ROBERT FRANKLIN BARROW
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army
Senior Army Insructor
LeFlore High School - Junior Reserve Officer Training Program
Mobile, Alabama
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1958 and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow graduated from Shaw High School in 1975 and the University of South Alabama in 1979. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Air Defense Artillery. Lieutenant Colonel Barrow earned a Masters Degree in Administration of Justice from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1984. He will complete a second Masters Degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in history from Spring Hill College this spring. He has attended the Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic Course and Officers Advanced Course, the Army Combined Arms Staff Services School, the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armed Forces Staff College Joint and Combined Staff Officer School.
Over the course of his career, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow’s tours of duty have included command and operations assignments in various commands. His duty assignments have been: assigned to the 32d Army Air Defense Command in the Federal Republic of Germany from 1980-1982. While there he served as a Hawk Support Platoon Leader and Tactical Control Officer, 3rd Battalion, 59th Air Defense Artillery and as Aide-de-Camp, Deputy Commanding General 32d Army Air Defense Command. In 1982, he was transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas, and served as the Aide-de-Camp for the Assistant Commandant, United States Army Air Defense Artillery School. From 1983-1987, he was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and served as the Battalion Adjutant and D Battery Commander for 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery. In addition, he was assigned as G-3 Assistant Operations Officer, 82d Airborne Division, G-3 Corps Airspace Management Element Staff Operations Officer and G-3 Assistant Operations Officer, XVIII Airborne Corps. From 1987-1990, he was assigned to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as an Officer Candidate School TAC Officer, 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry and as the Air Defense Branch Chief, Combined Arms Division, Combined Arms and Tactics Department, United States Army Infantry School. In 1991, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow returned to the 82d Airborne Division where he served as the Assistant Division Air Defense Officer and S-3 Operations Officer for the 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. From 1993-1996, he was assigned to Headquarters Allied Forces Central Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he served as a Project Officer for NATO Air Defense Tactical Evaluations. In 1996, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow assumed command of the Jaguar Battalion (Army ROTC), University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. In July 2000, he was assigned as the Army Advisor to the Air Force Wargaming Institute at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Barrow retired from the Army on 1 January 2002 and immediately assumed his current duties as the Senior Army Instructor for the Junior ROTC program at LeFlore High School in Mobile, Alabama.
Decorations awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Barrow include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (w/3 OLC), Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (w/4 OLC), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, National Defense Service Medal (w/Service Star), Global War on Terrorism, Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2 tours), NATO Medal, and Master Parachutist Badge. He is a recipient of British, Canadian, and Honduran parachute badges and was awarded the German Rocket/Missile Qualification Badge.
Lieutenant Colonel Barrow is married to the former Cheryl K. Ellis of Daphne, Alabama. They have two daughters, Corey age 26 (who is married to Scott Kappler) and Lauren age 22. Corey and Scott are expecting their first grandchild, Ella Kate, due in April.