Gen. Vuono Sworn In as Army Chief of Staff

WASHINGTON — Gen. Carl Edward Vuono, the Army’s youngest four-star general, was sworn in Tuesday as the service’s top soldier during ceremonies on a Pentagon parade ground.

Surrounded by his family and military brass and a crowd of several hundred people, the 52-year-old Vuono repeated the oath of office after Army Secretary John O. Marsh Jr. in becoming the service’s 31st chief of staff.

Vuono, who is replacing the retiring Gen. John A. Wickham Jr., was described by Marsh as “a superbly qualified officer for this post.”

Vuono, in a brief statement, emphasized the needs to continue attracting high-quality recruits, to train soldiers as leaders and to provide realistic combat training.

“The principal duty we have sworn to discharge well and faithfully is to produce combat-ready forces for our nation,” Vuono said. “Those forces must be capable of deterring any attack on our nation’s interest and, if deterrence fails, be prepared to fight and win.”