United States Transportation Command

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, ILL. (USTCNS) -- "I am just the custodian of this promotion," said Air Force Reserve Brig. Gen. Harold L. Mitchell, director of U.S. Transportation Command's Reserve Component Directorate, during a ceremony here, June 3 in which he was promoted to major general.

"The way one is measured in the armed forces," Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, USTRANSCOM commander said, "is whether people will follow." Turning to Mitchell's sons, Harold Jr., Kevin and Kenneth, Schwartz continued, "And the reason your dad is about to pin on a second star as a major general, is because his leadership, his capacity to take on the toughest challenges, is well known."

Schwartz presided at the event where the audience included several active and retired Army and Air Force general officers from both the Reserves and active component, as well as officers and enlisted personnel from all of the armed services.

Mitchell, a Redmond, Wash., resident and a pilot for Alaska Airlines in his civilian career, used his remarks to acknowledge his debt to family, friends, and others throughout his life who were what he called "rainbows in my life", borrowing a phrase from poet Maya Angelou.

"This promotion is not all about me," Mitchell told the guests, which included retired Lt. Col. William Holloman, a World War II Army Air Corps fighter pilot and one of the original "Tuskegee Airmen", America's first black military airmen. Also present was second generation Tuskegee Airman, James L. Edwards, Sr., whose efforts in the 1970's opened the airline industry to qualified minority pilots.

"There are folks too numerous to mention that own a piece of this," Mitchell said of his new two-star rank insignia, "Im just blessed to wear it. It belongs to a lot of folks."

Mitchell said his early military experience had uniquely prepared him for his current assignment at USTRANSCOM, a joint command made up of personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

Mitchell began his military career in the Army ROTC program at South Carolina State University in 1968. In order to pursue his dream of flying fixed wing aircraft, upon graduation in 1972, he accepted a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps rather than the Army.

After six years as a Marine Corps aviator, he left active duty to pursue a career as an airline pilot. In 1983 he joined the Air Force Reserve where he served in a variety of command and staff assignments. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the assistant to the commander, 18th Air Force, headquartered at Scott. The 18th Air Force is part of Air Mobility Command, one of USTRANSCOMs three component commands, also located here.

USTRANSCOM provides air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and time of war. In its role as the Department of Defense's Distribution Process Owner, USTRANSCOM oversees the overall effectiveness, efficiency and alignment of DOD distribution activities.

As USTRANSCOM's Reserve Component Director, Mitchell advises the USTRANSCOM commander and staff on all matters related to Reserve Component (RC) personnel assigned to USTRANSCOM and its component commands. He also coordinates requests for RC members to support USTRANSCOM.

Mitchell also serves as commander of USTRANSCOM's Joint Transportation Reserve Unit, where he oversees the more than 180 RC soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coast guardsmen that are assigned to the USTRANSCOM staff and directorates.

Among the guests were the former Chief of the Air Force Reserve, retired Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III, as well as Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Larry Knightner, deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Accessions Command who was Mitchell's classmate and a fellow Army ROTC cadet from South Carolina State University.

In addition to his sons, other family members joining Mitchell for the ceremony were his wife, Kelly; his brothers, Rufus Mitchell, Lauringle Mitchell and his wife, Rhunette, and retired Army Col. Bernard Mitchell; his sisters, Patricia Beatty and Sandra Mouson and her son David; his nephew, Bernie Mitchell; and his niece, Army Capt. (Dr.) Kristie Mitchell.

Mitchell's awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Combat Readiness Medal with three oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze service stars, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze hourglass and "M" device.

USTRANSCOM Reserve Director pins on second star

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