Colonel Jerel D. Evans
Col. J.D. Evans was commissioned as an armor officer from the United States Military Academy on June 2, 2001. After completing the U.S. Army's Basic Airborne Course at Fort Moore, Georgia, Evans attended the Armor Officer Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was then assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Polk, Louisiana, where he served as a scout platoon leader for I Troop and K Troop, and later as the Headquarters and Headquarters Troop executive officer. Col. Evans served in all three positions during his 15-month deployment to Iraq.
After redeployment, Evans served as the executive officer for the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division. He later served as an adviser on a Border Transition Team in Tal Afar, Iraq, for 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, and on a Military Transition Team in Samarra, Iraq, in support of 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
Col. Evans commanded two companies while assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division: Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, and Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. After completing his command, he worked in the Office of the Chief of Armor at the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Moore, Georgia.
Col. Evans next assumed command of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, where he participated in the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle project. In 2013, he was assigned to 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, as the executive officer for 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, for 22 months. Col. Evans' subsequent assignments included serving as a Department of the Army accident investigator for the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Novosel, Alabama; executive officer for U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Liberty, North Carolina; secretary of the General Staff for XVIII Airborne Corps; and secretary of the Joint Staff for Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, for nine months, before assuming command of 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment. After completing his battalion command, Col. Evans assumed the role of executive officer for the commanding general, Combined Arms Center.
Col. Evans is a graduate of the Maneuver Captain Career Course at Fort Moore, Georgia; Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base; and the National War College at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Service Medal, Ranger Tab, Combat Action Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Army Commendation Medal. He has served three combat and various operational tours.
Evans is married to the Tori Evans of Knob Noster, Missouri, and they have two children: Rihanna and Emma Rose.