Colonel
Robert "Bruce" Harrison Sr.

Robert B. Harrison was born 7 March 1954 in Delhi, Louisiana. Harrison began his Ordnance career at Ft Polk, LA, as the Shop Officer of B Company, 705th Maintenance Battalion, 5th Infantry Division (Mech) in 1978. In 1979, he was selected early to command A Company, 705th Maintenance Battalion. Following duty at Ft Polk, Harrison attended the Ordnance Advanced Course. Despite the extra time and effort associated with his important duties as an Ordnance Basic Course Tactical Officer, Harrison was designated an Honor Graduate of his own Advanced Course.

Harrison's next assignment was as the V Corps G-4 Maintenance and Readiness officer for a deployed corps of 60,000 Soldiers. As the only Ordnance officer assigned to the Corps G-4 section, he was responsible for providing maintenance related advice and development of wartime/peacetime procedures and policy that effectively managed the maintenance of over 9,800 track and wheeled vehicles. Following duty with V Corps Headquarters, Harrison was selected to become the Materiel Operations Officer for the 19th Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Corps Support Command. This made him responsible for the maintenance support of key units such as the 41st Field Artillery Brigade, the 22nd Signal Brigade, the 130th Engineer Brigade, and the 11th ACR.

Returning to the US, Colonel Harrison served as the Ordnance Team Chief, Readiness Group Stewart, at West Point, NY, where he provided advice and mentored 157 Reserve and National Guard units in the areas of training management, unit maintenance operations, readiness/mobilization procedures, and logistical operations. Colonel Harrison's next assignment was with the 82nd Airborne Division, Ft Bragg, NC. During this assignment he was involved with the logistical planning of Operation Just Cause culminating in the successful deployment of paratroopers into Panama on D-Day and afterward. Just a few months following Just Cause, Harrison was selected to lead the 782nd rapid deployment Advance/Quartering party into Saudi Arabia just days following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. His leadership of the Battalion Assault CP resulted in the establishment of maintenance and repair parts activities in an immature theater. The solid performance of these activities allowed the 82nd to consistently have the highest divisional readiness in XVIII Airborne Corps.

Following the Gulf War, Colonel Harrison was transferred to Aberdeen Proving Ground where he served as Executive Officer to the Chief of Ordnance. He soon became a driving force in the reorganization of the Ordnance Center and School - a successful reorganization of the school's training departments that were driven by a complex series of budgetary reductions. Then as Director of the School's Command and Staff Department, he was instrumental in developing the execution plan which piloted the reintroduction of a field training exercise into course curriculums and integrated officer students with AIT and NCOA students into the School's FTX - making it the capstone training event for all Ordnance students.

Harrison went on to serve as the Commander of the 544th Maintenance Battalion, Ft Hood, TX, from 1995-1997. His command consisted of over 1,000 maintenance and supply Soldiers that provided direct support/general support to divisional and non-divisional units of III Corps. In two years this unit was given high praise by III Corps leaders for producing cost savings or cost avoidance to the Corps that exceeded $77 million. Following Battalion Command, Harrison served on the personal staff of the Army G-4 (DCSLOG) where he coordinated and managed the Army's Strategic Plan for logistics initiatives which identified $253 million in FY98 efficiencies and $2.25 billion savings over the POM period. From 1999-2001, Harrison commanded the 64th Corps Support Group at Ft Hood, TX. During this time, the 64th CSG developed PMCS verification roll out exercises and successfully deployed support units to South America, Southwest Asia, Bosnia, and Eastern Europe.

Colonel Harrison's final military assignment was as Chief of Staff of the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). During this assignment, Colonel Harrison was tasked to develop and implement an effective reorganization plan for TACOMs three Program Executive Offices, 10 Program Managers, 21 Project Managers, and the total life cycle management staff responsible for 62% of the US Army's end items.

Robert B. Harrison retired from the Army on 1 September 2002.