Biography – Military

With over 32 years in uniform service to our nation, our state, and our country

Brigadier General (Retired) Mark Gelhardt

Past Commanding General (2020-2023)

Georgia State Defense Forces, Georgia National Guard Auxiliary

Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)

  • 22 years of active duty service
  • War veteran (Gulf War – Desert Shield, Desert Storm) 
  • Legion of Merit medal
  • Soldiers Medal (highest peacetime award for valor)
  • Airborn Badge
  • Airassult Badge
  • President Service Badge
  • Jungle Expert School
  • Winter Warfare School

 

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired), Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary

                               

Brigadier General (Retired) Mark Gelhardt is not your typical Army Officer.

His A-typical career landed him next to the President of the United States, where he was responsible for the last link of communications between the President and the rest of the Government.

Cadet Gelhardt entered his military service in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, at the University of Florida.  His class won the Warrior of Pacific trophy as the best Cadet program in the nation in both his Junior (1978) and Senior years (1979).  The first ROTC program to win this honor in back-to-back years.  As a Cadet, Mark received the opportunity to attend Airborne school with the active Army and was awarded his Airborne wings.  When Cadet Gelhardt graduated from the University of Florida he was commissioned into the United States Army, Adjutant General Corps as a Second Lieutenant (2LT).  After graduation, 2LT Gelhardt was sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana where he went through Adjutant General’s (AG) Officer Basic Course (OBC).  2LT Gelhardt graduated in the top 10% of his class and was immediately picked up for a special Department of the Army program as one of only ten AG 2LT selected Army-wide.  This test program was to teach brand new AG 2LTs to be Chief Administration Officers of a Battalion size unit.  2LT Gelhardt stayed at Fort Benjamin Harrison for several more months, going through this first-ever test program training.  At the conclusion of training 2LT, Gelhardt was the only 2LT to be assigned to a front-line Infantry unit, the 2nd Battalion, 504th Airborne Infantry, 1st Bridge, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg (Fayetteville), North Carolina. 

2LT Gelhardt was assigned as the Battalion S1 (Chief Administration Officer for a unit of about 1500 soldiers).  While assigned to this Airborne Battalion, LT Gelhardt attended Winter Warfare school in Alaska and Jungle Expert school in the Panama Canal Zone.  LT Gelhardt also participated in many exercise deployments worldwide and participated in many airborne jumps. 

After the test program was completed LT Gelhardt had the opportunity to join the Command Staff for the Headquarters, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at Fort Bragg.  During this time he was promoted to First Lieutenant (1LT).  1LT Gelhardt was in charge of all the administration for the ROTC Advanced Camp which managed over 10,000 cadets and over 1000 Army Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs).  1LT Gelhardt excelled in this position and was awarded the Outstanding Young Officer award for Fort Bragg. 

1LT Gelhardt then was transferred back to Fort Benjamin Harrison to attend the Adjutant General (AG) Officer Advance Course (OAC).  1LT Gelhardt was again at the top of his class and was awarded a Regular Army Commission and at the same time was promoted to Captain (CPT).  CPT Gelhardt was assigned as an active component advisor to the 87th Maneuver Area Command (MAC) in Hoover,  Alabama a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.  The 87th MAC was a two-star general reserve command.  The 87th MAC was assigned several top active-duty officers and NCO’s as active component advisors to help this command meet the standards of the Active Duty and meet its special mission.  The special mission of this unit was to provide the active Army with the first-ever automated exercise simulations.  During this time CPT Gelhardt attended several Army schools including Air Assault School (receiving his Air Assault badge), Combine Army Service Staff School (CAS3), Command and General Staff College (CGSC), and attended college to receive his first Master’s Degree.  CPT Gelhardt was also deployed overseas several times as an active duty advisor to the Reserves and National Guard in support of their missions. 

CPT Gelhardt was then transferred to the 527th Military Intelligence (Counter Intelligence) Battalion, as the Battalion S1 (Chief Administration Officers), in Kaiserslautern, Germany.  This specialized unit was a classified unit (that no longer exists) that was in the business of catching spies.  While assigned to the 527th MI (CI), Battalion, that unit caught more spies than any other organization within the Government. 

