Col. Robert C. Agans Class of 1985

Colonel Robert C. Agans Jr., United States Army (Retired), is the son of Robert and Arlene Agans of Bordentown, N.J.  He attended Peter Muschal Elementary School, MacFarland Junior High and graduated from Bordentown Regional High School in 1985.  While attending Bordentown Regional High School, Bob participated in band and several school clubs, earned varsity letters in football and track, earned the Old English B, and finished academically in the top 10% of his class.  After high school, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and played intercollegiate rugby all four years.  In 1989, he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.

Colonel Agans was a career Field Artillery officer with conventional, joint, and special operations leadership and staff experience and commanded at every level from Platoon to Brigade.  He is a Master Warfighter (Honor Graduate) of the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course, Distinguished Graduate of the Joint Firepower Control Course, and Honor Graduate of the Joint Targeting Staff Course.  His combat deployments include Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom/Resolute Support Mission, Operations Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn, and Operation Inherent Resolve.

Colonel Agans had the honor and privilege of serving and leading America’s sons and daughters in peacetime and in combat during a military career spanning almost 30 years.  Serving as a Special Operations Fire Support Officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, he was responsible for the deployment of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to Afghanistan and several strategic-level capabilities innovations that were later integrated across the entire Joint force.  Bob commanded the 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment (HIMARS), 18th Fires Brigade (Airborne), 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC with the enduring combat mission to provide continuous precision rocket and missile fires in support of Coalition forces in Operation Enduring Freedom, all while maintaining rapid deployment capability for no-notice, world-wide forcible entry and Global Response Force contingency operations.  He served as a Joint Special Operations Air Component Commander responsible for command and control of joint special operations fires, mobility and ISR units and support for special operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations.  While serving as a Special Operations Task Force Liaison Officer to the Commander, International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), Bob was the lead negotiator for the Special Operations Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement Between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.  The signing of the Special Operations MOU in April 2012 by Afghan General Abdul Rahim Wardak and U.S. General John Allen paved the way for the completion and signing of the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement by U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul in May 2012.  He commanded the 4th Battlefield Coordination Detachment at Al  Udied Air Base, Qatar with the enduring combat mission to provide liaison, integration and coordination of airpower in support of landpower requirements across the Middle East, to include Operation Enduring Freedom/Resolute Support Mission and Operation Inherent Resolve.  He then served as the senior Military Assistant to the Commanding General in charge of Operation Inherent Resolve and combat operations in Iraq/Syria.  Bob later served as the principal advisor on strategy, plans and policy to the Commanding General of the Joint Special Operations Command.  His final assignment on active duty was in the Pentagon as the Military Assistant to the Military Deputy for Budget/Comptroller of the Army.

Colonel Agans holds several personal, joint and unit awards and decorations to include three Bronze Star medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Legions of Merit, a Valorous Unit Award, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Combat Action Badge, the Master Parachutist Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.  Bob holds a Master’s of Science in Management of Information Technology from Colorado Technical University, is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and was a U.S. Army War College Fellow at the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, studying at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  He proudly wears Dutch jump wings earned on Drop Zone (DZ) Yankee during the 65th commemoration of Operation Market Garden in 2009.