Burwell Baxter Bell III (born April 9, 1947) is a retired

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Early life and education

Bell was born and raised in

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...

, the son of Burwell B. Bell, Jr. His father was a West Point graduate who worked in government nuclear facilities at Oak Ridge. Bell is the great-great-grandson of Arkansas Governor

Henry Massie Rector Henry Massie Rector (May 1, 1816August 12, 1899) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the sixth governor of Arkansas from 1860 to 1862. Early life and education Henry Massie Rector was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of ...

and Mississippi governor and senator

James L. Alcorn James Lusk Alcorn (November 4, 1816December 19, 1894) was a Governor of Mississippi, governor, and United States Senate, U.S. senator during the Reconstruction era in Mississippi. A Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era), Moderate Republican ...

. He graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1965 and played high school football for the "Wildcats". In 1969 he graduated from the University of Chattanooga (now the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, with a degree in Business Administration. As a Distinguished Military Graduate of the university's

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

Program, Bell was commissioned in the

in June 1969 as an Armor/Tank

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. Later, he received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

Systems Management Systems management refers to enterprise-wide administration of distributed systems including (and commonly in practice) computer systems. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications. The ap ...

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Over the years, Bell also received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the University of Maryland, University College;

Keimyung University Keimyung University (계명대학교, Gyemyeong Daehakgyo), abbreviated as KMU or Keimyung (啓明), is a private university located in Daegu, the fourth largest city in South Korea. The university takes roots from Jejungwon founded in 1899. Th ...

, South Korea; and the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

Military career

During his military service, Bell completed the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, United States Army Command and General Staff College, and the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

. He is also completed the army's

Ranger School The United States Army Ranger School is a 62-day small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training wa ...

where he was awarded the

Ranger Tab In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's Should ...

. From 1969 to 1972, Bell spent his initial assignment in the army with the 3d Squadron,

14th Armored Cavalry Regiment The 14th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It has two squadrons that provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition for Stryker brigade combat teams. Constituted in 1901, it has served in conflicts ...

in Bad Hersfeld,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. During this initial three-year period of service during the Cold War, he led units patrolling the Iron Curtain between East and West Germany. During his 39-year active duty career, Bell's command positions included L Troop, 3d Squadron, 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment; D troop, 5th Reconnaissance Squadron; the 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry,

24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) The 24th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army that was inactivated in October 1996. Formed during World War II from the disbanding Hawaiian Division, the division saw action throughout the Pacific theater, firs ...

; and the 24th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. In 1994 Bell served as a Senior Military Fellow at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and has since been selected as a serving member on the council. Bell deployed as General

Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (; August 22, 1934 – December 27, 2012) was a United States Army general. While serving as the commander of United States Central Command, he led all coalition forces in the Gulf War. Born in Trenton, Ne ...

's Executive Officer in

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

; and later served as Chief of Staff, USAREUR Forward Headquarters, Taszar,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

during Operation Joint Endeavor in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. From June 1995 through August 1996 and as a brigadier general, Bell served as an Assistant Division Commander in both the 3d and 1st Infantry Divisions located at

Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany Warner Barracks was a United States Army military base in the city of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany. The base had been occupied by U.S. forces since the end of World War II. Elements of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division (United States), ...

. From August 1996 to July 1999 Bell served as Chief of Staff of

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

, and as DCSOPS and subsequently Chief of Staff,

United States Army, Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...

and

Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

. As a major general Bell commanded the United States Army Armor Center and

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

from July 1999 through August 2001 at Fort Knox,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. As a lieutenant general, Bell commanded the Army's

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

from August 2001 to November 2002, headquartered at Fort Hood,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Following Corps Command, Bell was promoted to four-star general and commanded the

and 7th Army, as well as NATO's Land Component Command, Heidelberg, Germany. On completion of his command assignments in Europe, in 2006 Bell was reassigned to South Korea where he commanded U.S. Forces, Korea, the Korea—U.S. Combined Forces Command, and the United Nations Command. He retired from the Army in 2008. Bell's staff positions included service as an

instructor at

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

; Force Plans Analyst for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans in the Pentagon; and Joint Staff Officer responsible for the Unified Command Plan in the J5,

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

, also in the Pentagon. Additionally, he was a tank

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

Operations Officer in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and the Chief of Staff of 3rd Infantry Division in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, Germany.

Personal life

Bell endorsed Republican presidential nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

in 2016.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

Korea Society Podcast: General B.B. Bell Discusses the Evolution of the U.S.-Korea Military Alliance
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Burwell B., 3 1947 births Living people People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Texas Tech University faculty United States Army generals United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alumni Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Commanders, United States Forces Korea