Richard Farnell

Lieutenant Colonel Richard L. Farnell hails from Fort Pierce, Florida. He commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery following his graduation from the University of Tampa with a Bachelor of Business Management.

LTC Farnell's initial assignment following the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course was with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery, at Fort Hood, Texas. There, he served as a Firing Platoon Leader and Fire Direction Officer for Bravo Battery and deployed with the unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. Following his deployment, he stood up Battery C and served as the Battery XO. After his time in Charlie Battery, he served on the battalion staff as the S-4, and later, as Battle Captain for the Battalion during his second deployment to Iraq in 2009.

As a Captain, LTC Farnell commanded two batteries, Echo Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery, and Charlie Battery, 95th Adjutant Battalion. Following command in 2013, LTC joined the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California where he served as the Fire Direction Observer Coach / Trainer as part of the Wolf Team.

In 2014, LTC Farnell attended resident ILE at the US Army Command and General Staff College. Following graduation, he deployed to Korea and served as a division Fire Support Officer with the 2nd Infantry Division. Upon completion of this tour in 2016, he served as the Fire Support Officer for the 17th Field Artillery Brigade, the battalion operations officer for the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery, and finally the brigade's executive officer. While serving as brigade executive officer, he simultaneously performed the duties of executive officer for the Multi-Domain Pilot Program.

Following completion of his tenure at 17th Field Artillery Brigade, the Army assigned him to the Pentagon where he served as the Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. During this three-year assignment, LTC Farnell served with the White House's Data Analytics Task Force as the Executive Officer at the peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic. He also served as the Deputy Director of the Vice Chief of Staff's Initiatives Group. In June of 2022, he would serve as the battalion commander of 2-18th Field Artillery Regiment and deploy to South Korea under 210th Field Artillery Brigade and redeploy to Fort Sill under the 75th Field Artillery Brigade.

LTC Farnell's awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (5OLC), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal (4OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (2OLC), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Service Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

LTC Farnell is currently a National Security Fellow at Harvard University. He holds a master’s degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma, with a pending doctorate from Northeastern University. He is also a fellow and alumnus of MIT Seminar XXI.

He is married to the former Yamilett Pichardo of Cranston, RI. They have two daughters Emily (11) and Rachel (14).