Career Timeline

Eldon Bargewell joined the US Army in 1967. In a career spanning five decades, he rose from the rank of Private to Major General. At the time of his retirement in 2006, he was the most decorated active duty soldier. His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest medal for valor.

• United States Army Basic Training, Fort Lewis, Washington
• United States Army Special Forces Training, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

• 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
• 6th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
• 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
• 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
• Graduated from Ranger School in 1970 as enlisted Honor Graduate, Camp Mackall, North Carolina
• Military Assistance Command – Vietnam Studies and Operations Group Command Control North

Graduated from Infantry Officers’ Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia, as Leadership Honor Graduate of OCS class 3-73

• Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon Leader, B Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), Fort Lewis, Washington
• Assistant Operations Officer, B Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), Fort Lewis, Washington
• Original member of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Fort Lewis, Washington
• Commander, later Platoon Leader, B Company, 2d Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger), Fort Lewis, Washington
• Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington
• Executive Officer, B Company, 2d Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger) Fort Lewis, Washington,
• S-3 Air (Operations), 2d Battalion, 47th Infantry, Fort Lewis, Washington
• Commander, C Company, 2d Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington

Infantry Branch Representative, United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia

Commander, later Executive Officer, later S-3 (Operations), later Squadron Commander, Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, Fort Bragg, North Carolina 

• A Squadron Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (Airborne)
• Squadron Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne), King Fahd Air Base, OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD/STORM, Saudi Arabia

Squadron Commander, later Deputy Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment- Delta (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Deputy Director for Operations, J-3, later Director for Operations, J-3, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Commanding General, Special Operations Command Europe, United States European Command, Germany and OPERATION NOBLE ANVIL, Kosovo

Assistant Chief of Staff for Military Operations SFOR (Sarajevo), Joint Headquarters Centre, Allied Command Europe

Director, Center for Operations, Plans and Policy, United States Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida

• Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations/Commander, Allied Joint Force Command – Brunssum
• Deployable Joint Task Force, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Response Force, Brunssum, The Netherlands

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, C-3, Multi-National Force-Iraq, OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq