Lieutenant Colonel Jeffery M. Fritz
USAG Black Sea Commander
From Anchorage, Alaska, he was commissioned as an Armor Officer after serving in the United States Army Reserve as an Engineer. He has focused on operational and strategic leadership and multinational engagement, particularly in the Arctic and Baltic Sea Regions.
Lieutenant Colonel Fritz deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. His command experience includes service as Commander, Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, and Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, including a deployment to Kuwait during the rise of ISIS.
He has held a broad range of operational and staff assignments throughout his career, with repeated service in Europe. His experience includes service in Strausberg in support of the German Army Command, where he contributed to strengthening Strategic Engagement, Interoperability, and Security Cooperation between the U.S. and Germany. He later served as an Instructor at the Baltic Defense College in Tartu, Estonia, where he taught operational planning and joint land operations to senior multinational officers from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Lieutenant Colonel Fritz’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (4th Award), and the Bundeswehr Silver Cross of Honor.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in Languages from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He speaks German and has limited proficiency in French, and he has enjoyed learning Estonian.
Lieutenant Colonel Fritz is married to Aurelie, and they have two children.