Commander
COL James P. Harwell
Colonel Harwell hails from the Midwest and grew up in the United States Army. He is a 1999 graduate of Indiana University where he was commissioned in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps.
Throughout his career, COL Harwell has served in a variety of command and staff positions. His first duty assignment was Fort Stewart, GA where he served on Battalion, Squadron, and Division staffs and as a decontamination platoon leader, with deployments to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iraq. He later commanded the 501st and 62nd Chemical Companies in Korea, and re-stationed the 62nd Chemical Company from Korea to Joint Base Lewis-McCord, WA. Upon completion of command, he was assigned as the first CBRNE Response Team Leader following the activation of the 110th Chemical Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McCord. As a CRT Leader, he deployed to Iraq as the Technical Escort Detachment Commander for Combined Joint Task Force – Troy. He then served as an Abrams Fellow with assignments to the Joint Staff J3 and Army G8. Following completion of the Abrams Fellowship, COL Harwell served as the S3 for the 2d Chemical Battalion and the 48th Chemical Brigade at Fort Hood, TX. He was then assigned to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Capabilities Development Integration Directorate at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, where he served as the CBRN Concepts Officer. COL Harwell then attended the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies with a follow-on utilization tour as the Deputy Director of Plans for Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. After redeploying from Afghanistan, COL Harwell commanded the 22d Chemical Battalion at Fort Bliss, TX. In 2020, COL Harwell returned to the Pentagon where he served as the Deputy Chief of the CWMD Strategy, Policy and Plans Division in the Joint Staff J5. In June of 2022, COL Harwell moved to the Joint Staff J8, where he served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Requirements Office for CBRN Defense until departing the Joint Staff in June 2023.
COL Harwell’s military education includes the U.S. Army Chemical Officer Basic Course, Chemical Captains’ Career Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the School of Advanced Military Studies. COL Harwell holds a Baccalaureate of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University at Bloomington, a Master of Management from University of Phoenix, a Master of Policy Management from Georgetown University, and a Master of Military Art and Sciences from the Army Command and General Staff College’s School of Advanced Military Studies. Additionally, he served a one-year Senior Service College Fellowship at Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA.
BACKGROUND
COL Harwell hails from the Midwest and grew up in the United States Army. He is a 1999 graduate of Indiana University where he was commissioned in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps.
Education:
B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University at Bloomington, a Master of Management from University of Phoenix, a Master of Policy Management from Georgetown University, and a Master of Military Art and Sciences from the Army Command and General Staff College’s School of Advanced Military Studies.
