- William F. Garrison
Infobox Military Person
name=William F. Garrison
caption=
born=
died=
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=
nickname=Bill
allegiance=flagicon|USA United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=1966-1996
rank=Major General
unit=Joint Special Operations Command
commands=1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (until 1989)Joint Special Operations Command (1992-1994)John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center (1995-1996)
battles=Vietnam war
*Phoenix Program Battle of Mogadishu ,
awards= (3)
relations=
laterwork=William F. Garrison is a retired
Major General of theUnited States Army who was the commander ofOperation Gothic Serpent , the military operation launched in 1993 to captureSomali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid . Garrison was portrayed bySam Shepard in the film "Black Hawk Down", which was based on the events of theBattle of Mogadishu .Background
Garrison enlisted in the Army in July, 1966 and was
commission ed as a2nd Lieutenant upon graduation from Officer Candidate School the following year. He served two tours in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star for valor and aPurple Heart for wounds received in combat. While in Vietnam, he participated in thePhoenix Program to strike at leadership personnel among theViet Cong .After the war Garrison spent most of his career in special operations units, including the
U.S. Army Intelligence Support Activity and the1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (also known as Delta Force). His last command was theJohn F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center . He is known for being the commander in charge ofTask Force Ranger duringOperation Gothic Serpent inSomalia . Garrison retired from the Army on 3 August 1996, the day afterMohammed Farrah Aidid died, at the rank of Major General. Throughout his career, as he was promoted to Colonel, Brigadier General and Major General, Garrison was the youngest officer to hold those ranks.Garrison is also said to have been in charge of the assistance force guiding the takedown of
Pablo Escobar .Garrison earned his
Bachelor of Business Administration fromPan American University and graduated with aMaster of Business Administration fromSam Houston State University .References
*Smith, Michael (2006). "Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team". Cassell. London. ISBN 0-3043-6727-3 [http://www.michaelsmithwriter.com/books_special.html online presentation]
*Bowden, Mark (March 1999). "". Atlantic Monthly Press. Berkeley, California (USA). ISBN 0-87113-738-0
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