Sergeant Major Kelli M. Harr enlisted in the Army in March 2000 as a Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic. She left her hometown of Flora, Illinois to attend Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Advanced Individualized Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
Sgt. Major Harr served as a light wheel mechanic while assigned to the 204th Forward Support Battalion at Fort Hood and the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion at Camp Stanley, Korea until 2004 when she left the active component and joined the Army Reserve. Sgt. Major Harr reclassified her MOS to 79V, Army Reserve Career Counselor, in 2005 and volunteered for a deployment in that capacity in 2006. Upon returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sgt. Major Harr became part of the Active Guard Reserve program as a 79V where she served from 2007-2015. Her assignments include: Army Reserve Career Counselor, Atlanta, GA; Officer Accessions Non-Commissioned Officer, Topeka, KS; and Special Missions NCOIC and Accessions Regional Manager, Denver, CO. In 2015, Sgt. Major Harr was selected for a broadening assignment with the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve Legislative Affairs Division where she worked as a Legislative Liaison until her selection to attend the US Army Sergeant’s Major Academy in 2017. From there she served as Garrison Command Sergeant Major at Fort Devens Reserve Forces Training Area until July 2021 and then as the 8th BN Army Reserve Careers Group BN Sgt. Major at Fort Snelling, MN before accepting her assignment at Fort Knox with the 83rd Army Reserve Readiness Training Center (ARRTC).
Sgt. Major Harr’s military education includes the Garrison Pre-Command Course, Master Fitness Trainer Course, Common Faculty Development-Instructor Course, Equal Opportunity Representative Course, Security Manager Course, ULLS-G course, Accession Career Counselor Course, Unit Prevention Leader Course, and all PME courses.
Sgt. Major Harr’s awards include Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (5 OLC), Army Achievement Medal (2 OLC), Good Conduct Medal (6th award), Iraqi Campaign Medal w/bronze star, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass and M device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (numeral 2), NCO Professional Development (numeral 5), Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Career Counselor Badge, and the Army Staff Badge.
Sgt. Major Harr was selected as the 6th Battalion, Army Reserve Careers Division Career Counselor of the Year in 2008 and 2009. She earned the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge in 2011 and was inducted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club in the same year. Sgt. Major Harr holds a Master of Arts in Homeland Security from American Military University, a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from SUNY Empire State College, and an Associate’s Degree in General Studies from Olney Central College. She is a 2015 graduate of the Strategic Broadening Seminar from the University of Louisville and a 2016 graduate of the Congressional Operations Seminar from Georgetown University.
Sgt. Major Harr currently resides in Elizabethtown, Kentucky with her rescue dog, Abel.