Major General Gary Harrell

Major General Gary Harrell has spent his life in service to his country.

He was among the first recipients of a four-year scholarship from the East Tennessee State University Army ROTC program, receiving his bachelor’s degree in industrial technology and his Army commission in 1973.

By early 1977, he had earned the highly respected Green Beret and was assigned to the 3 rd Battalion, 7 th Special Forces Group in Panama. Selected to be the commander of the first Commander In Chief In-Extremis assault team, he led a Special Forces A-Team and a SCUBA team.

Following his Panama assignment, Maj. Gen. Harrell was chosen to command an Airborne Rifle Company, deploying to the Sinai as the Commander of Charlie Company, 1 st Battalion, 505 th Parachute Infantry Regiment as part of the first multinational force there in 1981.

During his years on airborne status, he accrued several hundred static-line and military free fall jumps.

Maj. Gen. Harrell’s career has taken him to every hot spot on the globe involving the United States. He was deployed to Grenada during “Operation Urgent Fury,” and then took part in combat operations in Panama with “Operation Just Cause” as part of the Army Special Operations Community, SFOD-D.

He was sent to the Middle East during “Desert Shield” and “Desert Storm,” and he was wounded by mortar fire while in Somalia helping with United Nations relief efforts.

Between 1999 and 2001, Maj. Gen. Harrell commanded the SFOD-D and then assumed responsibility as Central Command Joint Security Director responsible for the protection of U.S. forces in 25 nations surrounding the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

After the attack on the USS Cole, he deployed to Yemen, after being chosen by General Tommy Franks, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Central Command from 2000-2003. In his book, An American Soldier, Gen. Franks says of his selection of Maj. Gen. Harrell, “This proved to be a good decision. Gary understood terrorism from his time as an SMU commander in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 during the brutal combat made famous in the book and film Black Hawk Down. And he developed force protection procedures for CENTCOM subordinate commanders and troops, which over the next three years would save hundreds of American lives.”

In 2001, he was Assistant Division Commander for the 10 th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, and was interviewed by Dan Rather on 60 Minutes II, discussing special operations work with Afghan forces to remove al-Qaida and Taliban operatives from power.

“Operation Iraqi Freedom” found Maj. Gen. Harrell commanding the largest special operations force assembled since World War II -- over 20,000 personnel.

Today, the major general is the Commanding General, Special Operations Command Central, based at McDill Air Force Base, Florida.

During his distinguished career, Maj. Gen. Harrell has attained further education. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and Armed Forces Staff College, and he has completed the Army’s Airborne Course, Ranger School, Special Forces Underwater Operations (SCUBA) course, and the military free fall course.

Among his many prestigious decorations, Maj. Gen. Harrell counts a Bronze Star with V device for valor, the Purple Heart for his wounds received in Somalia, and the Humanitarian Service Ribbon.

The major general is married to the former Jennifer Counts and is the father of three: Chad, who attended ETSU and is now a U.S. Army Ranger, Amanda, and Andrea Burchette. Andrea, an ETSU graduate, and her husband, Kevin Burchette, are the parents of the Harrells’ granddaughters, Carson Grace and Callie Faith.