Colonel Harold W. Askins III was assigned as the United States Army Reserve Sustainment Command (ARSC) Deputy Commanding Officer in August 2018 following his assignment with the United States Military Academy (USMA) as an Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences.
Prior to his tour on the USMA’s Staff, Colonel Askins served as the United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) Augmentation Unit Commander where he oversaw the augmentation support of the USARC, Forces Command (FORSCOM) and the 3rd Army (Forward).
Colonel Askins received his commission as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery from the USMA in 1992. Colonel Askins served as an Artillery Officer with the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment in Fort Bragg, NC, and was subsequently assigned as the Detachment Commander for Alpha Detachment, 8th Finance Battalion in Baumholder, Germany. Colonel Askins transitioned to the United States Army Reserve (USAR) following his assignment as a Finance and Accounting Officer with the USARC G-8.
His other USAR commands include the 1188th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion (DDSB) and the 3/485th OSUT Battalion, 98th Training Division. Colonel Askinss operational and staff assignments include: Contracts Officer for the FORSCOM Augmentation Unit; Vessel Chief for the 1189th Transportation Terminal Brigade; Contingency Operations and Senior Budget Officer for USARC G-8; and Deputy Branch Chief for the Training Division, FORSCOM G-3. He also served as the Command Inspector General and subsequently the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 for the 84th Training Division.
Colonel Askins has numerous mobilizations in the USAR. From 2001 to 2002, he supported the FORSCOM G-8 Crisis Action Team following the events of September 11th, 2001. Additionally, he was mobilized in January 2004 to 2005 as the Contingency Operations Officer for the USARC G-8, and in 2006, he deployed as the Battalion Commander for the 1188th DDSB where his unit was awarded the prestigious Transportation Corps Deployment Excellence Award. In 2010, Colonel Askins was again recalled to active duty as a Branch Chief and subsequently the Directorate Executive Officer for the FORSOM G-3 Training Division. Most recently, Colonel Askins was mobilized as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee with USMA at West Point, NY.
Colonel Askins holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Economics from USMA; a Master of Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School, Emory University; a Judicial Doctorate from the Georgia State University College of Law; a Master Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College; and a Master of Mathematical Economics from Purdue University. He is a graduate of the Advanced Joint Professional Military Education Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Finance and Transportation Officer’s Advance Courses, the Field Artillery Officer’s Basic Course, the U.S. Army Battalion/Brigade Pre-Command Course, Airborne School, Air Assault School and the U.S. Army Ranger School.
Colonel Askins works as a Procurement Litigation Attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs.