Major General George Evans Barker was born in Michigan; however, he considers himself a native of Rector, Arkansas. He began his United States Army career through the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Arkansas State University. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery in 1955. His military education includes the Field Artillery Basic and Advanced Courses, Civil Affairs and Transportation Officer Advanced Courses, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces National Security Management, and the U.S. Army War College.
General Barker’s assignments include Battery Officer, 16th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Armored Division Artillery; Aide-de-camp, 77th Infantry Division; and as B Battery Commander, 6th Battalion, 31st Field Artillery. He later served as the Commander of the 7th Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, and Commander of the 5th Battalion, 5th Field Artillery. His next assignment was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and Administration of the 77th Army Reserve Command (ARCOM). In September 1982, General Barker became the Chief of Staff of the 77th, serving in that position until June 1983, when he was selected to command the 353rd Civil Affairs Command. He became a Brigadier General in February 1984.
General Barker was selected to command the 77th ARCOM in December 1984, and was promoted to Major General in August 1986. During this period, he also served as a member of the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee. Completing his command assignment, General Barker was appointed to the position of Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff Mobilization & Reserve Affairs in Washington, D.C., during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served in this position until his retirement on 15 August 1991, concluding 36 years of service.
Throughout his career, he received the following awards and decorations: the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 20-year device. Currently he serves as a trustee of the Colonel John Warren Pershing Estate and Foundation, a trustee of the Army War College Foundation at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and as a member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet at Arkansas State University. He is also a founding member of Arkansas State University’s Beck PRIDE Center and is a co-founder of the Helping Hands Foundation in his hometown of Rector, Arkansas. He is currently spearheading a project in Rector to build a Veterans Memorial Park honoring all who have served their country in the U.S. Armed Forces.
General Barker lives in New York City and has two daughters Marisa Barker and Nadia Barker Dell.
