Vicki Cody

We recognize the critical role that a military spouse plays in our country’s Armed Forces. At this year’s Gala, we are honored to have a true military couple—Vicki Cody, Army wife and author, and her husband, Retired General Richard “Dick” Cody.

Vicki Cody grew up in Burlington, Vermont and graduated from the University of Vermont in 1975, with a BS degree in education. For the next 33 years she was an Army wife, supporting her husband in his career. While raising their two sons and moving all over the United States and overseas, she served as a coach and mentor for Army spouses and as an advocate for Army families.

Her memoir, Army Wife: A Story of Love and Family in the Heart of the Army was published in 2016. Army Wife won the 2016 USA Best Book Award for narrative non-fiction, was a Finalist for the 2016 Foreword Indies Book of the Year in the military category, and was listed in Kirkus Reviews Top Indie Books of 2016. She is also the author of Your Soldier, Your Army: A Parents’ Guide and most recently, the revised edition, Your Soldier, Your Army: A Family Guide. Her articles have appeared in numerous military magazines and publications. Her recent memoir, Fly Safe—Letters from the Gulf War and Reflections from Back Home, was released in August 2021.

She and her husband of forty-five years live in the Washington, DC area. Their two sons, both Apache helicopter pilots, continue to serve on active duty in the US Army.

General Richard “Dick” Cody

Vicki’s husband, Retired General Richard “Dick” Cody is a “Soldier’s Soldier” and an “aviator’s aviator.” Receiving his commission as a 2LT on June 6, 1972 from the U.S. Military Academy, Cody served with distinction until retiring from active duty as the Army’s 31st Vice Chief of Staff on Aug. 4, 2008. During these years, Cody served the nation around the world, commanding Soldiers, including the famed “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne Div. (Air Assault).

Cody spent 27 of his 36 years in troop assignments, commanding at all levels; including key assignments as the commander of Co. E (aviation intermediate maintenance), 24th Inf. Div. (Mech.); commander of Co. B, 229th Avn. Regt.; commander of the 1st Bn.(Attack), 101st Avn. Regt.; commander of the 4th Bde., 1st Cav. Div.; commander of the 160th Special Operations Avn. Regt. the famed “Night Stalkers;” deputy commanding general of Task Force Hawk; and the commanding general of the 101st Abn. Div. As a lieutenant colonel, Cody led his Apache battalion into Iraq to fire the first shots of Operation Desert Storm to eliminate two critical enemy radar sites prior to the air war campaign.

With over 5,000 flight hours, Cody is an Army master aviator rated in UH-1, OH-58, AH-1, AH-6, AH-64A Apache and AH-64D Longbow, and the MH-60K. Never was his contributions to the Army greater than during the period following Sept. 11, 2001, when as the G-3/5/7 and then the Vice Chief of Staff, Cody led the most sweeping transformation in the Army and the Aviation branch since the dawn of mechanized warfare. His actions provided the Army with the best prepared, trained and equipped force in the world; introducing the most technically capable, modernized fleet of aircraft, including the UH-60M, the Apache Longbow Block III, the CH-47F, the UH-72A, the C-27J Spartan and several unmanned aircraft systems.

Cody’s numerous awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, five Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with numeral 3 device, and the gold medallion of the Branch’s Honorable Order of St. Michael.