August 20, 2025 • 5 mins
Col. Mark McClellan took command of U.S. Army Garrison – Fort Hood on July 11, 2025. Prior to that he served as the director of the Department of Tactics, Training, and Doctrine, Maneuver Center of Excellence, at Fort Benning, Georgia.
McClellan has held previous command and staff officer positions with the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; the Directorate of Admissions at West Point; the 4th Infantry Division and the 77th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. He was also a professor of military science at New Mexico State University Army ROTC in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
McClellan has completed three combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003, 2005, 2007-08). He also deployed to Kuwait twice, once in support of Operation Desert Spring (2002-2003) and once in support of Operation Spartan Shield (2015), as well as to the Republic of Korea (2018-2019).
He received his commission as an armor officer from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in history in 2001. Additionally, he graduated from the Armor Officer Basic Course in 2002, the Infantry Captain’s Career Course in 2006, the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Business Administration in 2010, the Command and General Staff Officers Course in 2013, and the Air War College with a Master of Strategic Studies in 2023.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with V device and two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Presidential Unit Citation. He has earned the Combat Action Badge.
McClellan has held previous command and staff officer positions with the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division; the Directorate of Admissions at West Point; the 4th Infantry Division and the 77th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. He was also a professor of military science at New Mexico State University Army ROTC in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
McClellan has completed three combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003, 2005, 2007-08). He also deployed to Kuwait twice, once in support of Operation Desert Spring (2002-2003) and once in support of Operation Spartan Shield (2015), as well as to the Republic of Korea (2018-2019).
He received his commission as an armor officer from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in history in 2001. Additionally, he graduated from the Armor Officer Basic Course in 2002, the Infantry Captain’s Career Course in 2006, the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Business Administration in 2010, the Command and General Staff Officers Course in 2013, and the Air War College with a Master of Strategic Studies in 2023.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with V device and two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Presidential Unit Citation. He has earned the Combat Action Badge.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My Heart Radio is proud to support our military community
from the largest military installation in North America. Let's go
on post at Fort Hood. Brought to you by Elder Mitchibishi.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We're so pleased this morning to be joined by Colonel
mart McClelland and Command Sergeant Major Lloyd Rhodes, Ford Hood
Garrison Command. Good morning, gentlemen, How are you good?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, Dwayne, how you doing doing very well?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We're going to jump right in. There has been so
much going on, Sir, since you took Garrison command on
the eleventh of July.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I'm blessed to be in this position. I'm blessed to
have the people that I work with every day, including
Sergeant Major. Every day is it's a new challenge, it's
new excitement. It's great learning about Fort Hood and the
surrounding communities.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Now, one of the first things that kind of hits
you when you arrive at Fort Hood is just a
sheer size and scope.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Yeah, we call it the great Place. That's not just
because of how awesome it is, it's also because of
how big it is. Luckily, it's in Texas, and everything
is bigger in Texas, including our army installations, and so
it's taken a lot to get used to coming from
Jorg to Texas, just getting used to the side and
scope and the big sky country we have out here.
But it is like a small city. And luckily I
(01:09):
have a nargeant Major here and our other leaders in
the garrison who help us run this installation.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, you've got a phenomenal garrison team, Sir. Let's talk
just a moment about who you've got working with you.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah. So we've got about two thousand Army civilians such
as Army career professional civilians. We have some uniform soldiers
that serve on the garrison staff as well. So the
team of teams execute every day to figure that the
Insulating State sure has a high quality of life and
provides customer service to the soldiers, family, civilians, and retirees
(01:42):
that come on and off the installation every day.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Colonel, this is not actually the first time you've been
stationed in Fort Hood, correct.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I was here as a cadet. It's about twenty five
years ago. This has definitely been a learning experience for meet.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Now, over the last couple of years, Fort Hood has
been one of the top choice duty locations for new recruits.
Let's touch on that just a moment.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, what the new soldiers are doing.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
One thing we were able to talk about to communicate
is the quality of life, not just on the installation,
but outside the insallation.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
We couldn't be successful here at Fort Hood without our
neighboring communities and their leaders and the people that live
and work there. Having great relationships with all the communities
is very important. They're on Fordhood. We couldn't do without them.
