CMP Welcomes New Program Staff Leader
By Steve Cooper, CMP Writer
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Rob Harbison is named the CMP's Director of Operations. |
CAMP PERRY, OHIO – Robert E. “Rob” Harbison, 42, has joined the Civilian Marksmanship Program, serving in the newly-created role of Director of Program Operations after a 20-year career in the US Army.
Harbison retired from the Army, effective 30 September, as a Lieutenant Colonel, most-recently serving at Fort Benning, Georgia and has begun his assignment at CMP headquarters at Camp Perry.
The retired Lieutenant Colonel will assist DCM Gary Anderson, performing a variety of tasks that will help free up the CMP Director to focus on the overall mission of the organization.
"In recent years, the number of shooters and programs the CMP administers has demanded a significant amount of Gary's time," Harbison said. "My presence will now hopefully allow Gary to step back and stay broad-focused on CMP Programs and I will take on some of the details that do not require the Director's personal involvement."
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Rob gives a demonstration on sight alignment during a training session at the CMP Competition Center North. |
One of Harbison's first tasks will be to develop the systems, policies and procedures to ensure the continued seamless operation of the new CMP Competitions Center which opened in June. The center is a joint-used facility, shared with the Ohio National Guard. It houses an 80-point electronic target air gun range.
He said he will draw on his experience at Fort Benning, which has had an indoor range in operation since 1992. Harbison expects the CMP to hire a Facility Manager to operate the center in the near future.
"I've been very impressed by the performance of the staff. They anticipate requirements and that's just huge when you're running any organization as it enables you to catch problems before they ever happen," Harbison added.
Prior to leaving the service, his last task was to write a proposal to the Army to grow the number of people assigned to the Marksmanship Unit, a difficult job at a time when the military has a fixed number of human resources, Harbison said.
He said the popularity of marksmanship ebbs and flows over time based on the state of war or peace the country is in. Since the onset of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the necessity of marksmanship has come to the forefront once again.
Like Anderson, Harbison’s career included assignments at the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and membership on U.S. Olympic rifle teams. He was assigned to the USAMU in 1992 and represented the U.S. at the 1996 Atlanta Games. At the Centennial Olympic Games, Harbison was the highest scoring American rifle shooter and placed sixth in three-position (3x40) 50-meter smallbore rifle and seventh in 10-meter air rifle.
He began his shooting career as a 13-year-old with the Tussey Mountain Junior Rifle Club in central Pennsylvania and later fired on the winning Whistler Boy smallbore and highpower junior rifle teams. He was an NCAA individual champion in 1987 and three-time national champion.
Harbison served with the First Cavalry Division and was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm as an Abrams tank platoon leader. While there he participated in General Norman Schwarzkopf’s “Hail Mary” attack into Iraq by the US 7th Corps.
Additional military assignments included Commander, A Troop, 5th Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment; Executive Officer, 2nd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment; and Ground Operations Officer, US Central Command (CENTCOM). During his assignment with CENTCOM, he served in the Coalition Coordination Center in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He returned to the USAMU in 2005.
Harbison earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1988 and Master’s of Military Arts and Sciences in 2002 from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Distinguished International Shooter Badge, the Distinguished Rifleman Badge, the President’s Hundred Tab and the Parachutist Badge.
When not on the job, Harbison said he enjoys spending time with his wife Elizabeth and their daughters, Julia, 7 and Kate, 5. His family still resides in Georgia until relocation plans to Ohio are finalized. He said he enjoys woodworking, hunting, and photography when time allows.
Harbison said he started competing in DCM matches in 1980 shooting club guns. He said his first forays as an early teen were coming to Camp Perry to shoot the board matches which are now CMP matches.
"I look back on my shooting accomplishments, including the Olympics and some gold medals at the world level, but winning the Whistler Boy trophies here, in hindsight, ranks pretty high on my list of things I'm proud of," Harbison concluded.
