In a rare public appearance since admitting to an extramarital affair , David Petraeus apologized Tuesday night for the scandal that led to his resignation as head of the CIA last year . Petraeus , a retired four-star general , has stayed out of the limelight since the affair was revealed in November . `` Please allow me to begin my remarks this evening by reiterating how deeply I regret and apologize for the circumstances that led to my resignation from the CIA and caused such pain for my family , friends and supporters , '' Petraeus told a crowd gathered at a Los Angeles hotel ballroom . `` I am also keenly aware that the reason for my recent journey was my own doing . '' Obama taps Brennan as CIA director . His comments came at an annual University of Southern California dinner to honor the military . It was one of the fist major public appearance since the scandal derailed the illustrious career of the decorated Army general . Petraeus , who once ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , resigned from his CIA post in November . He admitted he had an affair with his biographer , Paula Broadwell , a fellow West Point graduate who spent months studying the general 's leadership of U.S. forces in Afghanistan . The affair came to light during an FBI investigation of `` jealous '' e-mails Broadwell reportedly sent to another woman . At the speech Tuesday , he tried to move the focus from his past problems and shine a light on the accomplishments of military members . `` I join you keenly aware that I am regarded in a different light now than I was a year ago , '' he said . `` But tonight is not about me . It is about your veterans . Your active duty military and your ROTC cadets . ''
David Petraeus , last year as head of the department . He admitted to having an affair with his biographer . In a rare public appearance , he said ` ` regret ''