ROBERT FRANKLIN BARROW
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army
Director of Army Instruction
Mobile County Public School System – Junior Reserve Officer Training Program
Mobile, Alabama
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1958 and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow graduated from Shaw High School in 1975 and the University of South Alabama in 1979. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in Air Defense Artillery. Lieutenant Colonel Barrow earned a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1984. In addition, he completed a Master’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Spring Hill College in 2008. He also completed a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree in 2011 from Grand Canyon University. He is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, and the Armed Forces Staff College Joint and Combined Staff Officer School.
Over the course of his career, Lieutenant Colonel Barrow’s tours of duty have included command and operations assignments in various commands. His duty assignments include the 32d Army Air Defense Command in the Federal Republic of Germany, the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Headquarters Allied Forces Central Europe, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Lieutenant Colonel Barrow retired from the Army on 1 January 2002 and immediately assumed duties as the Senior Army Instructor for the Junior ROTC program at LeFlore High School in Mobile, Alabama. After teaching in the classroom for eleven years, he was selected for his current position as the Director of Army Instruction responsible for supervising all JROTC programs in the Mobile County Public School System.
Decorations awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Barrow include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (w/3 OLC), Air Force Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (w/4 OLC), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, National Defense Service Medal (w/Service Star), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (2 tours), NATO Medal, and Master Parachutist Badge. He is a recipient of British, Canadian, and Honduran parachute badges and was awarded the German Rocket/Missile Qualification Badge.
Lieutenant Colonel Barrow is married to the former Cheryl K. Ellis of Daphne, Alabama. They have two daughters, Corey and Lauren.