I've spent as much time getting to know of the
leaders from the communities that's surround Fort Hood.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Speaking of community partners, the Central Texas State Fair and
PBR Challenger Series is coming. There's a military appreciation night
coming up the twenty eight through thirty first, gentlemen, let's
talk about that just a moment.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah. So it's going to be in Belton at the
Cadence Bank Center, and it's going to be an outstanding event.
I didn't know I needed rodeo in my life until
I went to the Belton Rodeo last month, and I
was just blown away about how that experience was. And
me and my family, my wife, my three kids, were
going to be going back to the Rodeo. What's awesome
is that the Central Texas State Fair is there with it,
and so you get the Fair, you get the rodeo,
(02:56):
and it's going to be a great experience.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
One of the highlights is the PBR Challenge Series Military
Appreciation Night and that is coming up Saturday, August thirty
at seven pm at Garth Arena. They're at Cadence Bank Center.
Family in WR has free PBR tickets for Saturday and
Sunday for soldiers and families and those will be distributed
starting today at eleven am at the Phantom Warriors Center,
(03:18):
and Sir, tickets are first come, first serve fordd ID
card holders.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yeah, that's a great opportunity for soldiers to get some
tickets to the rodeo and then we're going to all
be given out, and so I encourage soldiers to get
to MWR as soon as they can been a Warrior
Center and pick up those tickets.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, it's a tremendous opportunity to come together with the
community looking forward to it. Sir, Let's take just a
moment quickly to talk about fort Hood Fight Night coming
up next month.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Yeah, sir, Yeah, I would just like to introduce the
Fort Hood Fight Night. We turned to the ring that's
going to be executed on twelve September at Abrams Gym
on here on installation and it is for all DoD
ID card holders. And I will tell you the doors
open up at seventeen hundred, the first punch to be
thrown at eighteen hundred. It is the first come, first serve,
(04:05):
no ticket sales, no ticket distribution. That we are limited
to about twenty six hundred personnel to attend this great
event that we're hosting on twelve September.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Sir, We've been speaking this morning with Colonel Martin McClelland
and Command Sergeant Major Lloyd Rhodes, Fort Hood Garrison Command.
This is something that we'd like to bring up on
our program every week, is sir. We're still in the fight.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
That's correct. Wayne. This as a reminder, we got more
than seventeen hundred four Hood soldiers currently deployed around the world.
When they're at the border, they're in Europe, South Korea,
South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Have everyone keep
all our soldiers who are deployed as all their families
and their thoughts in prayers. It's important and we appreciate
the community thinking about us as we have QPSE missions.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Well, Sir, we sincerely appreciate your time, Thank you so
much and have a wonderful week.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Thank you, Thank you for supporting our military.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
To get even more and here this week's full report.
Go to our website and click on post at ford
Hood from Elder Mitsubishi and IR Radio one for music
radio and podcasts
Speaker 3 (05:05):
M
My Heart Radio is proud to support our military community
from the largest military installation in North America. Let's go
on post at Fort Hood. Brought to you by Elder Mitchibishi.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We're so pleased this morning to be joined by Colonel
mart McClelland and Command Sergeant Major Lloyd Rhodes, Ford Hood
Garrison Command. Good morning, gentlemen, How are you good?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Good morning, Dwayne, how you doing doing very well?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
We're going to jump right in. There has been so
much going on, Sir, since you took Garrison command on
the eleventh of July.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I'm blessed to be in this position. I'm blessed to
have the people that I work with every day, including
Sergeant Major. Every day is it's a new challenge, it's
new excitement. It's great learning about Fort Hood and the
surrounding communities.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Now, one of the first things that kind of hits
you when you arrive at Fort Hood is just a
sheer size and scope.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Yeah, we call it the great Place. That's not just
because of how awesome it is, it's also because of
how big it is. Luckily, it's in Texas, and everything
is bigger in Texas, including our army installations, and so
it's taken a lot to get used to coming from
Jorg to Texas, just getting used to the side and
scope and the big sky country we have out here.
But it is like a small city. And luckily I
(01:09):
have a nargeant Major here and our other leaders in
the garrison who help us run this installation.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, you've got a phenomenal garrison team, Sir. Let's talk
just a moment about who you've got working with you.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah. So we've got about two thousand Army civilians such
as Army career professional civilians. We have some uniform soldiers
that serve on the garrison staff as well. So the
team of teams execute every day to figure that the
Insulating State sure has a high quality of life and
provides customer service to the soldiers, family, civilians, and retirees
(01:42):
that come on and off the installation every day.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Colonel, this is not actually the first time you've been
stationed in Fort Hood, correct.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
I was here as a cadet. It's about twenty five
years ago. This has definitely been a learning experience for meet.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Now, over the last couple of years, Fort Hood has
been one of the top choice duty locations for new recruits.
Let's touch on that just a moment.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, what the new soldiers are doing.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
One thing we were able to talk about to communicate
is the quality of life, not just on the installation,
but outside the insallation.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
We couldn't be successful here at Fort Hood without our
neighboring communities and their leaders and the people that live
and work there. Having great relationships with all the communities
is very important. They're on Fordhood. We couldn't do without them.
I've spent as much time getting to know of the
leaders from the communities that's surround Fort Hood.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Speaking of community partners, the Central Texas State Fair and
PBR Challenger Series is coming. There's a military appreciation night
coming up the twenty eight through thirty first, gentlemen, let's
talk about that just a moment.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah. So it's going to be in Belton at the
Cadence Bank Center, and it's going to be an outstanding event.
I didn't know I needed rodeo in my life until
I went to the Belton Rodeo last month, and I
was just blown away about how that experience was. And
me and my family, my wife, my three kids, were
going to be going back to the Rodeo. What's awesome
is that the Central Texas State Fair is there with it,
and so you get the Fair, you get the rodeo,
(02:56):
and it's going to be a great experience.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
One of the highlights is the PBR Challenge Series Military
Appreciation Night and that is coming up Saturday, August thirty
at seven pm at Garth Arena. They're at Cadence Bank Center.
Family in WR has free PBR tickets for Saturday and
Sunday for soldiers and families and those will be distributed
starting today at eleven am at the Phantom Warriors Center,
(03:18):
and Sir, tickets are first come, first serve fordd ID
card holders.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Yeah, that's a great opportunity for soldiers to get some
tickets to the rodeo and then we're going to all
be given out, and so I encourage soldiers to get
to MWR as soon as they can been a Warrior
Center and pick up those tickets.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Well, it's a tremendous opportunity to come together with the
community looking forward to it. Sir, Let's take just a
moment quickly to talk about fort Hood Fight Night coming
up next month.
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Yeah, sir, Yeah, I would just like to introduce the
Fort Hood Fight Night. We turned to the ring that's
going to be executed on twelve September at Abrams Gym
on here on installation and it is for all DoD
ID card holders. And I will tell you the doors
open up at seventeen hundred, the first punch to be
thrown at eighteen hundred. It is the first come, first serve,
(04:05):
no ticket sales, no ticket distribution. That we are limited
to about twenty six hundred personnel to attend this great
event that we're hosting on twelve September.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Sir, We've been speaking this morning with Colonel Martin McClelland
and Command Sergeant Major Lloyd Rhodes, Fort Hood Garrison Command.
This is something that we'd like to bring up on
our program every week, is sir. We're still in the fight.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
That's correct. Wayne. This as a reminder, we got more
than seventeen hundred four Hood soldiers currently deployed around the world.
When they're at the border, they're in Europe, South Korea,
South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Have everyone keep
all our soldiers who are deployed as all their families
and their thoughts in prayers. It's important and we appreciate
the community thinking about us as we have QPSE missions.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Well, Sir, we sincerely appreciate your time, Thank you so
much and have a wonderful week.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Thank you, Thank you for supporting our military.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
To get even more and here this week's full report.
Go to our website and click on post at ford
Hood from Elder Mitsubishi and IR Radio one for music
radio and podcasts
Speaker 3 (05:05):
M
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