. Caslen also served as HigherEchelon's Special Advisor on Executive Leadership and Character Development. He resigned as President at South Carolina on May 12, 2021.
Early life
Caslen was born in Connecticut, and grew up in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In 1971, he graduated from North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1975 and played center for the Army Black Knights football team. He also earned a master's degree in business administration from Long Island University, and in 1989, he received a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering from Kansas State University. Caslen also received an honorary doctorate from Long Island University.
Military career
During Operation Desert Storm, Caslen served as executive officer of the 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Caslen served as brigade operations officer, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); J-3 in Honduras for Joint Task Force Bravo in 1998; executive officer to the deputy commander in Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy in 1994–1995; commander of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Light); senior brigade C2 observer/controller, Operations Group, Joint Readiness Training Center; chief of staff of the 101st Airborne Division; and commander of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (1999).
Caslen was at the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks. Following the attack, he re-entered the Pentagon, helping search for wounded and working on reversing the air conditioning system in order to remove smoke from the building. Caslen was also chief of staff of the 10th Mountain Division (Light) (2003) at Fort Drum; assistant division commander (Maneuver) of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) (2004); deputy director for the War on Terrorism, J-5, the Joint Staff (2005 – June 2006); director of the Joint Staff's Detainee Affairs Division and commandant of cadets for the Military Academy at West Point, a post he left in May 2008. Caslen was chief of staff for the Combined Joint Task Force 180 in Afghanistan from May through September 2002. He was a commander of Operation Champion Sword.
According to a report by the Office of Inspector General, Caslen, fellow Army General Vincent K. Brooks, and Air Force generals Peter U. Sutton and Jack J. Catton Jr "violated the ethical guidelines of the military that forbid officers to promote private organizations" when they appeared in a video for an evangelical organization Christian Embassy. At the time, he was Commandant of Cadets at West Point. In a letter, he said he would be more vigilant about such improprieties going forward.
From May 2008 to December 2009, Caslen served as commander of the 25th Infantry Division. In October, he returned from a tour with the division in the Iraq War. Before this, he had served two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in the Gulf War. In December 2009, Caslen was nominated to be a lieutenant general in conjunction with his nomination to be Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth which took effect in March 2010. In July 2011, Caslen was nominated to be chief of Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq.
Caslen was appointed as superintendent of the United States Military Academy on July 17, 2013. After five years of service, in April 2018 it was announced that Caslen would retire later in the year. In July, the army announced Lieutenant General Darryl A. Williams as Caslen's successor. The ceremonial relinquishing of command took place on June 22, 2018.
Over the course of his military career, Caslen received numerous civilian and military awards, including Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Lifetime of Service Award from the American Red Cross, and NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award, amongst others.