Colonel Matthew J. Hardman commissioned as an Infantry Officer after graduating from Davidson College in May of 1997. Since then, he has served in and led Light, Airborne, Stryker, and Mechanized/Armor formations.
COL Hardman served as a lieutenant in 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry during its transition from a Mechanized to Stryker Infantry formation and as a staff officer and company commander in 2nd Battalion, 505th PIR.
Key Staff assignments he has served include the Executive Officer/Research Director for the Chief of Staff of the Army's Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group, the Brigade Executive Officer and Brigade Chief of Current Operations for 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Battalion Operations Officer for 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry, and as an assistant professor in the Department of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
COL Hardman commanded 3rd Battalion, 509th PIR "GERONIMO" at Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska. Following this role, other key titles he held previously include serving as the Light Task Force Trainer and the Senior Brigade Combat Team Trainer at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, as well as a National Security Fellow at Harvard University. Recently, he was the Chief of Staff for the Office of Security-Cooperation Iraq at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, and the Commander of 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI) following that. He has previous deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
His most recent assignment was at Fort Johnson, LA serving as the Commander of Operations Group (COG) at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC).
COL Hardman is a graduate of the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Davidson College and a master's degree in history from George Washington University.
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