Brigadier General Louis Weber

Senior Military Representative, NATO Headquarters Sarajevo

(AP, FENA -31/08/05; NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Web Site)

US Brigadier General Louis Weber. [Photograph by Antonio Prlenda for SETimes]

US Brigadier General Louis Weber assumed the post of Senior Military Representative at the NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo (NHQ Sarajevo) on 31 August 2005. He replaced US Brigadier General Steven P. Schook, who served as the 9th and last commander of SFOR before the transfer of the NATO-led force's duties to EUFOR on 2 December 2004.

Weber holds a Bachelor's degree in Management from Texas A&M University and a Master's degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. His military education includes the Command and General Staff School and the Army War College (Georgetown University Fellow).

Weber was commissioned as an Armour Officer from Texas A&M University as a Distinguished Military Graduate in December 1975. From 1976 to 1979 he was in Germany, serving in various cavalry positions in the 1st Squadron, 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment. After attending an advanced course for infantry officers, Weber served at Fort Hood, Texas from 1980 to 1983, commanding Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armour and then Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 67th Armour, the Army's first operational M-1 battalion.

As a Major, Weber served in Germany again from 1988 to 1991, initially as an observer/controller at the Combat Manoeuvre Training Centre and then as the Operations Officer to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment. He served in this capacity during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991, after which he was assigned as the Squadron Executive Officer.

During his service as commander of the 1st Squadron, 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment at Fort Polk, Louisiana from 1994 to 1996, Weber deployed to Haiti in 1995 in support of UN peacekeeping operations. Commanding the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia from 1999 to 2001, he deployed to BiH in support of NATO's Stabilisation Force and then commanded the Operations Group from 2002 to 2003 at the National Training Centre. Subsequently, he served as the Assistant Division Commander for Support in the 3d Infantry Division from 2002 to 2003.

In 2003, Weber deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Between armour and cavalry assignments, Weber has served in various capacities as a Middle East Foreign Area Officer; a student at the Moroccan Staff School, a UN military observer in Lebanon and the Sinai, politico-military planner on the Army Staff and politico-military planner on the Joint Staff. He also served as a Congressional Fellow in Washington from 1992 to 1993.

Weber was appointed NATO's Senior Military Representative in BiH while serving as the Director of Training, Deputy Chief of Staff (G-3) on the Army Staff in Washington DC.

In an interview in mid-September 2005, Weber stressed that NATO's priorities in BiH include the successful completion of defence reform and bringing of all war crime indictees to justice. The NHQ Sarajevo also plays a role in counterterrorism, he noted.

Weber's awards include the Legion of Merit (with three OLC), Bronze Star Medal Defence Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with six OLC), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, the UN Medal and the NATO Medal.

Weber is married and has two children.