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Maj. Gen. Scott A. Jackson

Chief of Staff, U.S. Southern Command

Major General Scott Jackson entered the United States Army on 20 May 1990 upon receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant and graduation from the University of Notre Dame. As an Infantry Officer, Maj. Gen. Jackson has served in leadership positions in Airborne, Air Assault, and Mechanized Infantry Units. He has served in leadership and staff positions from the platoon to division level at duty stations throughout the United States, Korea, and Iraq.

In support of the Global War on Terror, Maj. Gen. Jackson has deployed to Iraq three times, for a cumulative 41 months. In 2003, he served as the Lead Operational Planner for the First Cavalry Division, writing the initial counter-insurgency campaign plan for Baghdad; subsequently assigned as the Executive Officer for 2nd Bn 7th Cavalry Regiment and participated in its assault into Najaf, Iraq (Aug 2004) and Fallujah, Iraq (Nov 2004). In 2006-2008, Maj. Gen. Jackson served as the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, First Cavalry Div, Dep. Brigade Commander with duty as the Dep. Team Leader, Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team, where he was the Governance Team Leader and Senior Coalition Advisor to the Provincial Governor of Diyala, providing daily coaching, mentorship, and liaison.

In April 2008, Maj. Gen. Jackson assumed command of 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment, deploying his battalion in Jan 2009, assuming responsibility for Coalition Operations in the Baghdad districts of Adamiyah, Rusafa, and Taji. During this deployment, his battalion executed the coalition withdrawal from the cities and transition of responsibility to the Iraqi Security Forces. Following command, Maj. Gen. Jackson was selected to be the Assistant Chief of Staff, G3 (Operations and Plans) for the First Cavalry Division and subsequently selected as an Army War College Fellow at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. While at Lincoln Laboratory, Maj. Gen. Jackson focused his research on how technology enables the application of strategy, producing an original research project entitled, “An Operational Design Concept for Wide Area Persistent Biometric Surveillance.”

Following the War College, Maj. Gen. Jackson served as the 3d Infantry Division (Rear) Chief of Staff while the headquarters was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Maj. Gen. Jackson assumed command of the 2d Armored Brigade Combat Team (SPARTANS), on 26 Jul 2013, relinquishing command on 15 Jan 2015 when the Brigade was inactivated as part of the Army drawdown. Following this assignment Maj. Gen. Jackson served as the US Army Liaison to the United States Senate. He was then assigned as the Commander, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade from May 2017 to August 2020. Maj. Gen. Jackson has earned a baccalaureate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and two Masters Degrees. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Brig. College and the School of Advanced Military Studies, where he researched and analyzed command and control relationships between conventional and special operations forces in combat as seen in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Major General Jackson and his wife, Valerie, have two sons, Benjamin and Will

Current as of July 2022

COMMANDER'S PRIORITIES