Galen B. Jackman - Military Career

Military Career

Jackman attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on an Army ROTC scholarship. While at the University he became an active member of the military fraternity, the Pershing Rifles, a fraternity known for including many who later became successful Army officers. Upon graduation he was commissioned into active duty in the U.S. Army in June 1973. His first duty assignment was with the 1st Battalion (ABN) 508th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as a rifle platoon leader, anti-tank platoon leader, company executive officer, and battalion adjutant. He next served with the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, as a battalion S4, rifle company commander, and battalion S3. Following assignment as a Procurement Officer with the United States Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, he served at Fort Bragg as Procurement Officer, Squadron Executive Officer, and Support Squadron Commander in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne) (1st SFOD-D(A)), more commonly known as "Delta Force."

Jackman has commanded the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Light); 2nd Brigade, 7th Infantry Division (Light), Fort Ord, California; and the Ranger Training Brigade, Fort Benning, Georgia. It was under then-Colonel Jackman's command at the Ranger Training Brigade that four Ranger Candidates were killed in training on February 15, 1995 in the Florida swamps of Eglin Air Force Base. Killed were Captain Milton Palmer, Second Lieutenant Curt G. Sansoucie, Second Lieutenant Spencer D. Dodge, and Sergeant Norman Tillman. It was reported to be the worst incident in the Ranger School's 44-year history . Multiple accounts held the leadership climate, both at the command level and at the trainer level, responsible for the multiple errors that led to the training accident and deaths. Among the reasons named for the deaths include the command's lack of a proper risk assessment of the weather conditions surrounding the exercise before it took place and the Ranger trainers' decision to continue with the exercise despite poor training conditions and high water dangers. As a result of the accident, the Ranger School's command changed swamp training to include more food and sleep for trainees and now require trainers to go into potentially high water before their trainees do. No evidence exists to suggest that Jackman suffered any career-related consequences due to the incident.

Following his command at the Ranger Training Brigade, Jackman served as the Director of Combined Arms and Tactics at the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, as well as the Deputy J3 for Training and Readiness, United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), Hawaii. He was then assigned as Chief of Staff, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York, during which he participated as part of NATO's "Follow-on Force" in Operation Joint Forge, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Shortly thereafter he was made Assistant Division Commander for Support for the 10th Mountain Division.

Jackman served as Director of Operations, United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) from 2001–2003, concentrating mostly on anti-drug and anti-terrorism endeavours. He took command of the MDW in mid-2003 and subsequently the JFHQ-NCR in late 2004 at its official inception. While in this dual command capacity, Jackman organized the proceedings and security for the dedication of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall and its accompanying WWII reunion, organized former President Ronald Reagan's state funeral, served as the official escort to the former President's wife, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, and served as commander of the Joint Task Force-Armed Forces Inaugural Committee for President George W. Bush's 2005 Presidential Inauguration. Jackman was assigned as the Army's Chief of Legislative Liaison on July 21, 2005. He retired from that position, and the U.S. Army after 35 years of service, in July 2008.