Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Irizarry II became the USARC G-3/5/7 in June 2013.
Prior to his current assignment he was the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (Airborne) based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Brig. Gen. Irizarry grew up in East Northport, N.Y. He was commissioned from Johns Hopkins University as an Infantry officer in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
While attending college, Brig. Gen. Irizarry served with the 1/175 Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard. His first active-component assignment was with the 3rd Battalion, 41st Infantry, 2nd Armored Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. His follow-on Infantry assignments included staff positions, company command, platoon trainer at the Infantry Officer Basic Course and observer-controller and chief of the lessons learned cell at the National Training Center.
In August 1993, Brig. Gen. Irizarry attended the Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, Regional Studies and Arabic-Egyptian Language courses at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS), with a follow-on assignment as a Civil Affairs officer at the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C. He later served as the S3 and the executive officer of the battalion and the J5 (Civil-Military Operations), Joint Task Force-Provide Promise, Yugoslavia.
In 1996, he was assigned to Land Forces Central Europe, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers, Europe, Germany, Operation Joint Endeavor and Joint Forge, Bosnia- Herzegovina and Operation Joint Guardian, Kosovo, where he served in a number of positions including: civil-military plans officer in the Civil Military Cooperation Branch; joint plans officer; special assistant to the commander of the Stabilization Force; and chief of the J9.
From February 2000 to May 2004, he served at SWCS as the chief of the Civil Affairs/Civil Military Operations Training and Doctrine Division and later as the Director of Special Operations Proponency. His follow-on assignment was as the G3 and Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne).
In August 2006, he was named the first commander of the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg. From August 2008 to August 2010, he served as the executive officer to the Under Secretary of the Army in Washington, D.C., and deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom–Afghanistan.
Brig. Gen. Irizarry’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three oak-leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with five oak-leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with oak-leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal with oak-leaf cluster, Army Achievement Medal with three oak-leaf clusters, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab and British Commando flash. He is the recipient of the Civil Affairs Regiment Gold Winfield Scott Award.
He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Golden Gate University.