Jeffrey W. Talley (born September 27, 1959) is an American businessman, scholar, and retired three-star general whose concurrent military and civilian careers encompass a blend of corporate, academic, and government leadership.

His unique military and civilian contributions were recognized by the U.S. Senate on June 28, 2016, with Tribute to Lieutenant General Jeffrey W. Talley, as reflected in the congressional record.

General Talley's military career included duty in the U.S., Korea, Kuwait, and Iraq.

His military service culminated with three consecutive commanding general assignments including the 926th Engineer Brigade and Baghdad Provincial Engineer, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division-Baghdad, during the Surge and fight for Sadr City in 2008; the 84th Training Command, where he trained units preparing for deployment from 2009 to 2012; and in 2012, he was appointed by the President to a four-year term as the 32nd Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, an organization of over 215,000 Soldiers and civilians, 134 general officers and senior executives, with an annual operating budget of approximately $9B, and activities in over 30 countries, including all states and territories.

General Talley's civilian career consists of a portfolio of business, academic, and government experiences.

While at LSU, he was a Cadet of the Ole War Skule and an Army ROTC Scholarship recipient.

His senior year, he was the Commander of Pershing Rifles Company D-16 and an Officer in the Scabbard and Blade.

After completing the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and the U.S. Army Ranger School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, he reported to his first permanent duty assignment at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts.

Upon graduation, he volunteered to go to the Republic of Korea for an unaccompanied assignment with the 44th Engineer Battalion, Eight U.S. Army.

After a short stint as Assistant Battalion Operations Officer (Assistant S-3) at Camp Mercer (vicinity Seoul), he took command of Bravo Company and Camp Nimble (Dongducheon), in support of 2nd Infantry Division and its demilitarized zone (DMZ) mission.

After two years in Korea, he returned to the U.S. for Combined Arms Service Staff (CAS3) School at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

While in theater, he was the Chief of Operations for the 416th which was part of the Coalition Joint Forces Land Component Command.

There he was responsible for the planning and execution of hundreds of combat and construction missions throughout Kuwait and Iraq.

Promoted to colonel in February 2005, he was reassigned to command the 926th Engineer Group in Montgomery, Alabama.

While in Iraq, he led an organization consisting of thousands of engineers in the rebuilding of Baghdad to include restoring essential services and eliminating threats from improvised explosive devices.

He is credited with developing a military and policy strategy widely referred to as “Engineering the Peace” that aimed to reduce violence in destabilized communities by rapidly rebuilding infrastructure, schools and hospitals in the militia stronghold of Sadr City and across Baghdad.

Talley was appointed to the rank of lieutenant general in the Regular Army on June 9, 2012, at a ceremony at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

General Raymond T. Odierno, 38th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, officiated the appointment, the change of command, and the swearing-in ceremonies.

During Talley's tenure, the Army Reserve mobilized over 62,000 Soldiers to over 30 countries, including continued support to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; all while overcoming unprecedented challenges including the first reduction to the Reserve force since the end of the Korean War, severe budget cuts known as sequestration and a government shutdown.

The ceremony was conducted by the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) and hosted by General Mark A. Milley, 39th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.