Teams:

LTC. Darrel Gearhart, US Army, Ret.

Lieutenant Colonel Darrel Gearhart is a native of Rochester, New York. He received his Commission as a US Army Reserve officer through the ROTC Early Commissioning Program from Marion Military Institute, Marion, Alabama in 1982. As a ROTC Cadet, he served in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) assigned to a US Army Reserve Military Police Company. He later attended the State University College of NY at Buffalo earning a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Industrial Technology. While earning his degree, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart served as a Company Commander assigned to C Company, 2/390 th Engineer Regiment in Batavia, NY.

In 1984, he entered active duty and attended the Army Air Defense Artillery Course at Fort Bliss, TX. His first assignment was with the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA where he served as an Air Defense Platoon Leader. Upon promotion to Captain, he was branch transferred to the Military Intelligence Corps. He served as a Company Executive Officer and assistant Battalion S-3 with the 107th MI Battalion. After attending the Military Intelligence Officer Advanced Course at Fort Hauchuca, AZ, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart was assigned overseas where he served in several challenging assignments. He first served as the Brigade Intelligence Officer, 59th Ordnance Brigade in Pirmasens, Germany, Detachment Commander, HHD, 570th US Army Artillery Group, Muenster, GE, and finally with the G2, 1st Armored Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

After returning to the United States, he was assigned to the Atlantic Intelligence Command as a Joint Intelligence Officer. In 1995, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart left active duty and began a job working at the National Reconnaissance Office providing national imagery support to military operations. During this period, he was also serving as a drilling reservist with the US Atlantic Command in Norfolk, VA. In December 1995, he was called to active duty for a period of 179 days under the provisions of the Presidential Selective Reserve Call-up to support the Bosnian operation-Joint Endeavor. During this period he served as a Joint Special Operations Officer on the J3 and J1 staffs. Following this tour, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart returned to full-time active duty status as an Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) officer. His first AGR assignment was with the 99th Regional Support Command in Pittsburgh, PA where he served as a Force Modernization Officer. During this assignment, he completed his graduate studies and earned his Masters degree in Geography and Regional Planning from California University of Pennsylvania. Following this assignment he was nominated to serve as an Assistant Professor of Military Science in Albany NY where he instructed ROTC at the University of Albany, Siena College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

In March 2005, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart retired from the Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky, the same location where he began his career as an ROTC cadet almost 25 years earlier. During his final assignment, he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Reserve Affairs at the Headquarters, Eastern Region, US Army Cadet Command. It was during this assignment that he also had the distinct privilege to serve as the interm Professor of Military Science at Fordham University in Bronx, NY. Following his retirement, Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart moved to Easton, NH and assumed the duties as the Senior Army Instructor for the JROTC program at the White Mountains Regional High School.

Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart is a graduate of the Army Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic Course, Military Intelligence Officers Advance Course, Combined Arms Service Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army Force Management Course.

His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” device, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Joint Meritorious Unit Citation.

Lieutenant Colonel Gearhart and his wife Tambra have two children, Lucas and Paul.

Copyright© Randall Byers, Spartan Battalion