Thomas Fredric Metz[1] (born September 21, 1948[2] in Elkin,[3] North Carolina) is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army.

In August, after basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, he entered the United States Military Academy Preparatory School.

While at Fort Benning, he also served as a division chief in the Infantry School's Combat Developments Directorate from May 1986 until June 1987.

Returning to Fort Knox in June 1987, Metz commanded the 4th Battalion, 15th Infantry (Mechanized), 194th Armored Brigade, until July 1989.

Metz served as vice director for force structure, resources, and assessment, J-8, The Joint Staff, until November 2001.

During this time period, Metz was chosen to serve for 4 months as the chief of staff, CENTCOM, during Operation Enduring Freedom from October 2002 to January 2003.