James L. Dozier

James Lee Dozier (born April 10, 1931) is a retired United States Army officer. In December 1981, he was kidnapped by the Italian Red Brigades, a Marxist guerilla group. After 42 days of captivity, he was rescued by NOCS - an elite Italian special forces unit - with help from the Intelligence Support Activity's Operation Winter Harvest. At the time, General Dozier was serving as deputy Chief of Staff at NATO's Southern European land forces headquarters in Verona, Italy. In a press statement, the Red Brigades claimed that the excellent diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Italy - and the fact that Dozier was an American officer invited to work in Italy - rendered his abduction "justified". To date, he remains the only American flag officer ever taken prisoner by a violent non-state actor.