CPT Gelhardt was then selected for a joint service command, as the Commander, Defense Courier Service, Ramstein Airforce Base, Ramstein, Germany.  CPT Gelhardt’s unit was one of the first units to deploy to the Middle East to support combat operations for Desert Shield/Desert Storm (DS/DS).  CPT Gelhardt’s unit supplied all the military services in the Middle East with all the classified material needed during DS/DS.  

After DS/DS CPT Gelhardt was transferred back to the United States, to Fort Gordon, in Augusta, Georgia where he attended the first Army computer operations functional area (FA 53A) school.  At this time CPT Gelhardt was promoted to Major (MAJ) while at school. 

His next assignment was with Headquarters, Third Army/Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT).  MAJ Gelhardt held both positions in Information Technology (Deputy Chief of Staff/G6) and in Human Relations (Deputy Chief of Staff/G1) area.  During this assignment, MAJ Gelhardt supported Somalia’s combat operations, re-deployed to the Middle East several times, and deployed to Egypt in support of the Bright Star exercise.  While at this assignment MAJ Gelhardt was awarded the Soldiers Medal, the Army’s highest peacetime medal for valor, for saving a pregnant young lady from a burning car during a traffic incident.  

MAJ Gelhardt was promoted to LTC and was assigned to the White House Communications Agency.  At The White House, LTC Gelhardt was in charge of all Automation, Communications, and Audio Visual used by the President and his staff.

After his assignment to The White House, LTC Gelhardt was assigned to First Army Headquarters as the Chief Information Officer (Assistant Chief of Staff/G6).  LTC Gelhardt was selected for promotion to Colonel and asked to move back to DC and take an advanced position in automation within the Army.  However, Colonel select Gelhardt took this opportunity to retire from the service in 2001 and stay in Peachtree City.

Since retirement from the active Army Brigadier General Gelhardt spent ten years in the Georgia State Defense Force (GSDF), an all-volunteer National Guard Auxiliary, part of the Georgia Department of Defense.  First as the ACofS, G6 (Chief Information Officer), then as the ACofS, G1 (Human Resources), and now as the Commanding General.  General Gelhardt was promoted to Brigadier General by Governor Kemp, in November 2020 and now works for The Adjutant General (TAG) of Georgia as one of the three-component commanders within the Georiga Department of Defense.  Brigadier General Gelhardt took over as the Commanding General of the GSDF on 5 Dec 2020.  He has deployed with the Georgia National Guard in support of several hurricane and disaster responses within Georgia.  Most recently BG Gelhardt has spent over 120 days working on the COVID-19 response missions in 2020 for the State of Georgia.  Because of his long hours and outstanding support to the State, BG Gelhardt received the Georgia Pandemic Response Ribbon, Georgia Humanitarian Ribbon, Georgia Active Duty Ribbon, Georgia Distinguished Unit Ribbon, and the GSDF Legion of Merit. After over 32 years of uniform services, BG Gelhardt has retired from uniform service and retired as the commander of the GSDF after three years in command.

Mark Gelhardt is a retired Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) in the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary.  He has been the Deputy Commander for Seniors and Squadron Commander for the Peachtree City Falcon Field Composite Squadron.  One of the most active flying squadrons in the country, and the largest Squadron in Georgia and the southeast United States.

Mark also continues to support our veterans as the Past Post Commander, of American Legion Post 50, Peachtree City, Past Senior Vice, District 4, Department of Georgia American Legion, and a past board member on the National Security Board of the American Legion, and a past Senior Vice & Trustee within Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) Post 9949, Peachtree City.

Per DoD Directive 1344.10 – the following statement is provided:

Mark Gelhardt is a member of the Active Army retired roll, a retired member of the Army National Guard Auxiliary (Georgia State Defense Force), and a retired member of the Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol). Use of his military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Army or Air Force or the Department of Defense as a candidate for elected office.

BG Gelhardt (Retired) has run for political office in the past and may run again in the future – so this statement is provided just in case he decides to run again.