Major General Robert S. Ferrell
CECOM Commanding General
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
Major General Robert S. Ferrell serves as the Commanding General, Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM). As Commander, Maj. Gen. Ferrell leads a world-wide organization of over 11,000 military and civilian personnel responsible for coordinating, integrating and synchronizing the entire life-cycle management of the C4ISR systems for all of the Army's battlefield mission areas - maneuver control, fire support, air defense, intelligence, combat services support, tactical radios, satellite communications, and the warfighter information network.
Prior to assuming command, Maj. Gen. Ferrell served as the Director, Command and Control, Communications and Computer Systems (J6) and Chief Information Officer, United States Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany.
Maj. Gen. Ferrell, a native of Anniston, Alabama, enlisted in the Army and attained the rank of sergeant. He completed his undergraduate degree at Hampton University and was commissioned on August 15, 1983, as an Army Signal Corps officer. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science Degree in Strategy from the Army War College.
Maj. Gen. Ferrell has served in Army units in the United States, Korea, and Europe, and has deployed to Bosnia and Iraq. In addition to the traditional company and field grade level assignments, he has also served as the Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of the Army; Assistant Division Signal Officer, 82nd Airborne Division; Battalion Executive Officer, 82nd Signal Battalion; Brigade S3, 7th Signal Brigade, 5th Signal Command; Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, V Corps, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army; Commander, 13th Signal Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division; Military Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Office of the Secretary of Defense; and Military Assistant to the Director, Program Management Office at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq. Major General Ferrell commanded the 2d Signal Brigade, 5th Signal Command; served as Chief, Programs Division in the Office of the Congressional Legislative Liaison; Senior Army Fellow on the Council on Foreign Relations; and Director, Army Modernization, Strategic Communication, in Arlington, Virginia.
Maj. Gen. Ferrell has earned numerous awards and decorations, most notably, the Defense Superior Service Medal (1st Oak Leaf Cluster); Legion of Merit (1st Oak Leaf Cluster); Bronze Star Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (6th Award); Army Commendation Medal (6th Award); and Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award). He has also earned the Master Parachutist Badge; Malaysian and British Jump Wings; Air Assault and Pathfinder Badges; Special Forces and Ranger Tabs; Army Staff Identification Badge; and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge. He is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
