Lt. General David W. Barno
Lieutenant General David W. Barno is a native of Endicott, New York, and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.
General Barno has served in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental United States and around the world. He has commanded at all levels from Lieutenant to Lieutenant General in peacetime and combat operations. General Barno has participated in unit deployments to Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Germany, Grenada, Panama, New Zealand, Honduras, and Hungary. He served in combat as a Ranger Company Commander in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury (1983) and as a Ranger Battalion Operations officer in Panama during Operation Just Cause (1989). General Barno commanded a parachute Infantry Battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division and later commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion, completing his third tour with the 75th Ranger Regiment. Upon completion of brigade command at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he directed the Joint Task Force training program at what is now United States Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.
Following selection to Brigadier General, he was assigned in June 1999 as the Assistant Division Commander (Operations) of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and in June 2000, as the Deputy Director of Operations, United States Pacific Command. Subsequent to his selection to Major General in 2001, he served as Commanding General, United States Army Training Center and Fort Jackson. During this assignment, he deployed to Hungary in 2003 as the Commanding General of Task Force Warrior with the mission to train the free Iraqi forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
General Barno deployed in October 2003 to Afghanistan, commanding over 20,000 U.S. and Coalition Forces in Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. For 19 months in this position, he was responsible to U.S. Central Command for regional efforts in Afghanistan, most of Pakistan and the southern parts of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. His duties involved close coordination with the United States Department of State, the Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations, NATO International Security Assistance Force and the senior military leaders of many surrounding nations.
Since assuming duties as Director of the NESA Center, General Barno has traveled widely throughout the region and lectured in a number of locations at Harvard, Yale, Tufts, Johns Hopkins SAIS, West Point and the U.S. Army and Naval War Colleges. He has recently been appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans and Families by Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson. General Barno frequently serves as an expert consultant on counter-insurgency, the war on terror and the changing nature of conflict, supporting a wide range of government and other organizations.
General Barno’s many awards and decorations include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Superior Service Medal (three awards), the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal (with silver and bronze oak leaf clusters), the NATO Meritorious Service Medal, the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award, the Army Commendation and Achievement Medals and several campaign and unit awards for combat actions. He also has been awarded the Master Parachutist Badge with Combat Star, Pathfinder Badge, the Ranger Tab, and the German parachutist badge.
