Michael Xavier Garrett (born 1961) is a retired

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

who served as the commanding general of

United States Army Forces Command United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest United States Army command. It provides expeditionary, regionally engaged, campaign-capable land forces to combatant commanders. Headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, FORSCOM con ...

from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as the commanding general of

United States Army Central The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf W ...

, chief of staff of

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

and commanding general of

United States Army Alaska United States Army Alaska (USARAK or "America's Arctic Warriors") was a military command of the United States Army located in the U.S. state of Alaska. A subordinate command of I Corps, USARAK was the ground element of the Alaskan Command. USARA ...

. The son of Edward Garrett, a retired Army command sergeant major, Garrett is from Cleveland, Ohio and attended High School in Germany. He was commissioned in 1984 into the Infantry upon his graduation from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

. Garrett was nominated for promotion to general to become the commanding general of

in January 2019. He was confirmed by the Senate for the position in February and assumed command in March.

Assignments

Garrett is the commanding general of

, located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He previously served as the commanding general of

, located at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Garrett's assignments include chief of staff of United States Central Command, commanding general of

, deputy commander of United States Alaskan Command and multiple joint and operational tours, staff assignments at numerous levels as well as several commands. Highlights include commanding 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry (Airborne), 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He deployed to Afghanistan as chief of current operations, Combined Task Force 180 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He then commanded

4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (BCT) of the United States Army. The unit is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska and is the only airb ...

(Light), which deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following brigade command, Garrett served as the deputy commanding general of United States Army Recruiting Command. Following his tour with Recruiting Command, Garrett returned to Fort Bragg where he served as the Chief of Staff,

XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is referred to as "America ...

. As the XVIII Airborne Corps chief of staff, he deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn, where he served as the deputy chief of staff for United States Forces-Iraq.

Education

Garrett's military education includes completion of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced courses, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a prestigious Senior Service College Fellowship. He also holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Xavier University.

Awards and decorations

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Michael X. 1961 births Living people Xavier University alumni Military personnel from Cleveland African-American United States Army personnel United States Army personnel of the Iraq War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals