In a significant shakeup inside the Army’s leadership ranks, Command Sgt. Maj. Harold “Ed” Jarrell was relieved of his position as the senior enlisted leader of the 1st Information Operations Command, which is based in Fort Belvoir, Va. This marked the second dismissal of a senior enlisted leader in the Washington, D.C., area in the past week.
The action is related to the so-called 15-6 investigation, which was triggered by an allegation that falls in the categories of command climate concerns, poor leadership, or misconduct. Maj. Lindsay Roman, a spox of U.S. Army Cyber Command, confirmed the termination and stated the reason as being a “loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead effectively.”
Jarrell assumed command in January 2023 but originally was not immediately available for comment. A future assignment and replacement have not yet been announced.
The 1st Information Operations Command is the only active-duty Army unit dedicated to Information Operations. It serves at a brigade level and is made up of a headquarters detachment and two battalions. It is under the command of Army Cyber Command.
Jarrell joined the Army National Guard in 1999 as an infantryman, in the 10th Mountain Division. In 2009, he was reclassified as a counterintelligence special agent and went active, with assignments to the 10th Special Forces Group and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Camp Zama, Japan, is where he served before his assignment here as the command sergeant major for the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion.
His commendations also include two Bronze Star Medals, five Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, five Army Commendation Medals, and four Army Achievement Medals, among others.
This is the most recent removal after Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp was pulled out on August 8 over a similar reason of “loss of trust and confidence in her leadership.” Knapp had been the senior enlisted leader of both Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the Army’s Military District of Washington since 2023. She had previously served as the first female senior enlisted leader of the 101st Airborne Division.
The firings come as the Army has had a spate of high-profile firings in recent months, including that of Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Carlson of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy, last month. In all three cases, the Army blamed a “loss of trust and confidence” as the reason for the firings, using a phrase often employed to describe everything from poor performance to misconduct.
The recent firings illustrate how the Army continues to work through leadership challenges and triage to continually replace the good with the best, to keep its high standards within its ranks. The military wants to ensure it remains well-led and continues to have the trust and confidence of its personnel in these times of change.