Colonel (RET) Eric Towns
COL(R) Eric Towns received his commission in 1995 after earning his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Boston University. After attending the Officer Basic Course at Fort McClellan, COL(R) Towns was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii as the Battalion Chemical Officer for 1-8th Field Artillery Battalion as well as 4th Platoon Leader and Executive Officer of 71st Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon).
Following completion of the Chemical Officer Advanced Course at Fort McClellan, COL(R) Towns was assigned to Fort Campbell as Commander, NBC Detachment, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) followed by command of 63rd Chemical Company (Smoke/Decon) (Air Assault) within the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Upon the completion of command, COL(R) Towns was a Joint Chiefs of Staff Intern at the Pentagon and served as the Executive Assistant to the Chief of the J3, Joint Operations Division (JOD) followed by a year in HQDA/G8/FDB as the Synchronization Staff Officer for Decontamination and Smoke. COL(R) Towns was then assigned as the Aide-de-Camp to the Commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
Following this year in Cuba, COL(R) Towns was selected as the first Chemical Officer for the Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG) at Fort Meade, MD. During this assignment, COL(R) Towns deployed as the first Forward Support Team Leader for AWG operations in Afghanistan, as well as deploying to Iraq as the AWG LNO to a Joint Special Operations Task Force.
After graduation from CGSC, COL(R) Towns served as the S-3 and XO of the 23d Chemical Battalion at Fort Lewis. Following his assignment to 23d Chemical Battalion, COL(R) Towns served for two years as the Chief of Officer Training at the U.S. Army CBRN School followed by a year as the Deputy Commander of 3d Chemical Brigade.
From 2013 to 2015, commanded the 22d Chemical Battalion (Technical Escort) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Following a year as a student at the US Army War College, COL(R) Towns served as the Chemical Branch Chief at Army Human Resources Command followed by an assignment as the Chief of the Requirements Determination Division at MSCOE.
COL(R) Towns commanded the United States Army Garrison at Fort Leonard Wood from 2018 to 2020 overseeing the post’s Public Works, Emergency Services, Human Resources, Public Affairs, Mobilization, Training Areas, Natural Resources, EEO program, and MWR activities. Before retiring in 2022, his final job on active duty was as the Deputy Director of the Joint Requirements Office for CBRN Defense within the Joint Staff/J8 at the Pentagon.
He is currently a CBRN Defense Project Manager within the Applied Biological Sciences Group at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
COL(R) Towns’ military education includes Chemical Officer Basic and Advanced Courses; Combined Arms and Services Staff School; Technical Escort School; Airborne School; Jumpmaster School; Air Assault School; Army Force Management Course; Command and General Staff College; Modern Army Combatives (Level 1), the Army Basic Instructor Course, and the US Army War College. COL(R) Towns holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Boston University, a Master of Science in Public Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Master of Strategy from the US Army War College.
COL(R) Towns’ awards range from the Army Service Ribbon to the Defense Superior Service Medal.