LTG (Ret) MacFarland led armor units at every echelon: an armored cavalry platoon at Fort Bliss, Texas; an armored cavalry troop in the “Fulda Gap” in Germany; and an armor battalion in Germany and the Balkans. While commanding an armored brigade combat team in Ramadi, Iraq, he is credited with fostering the Sunni Arab “Awakening” movement, which was instrumental in turning the tide of the war.
As a general officer, he served as: Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF)-North in support of U.S. border security; Provost of the Command and General Staff College; Deputy Commanding General for Operations of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan; Commanding General of 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, Texas; and Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). While commanding III Armored Corps and Fort Hood (Cavazos), Texas, he also led the war in Iraq and Syria against ISIS, during which time coalition forces seized the initiative, recaptured nearly half of the enemy’s territory, and set the conditions for its final defeat.
After retiring from the Army, LTG (Ret) MacFarland taught at Georgetown University and was Vice President of Weapons Programs at General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Group, where he formed a new division, quadrupling its revenue in four years.
In addition to earning numerous medals in peace and war, Time Magazine recognized him as one of 2016’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.
EDUCATION
National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, M.S., National Resource Strategy
Command and General Staff College, School of Advanced Military Studies, Master of Military Art and Science
Georgia Institute of Technology, M.S., Aerospace Engineering
United States Military Academy, B.S., Engineering