Larry J. Dodgen, a Northrop Grumman executive and retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, died Feb. 20 of an apparent heart attack while playing tennis near his home in Huntsville, Ala. He was 60.
Dodgen spent 34 years in the Army before retiring in 2007 and joining Northrop Grumman, where he was responsible for the company’s missile defense business strategy. In October he was appointed corporate lead executive for the Huntsville region, where Northrop Grumman has more than 1,200 employees.
Dodgen’s military career included commanding the 8th battalion of the 43rd Air Defense Artillery in combat operations during Operation Desert Storm. He took over command of the Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., in 2001 and assumed his last post as commander of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command in 2003.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to Larry Dodgen’s family and friends at his sudden passing,” Northrop Grumman said in a statement Feb. 24. “His leadership and outstanding service to our country and to our company will be greatly missed. Throughout his distinguished Army career, Gen. Dodgen was in the forefront of defending freedom, most notably when he led his battalion into combat in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm in 1993. At Northrop Grumman, we were all looking forward to his new role in Huntsville, and his loss is a great shock?”
A memorial service was held Feb. 25 at Redstone Arsenal. His burial is March 11 at Arlington National Cemetery following a service at the Old Post Chapel in Fort Meyer, Va., the Army said. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the American Heart Association.
He is survived by his wife, Leslie, and brother, George.
