Mr. James H. Harrell II, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director, Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, and is a Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Controlled Activity headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, operating worldwide. He reports to the Chairman through the Joint Staff Director for Operations. He directs more than 230 personnel, enabling the application of informational power at the strategic level, supporting application of informational power at the operational and tactical level, and performing CJCS responsibilities for Joint Enterprise Information Operations proponency, Operations Security and Military Deception in order to facilitate globally integrated operations.
Mr. Harrell is a retired U.S. Army colonel who was commissioned in 1991 as an Armor officer via Officer Candidate School. He served as an Armor leader in tactical units in South Korea, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Fort Benning. He volunteered for the Army’s Information Operations career functional area at the time of its formation, and has served as a member of Army, joint and combined teams conducting operations in the information environment from the tactical through the strategic level since 2002. As a proponent for the transformation of DoD Operations in the information environment, he has participated in key technical and non-technical modernization and innovation initiatives across the DoD, with the Department of State, the National Security Council and with industry.
EDUCATION
1989 Bachelor of Science, Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville
1991 U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Ga.
1992 Armor Officer Basic Course, Fort Benning, Ga.
1996 Armor/Maneuver Officer Captains Career Course, Fort Knox, Ky.
2000 Army Recruiting Commanders Course, Fort Knox, Ky.
2002 Information Operations Officer Qualification Course, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2009 Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
2014 Master of Science, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. January–March 1991, Basic Combat Training, Fort Dix, N.J.
2. April–June 1991, Candidate, U.S. Army Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Ga.
3. February 1992–February 1993, Platoon Leader, 1st Battalion 72d Armor, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Casey, South Korea
4. March 1993–September 1993, Tank Platoon Leader, 2nd Battalion 69th Armor, 24th Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
5. September 1993–April 1995, Executive Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3d BDE 24th Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
6. April 1995–March 1996, Student, Armor and Maneuver Officer Captains Career Course, Fort Knox, Ky.
7. April 1996–April 1997, S3 (Air), 2nd Battalion 68th Armor (later 1st Battalion 35th Armor), 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany and Camp Linda, Olovske-Luke, Bosnia-Herzegovina
8. May 1997–December 1998, Brigade Logistics Officer (S4), 2nd Brigade 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany
9. December 1998–December 1999, Commander, B Company 1st Battalion 35th Armor, Baumholder, Germany
10. January 2000–May 2002, Commander, U.S. Army New York City Metro Recruiting Company, Fort Hamilton, N.Y.
11. August 2002–December 2002, Deputy Chief, Information Operations Field Support Division, L and Information Warfare Activity (later 1st Information Operations Command (Land)), Fort Belvoir, Va.
12. December 2002–May 2003, Chief, Field Support Team 7, 1st IO Command (Land), Fort Belvoir, Va., and Company Doha, Kuwait
13. June 2003–June 2004, Chief, Geospatial Intelligence Development, 1st IO Command (Land), Fort Belvoir, Va.
14. July 2004–September 2005, Chief, IO Field Support Team, CJSOTF-AP and 2nd Battalion 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Mosul, Iraq
15. September 2005–July 2010, Strategic Planner and Chief, Operations Branch, U.S. Army Operations and Technology Office, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
16. August 2010–June 2013, Brigade Operations Officer, 1st IO Command (Land), Fort Belvoir, Va.
17. August 2013–June 2014, Student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.
18. September 2014–June 2015, Director of Operations (J3), Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas
19. June 2015–June 2016, Deputy Director, Joint Information Operations Warfare Center (JIOWC), Lackland AFB, Texas
20. August 2016–June 2018, Division Chief, Communications Strategy Analysis Division, Joint Staff Deputy Director for Global Operations (JS J39), the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
21. July 2018–February 2019, Senior Principal Operations Subject Matter Expert, Private Sector, Alexandria, Va.
22. May 2019–present, Director, Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas
AWARDS AND HONORS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal with device
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korea Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass
NATO Medal
Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
Army Staff Identification Badge
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Draper Armor Leadership Award, U.S. Army Office of the Chief of Armor, 1998
(Current as of June 2020)