Major General George E. Friel was born on 10 August 1942. He led the battle to establish the Chemical and Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM) at Edgewood Area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in the mid-1990s, convincing the Department of the Army and the Army Material Command (AMC) of the wisdom of establishing a major chemical command within AMC.

Major General Friel was the on-site commander of the recovery operations at Spring Valley, site of a WWI-Chemical Weapon Facility outside of Washington D.C., and oversaw restoration of Rocky Mountain Arsenal, the Department of Defense largest super fund site. While commanding the 59th Ordnance Brigade, he planned and supervised the removal of the U.S. stockpile of chemical and tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.

Major General Friel’s decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters.