From a Small Town to the Pentagon: My Path to High Stakes Leadership

Colonel Chris Cox

United States Army

COL Christopher Cox is currently the Chief for the Department of the Army├óÔé¼Ôäós G-8 Full Dimension Protection Division which provides oversight for the requirements and programming of over $15 Billion in resources to support Army Mobility, Protection, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) needs.
Chris is a native of Shabbona, Illinois, a rural, agricultural community located in the north central portion of the state. Chris is an alumnus of a wide array of civilian and military schools that provide the educational and technical foundations for his service within the Army. These experiences began after his graduation from the local Shabbona school system in 1988 when he received a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship. He used this scholarship to attend Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, majoring in Theoretical Computer Science. Chris was chosen as a Distinguished Military Graduate following his completion of the ROTC program 1993. Additionally, Chris obtained his Master Degree in Public Administration from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and subsequently inducted into the National Honor Society of Public Administrators in recognition of demonstrated academic excellence.
Chris started his military education with attendance at the Chemical Officer Basic and Advance Course located in Fort McClellan, Alabama. The coursework emphasized Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear effects and the capabilities available for detection, identification, prediction of potential hazard locations, and remediation of the same. As part of his broadening as an Army officer, Chris was attended as a resident student at Command and General Staff College, and he most recently attended the U.S. Army War College as a fellow at Carnegie Mellon University (Heinz College) in Pittsburgh, PA.
As a career Army officer, Chris has served across the globe in a host of positions throughout his nearly twenty five years of service to the Nation. These include three deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, United States Military Academy faculty member, company commander, battalion commander, brigade commander, chief of future concepts, chief of staff for a Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, and member of the Headquarters Department of the Army Staff.
Chris has received various medals and badges during his tenure in the Army. These include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, Overseas Ribbon, U.S. Army Ranger Tab, Parachutists Badge, Air Assault Badge, German Efficiency Badge (Bronze), Army Staff Identification Badge, and the Combat Action Badge. Chris is married to the former Michelle Macler of St. Charles, Illinois and they have two children, a daughter Kristen and son Darby.