General B.B. Bell (Click picture for a larger view) |
General Bell was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on 9 April 1947 and was commissioned as a Distinguished
Military Graduate in June 1969 upon graduation from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His military
education includes the Armor Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Command and General Staff College, and the
National War College. He received a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern
California.General Bell's command positions include the 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 24th Infantry Division
( Mech) at Ft. Stewart, Georgia; and the 24th ID’s 2nd Vanguard Brigade, also at Ft. Stewart. He served as
an Assistant Division Commander, 1st Infantry Division ( Mech) Bamberg, Germany and commanded the Army's
Armor Center and Ft. Knox, Ft. Knox, Kentucky. General Bell commanded the Army’s III Corps, headquartered at
Fort Hood, Texas; and most recently commanded the United States Army, Europe and 7th Army; and NATO's Allied
Land Component Command, Heidelberg, Germany. General Bell's staff positions include service as an ROTC
Instructor at Texas Tech University; Force Plans Analyst for the Army DCSOPS; and Joint Staff Officer
responsible for the Unified Command Plan in the J5, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Additionally, he was a tank
battalion S3 in Korea and the Chief of Staff of 3rd Infantry Division in Würzburg, Germany. He also served
as Chief of Staff of V Corps, and as DCSOPS and subsequently Chief of Staff, United States Army, Europe and
7th Army. In 1994 General Bell served as a Senior Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in
New York City, and has since been selected as a serving member on the Council. General Bell deployed as
USCINCCENT's Executive Officer in Desert Shield and Desert Storm; and later served as Chief of Staff,
USAREUR Forward Headquarters, Taszar, Hungary during Operation Joint Endeavor in the Balkans. His awards
include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service
Medal, Legion of Merit with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with 1 Oak
Leaf Cluster, and the Army Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters. General Bell has also been awarded
the NATO Meritorious Service Medal and the Polish Army Medal (Gold Award). |