Lt. Col. Chris McCarver was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. He was accepted into Vanderbilt University in 1999 on an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship where he majored in Psychology and Sociology. McCarver received an active-duty commission upon graduation in 2003 as an Infantry officer. After the successful completion of the Infantry Officer Basic Course, U.S. Army Airborne and U.S. Army Ranger schools at Fort Benning, Georgia (known as Fort Moore since 2023), he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, South Korea, where he served as a Mechanized Infantry Platoon Leader and Company Executive Officer.
After two years in Korea, McCarver transitioned to the Military Intelligence branch and was assigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to attend the MI Captains Career Course. He then deployed to Iraq to serve as an Intelligence Advisor on an Iraqi Army Military Transition Team from 2007 to 2008. Upon redeployment, McCarver then served as a MI Captains Career Course instructor and the Enlisted Analyst Training Course Company Commander.
After command, McCarver was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina (known as Fort Liberty since 2023), to serve as the S2 for 1st Psychological Operations Battalion and deployed to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012. In 2012, he was accepted into the National Intelligence University in Washington, D.C. where he earned a master’s degree in Science and Technology Intelligence. McCarver then returned to South Korea where he served as the ACE Chief for the Eighth U.S. Army and 501st MI Brigade from 2014 to 2016.
After returning to CONUS, McCarver was assigned to USSOCOM J2X where he served as Operations Support Branch Chief and Deputy J2X from 2016 to 2019. He was then selected to serve as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, for the 20th CBRNE Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, until 2021. McCarver most recently served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, for the Third Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, before being assigned to the National Training Center.
McCarver is married.