Michael Xavier Garrett (born 1961) is a former

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who served as commanding general of

United States Army Forces Command The United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) is the largest command of the United States Army. It provides land forces to the Department of Defense's unified combatant commands. FORSCOM is headquartered at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and ...

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 that saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

, 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 United States Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilit ...

and commanding general of

United States Army Alaska The 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 (United States), I Corps, USARAK was the ground element ...

. The son of Edward Garrett, a retired Army command sergeant major, Garrett is from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

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, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

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

in January 2019. He was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the position in February and assumed command in March. Garrett retired from the Army in September 2022.

President Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...

appointed Garrett as commissioner for the

American Battle Monuments Commission The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memoria ...

in July 2023, and he was elected to serve as chairman on 1 August 2023.

Assignments

Garrett was 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 The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

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 (United States), 11th Airborne Division is an airborne forces, airborne infantry brigade combat team (BCT) of the United States Army. The unit is stationed at Joint Base Elme ...

(Light), which deployed in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. Following brigade command, Garrett served as the deputy commanding general of

United States Army Recruiting Command The United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC, ), located at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is responsible for the recruitment and accession of new Soldiers for the United States Army and Army Reserve. Recruiting operations are conducted throughout th ...

. 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 force, rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is r ...

. 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