Military and security biographies

Charles James Napier

Sir Charles James Napier (1782–1853), British general, conqueror and first governor of Sind after Miani and Hyderabad (1843); also Cephalonia resident, Chartist-era commander, and Indian commander-in-chief; not Admiral Sir Charles Napier.

Charles Keating IV

Charles Humphrey Keating IV (C-4), US Navy SEAL from Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, killed May 3, 2016 near Tel Skuf, Iraq, fighting ISIS; posthumous Navy Cross, upgraded from Silver Star, and Purple Heart.

Charles Knowles

Charles Knowles, 1st Baronet, was a British admiral who served in the War of Jenkins' Ear, governed Louisbourg, and later served the Russian navy until 1777.

Charles Leclerc (French general)

Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc (1772–1802) was a French general and brother-in-law of Napoleon who commanded the 1802 expedition against Toussaint Louverture in Saint-Domingue and died there of yellow fever.

Charles Lee (general)

Charles Lee (1731/1732-1782), British-born soldier of fortune and Continental Army major general, second in command under Washington; captured in 1776, disgraced by the Monmouth court-martial of 1778, dismissed in 1780.

Charles Pelot Summerall

Charles Pelot Summerall (1867-1955), American general and Army Chief of Staff 1926-1930, commanded the 1st Division and V Corps in World War I France and later served as president of The Citadel, 1931-1953.

Charles Q. Brown Jr.

Charles Q. Brown Jr. (born 1962) is a retired USAF general, 22nd Air Force chief of staff (2020, first Black service chief) and 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (2023-2025), fired by Trump in February 2025.

Charles Robert Jenkins

Charles Robert Jenkins, US Army sergeant born 1940 in Rich Square, North Carolina, who deserted across the Korean DMZ in January 1965, spent nearly 40 years in North Korea as a propaganda figure, married abductee Hitomi Soga, and faced court martial in Japan in 2004.

Charles Sweeney

Charles W. Sweeney (1919–2006), American Air Force major general, piloted Bockscar on the Nagasaki atomic mission of August 9, 1945, and flew the instrument plane on the Hiroshima raid; later led the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing.

Charles Thau

Charles Thau, born Chaim Thau, was a Jewish partisan from Poland who fought at the Battle of Berlin and is the Soviet soldier at the center of the 1945 Elbe handshake photograph.

Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry

Charles William Stewart, later Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1778–1854): Anglo-Irish soldier, diplomat and coal owner; half-brother and client of Castlereagh, Peninsular adjutant general under Wellington, envoy to Prussia and ambassador to Vienna.

Charles Wager

Sir Charles Wager (1666–1743) was a British admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty, best known for his 1708 attack on a Spanish treasure fleet off Cartagena.

Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick

Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, 1735–1806), ruler of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1780, Prussian field marshal, author of the 1792 Brunswick Manifesto; defeated at Valmy and mortally wounded at Auerstädt in 1806.

Cheikh Bouamama

Cheikh Bouamama (الشيخ بوعمامة) was a Sufi marabout of the Ouled Sidi Cheikh who led resistance against French colonial rule in southwestern Algeria from 1881 until his death in 1908.

Cheikh Mokrani

Cheikh Mokrani, in full Mohamed ben el Hadj Ahmed El Mokrani (محمد المقراني), was an Algerian noble and bachagha of the Medjana who led the great Kabyle uprising of 1871 against French rule.

Chen Deng

Chen Deng (陈登), styled Yuanlong, was an Eastern Han general and Administrator of Guangling who helped Cao Cao destroy Lü Bu and twice defeated Sun Ce's forces.

Chen Tai

Chen Tai (陳泰, courtesy name Xuanbo) was a Cao Wei general and politician who repelled Shu Han invasions and died in 260, the year Cao Mao was killed.

Chen Yan (Tang dynasty warlord)

Chen Yan (陈岩) was a late-Tang warlord from Jian Prefecture who rose from militia leader to become Fujian Observation Commissioner in 884, the first native Fujianese to hold the post.

Chester Nez

Chester Nez (1921-2014) was a Navajo US Marine, one of the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers of World War II who devised the unbreakable Navajo code, served at Guadalcanal, Guam, and Peleliu, received the 2001 Congressional Gold Medal, and was the last surviving member of the First Twenty-Nine.

Chester W. Nimitz

Chester W. Nimitz (1885–1966), Fleet Admiral, USN, commanded the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas in World War II, signed the 1945 Japanese surrender, and served as Chief of Naval Operations 1945–1947.

Chesty Puller

Chesty Puller (Lewis Burwell Puller, 1898–1971) was a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant general, the most decorated Marine in history, earning five Navy Crosses in Nicaragua, World War II, and Korea.

Chhatrasal

Chhatrasal (Chhatrasal Bundela, 1649-1731), Bundela Rajput Maharaja who fought the Mughals, founded a kingdom in Bundelkhand from Panna and Mau, and allied with Peshwa Baji Rao I against Muhammad Khan Bangash in 1729.

Chick Donohue

John "Chick" (Chickie) Donohue, American Marine veteran and merchant mariner from Inwood, Manhattan, known for the 1967 "Greatest Beer Run Ever," delivering Pabst Blue Ribbon to friends serving in Vietnam, later memoir and 2022 Farrelly film.

Chief of Army Staff (Nigeria)

Chief of Army Staff (Nigeria), COAS, formerly General Officer Commanding: head of the Nigerian Army, appointed by the President, reporting to the Chief of Defence Staff; held since October 2025 by Major General Waidi Shaibu.

Chief of staff

Chief of staff: senior staff officer assisting a commander or heading a military service, as in the US Army Chief of Staff (10 U.S.C. 7033) and the historic Prussian Chief of the General Staff.

Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Chief of Staff of the United States Army (CSA): the Army's senior four-star uniformed officer under 10 U.S.C. 7033, presiding over the Army Staff and advising the Secretary of the Army; 41st chief Randy George was ousted in April 2026, with General Christopher LaNeve serving as acting chief.

Chief of the Army Staff (India)

Chief of the Army Staff (India): professional head of the Indian Army, titled COAS since 1955. Current chief is General Dhiraj Seth, 31st incumbent, succeeding General Upendra Dwivedi on 30 June 2026.

Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)

Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), the professional head of the UK Armed Forces and principal military adviser to the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary; created 1956, first held by William Dickson; current holder Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton since September 2025.

Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

Chief of the Naval Staff (India): professional head of the Indian Navy, a four-star admiral appointed by the President under the Navy Act 1957; 27th and current chief is Admiral Krishna Swaminathan since 31 May 2026, succeeding Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi.