Mark E. Mitchell

Mark E. Mitchell
Mitchell receiving his Distinguished Service Cross from General Bryan D. Brown in 2003
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1987–2015
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Special Forces
Commands held	5th Special Forces Group Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula
Battles/wars	Gulf War War in Afghanistan Iraq War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal (4)

Mark E. Mitchell was the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict of the United States Department of Defense. A retired colonel, Mitchell was the first member of the United States Army to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during the War in Afghanistan and was the first to receive the award since the Vietnam War. He received the award in 2003 for his actions during the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, which took place in late November to early December 2001.

Mitchell's home of record is Brookfield, Wisconsin. He is an alumnus of Marquette University (1987), and graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering. In 2012, he received Marquette University's Alumni Professional Achievement Award. In the late 1990s, Mitchell attended the Naval Postgraduate School, writing the thesis Strategic Leverage: Information Operations and Special Operations Forces. In the 2000s, Mitchell attended The John F. Kennedy School of Government and The United States Army War College. Mitchell is married, and has two daughters.

Mitchell began his career assigned to the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Having served during the Persian Gulf War, Mitchell was with the 5th Special Forces Group at the beginning of the Invasion of Afghanistan. Entering Afghanistan via helicopter, Mitchell and other members of his special forces group began to work with Abdul Rashid Dostum of the Northern Alliance, travelling on horse back. In late November 2001, Mitchell responded to Mazar-e-Sharif and led a fifteen-person special forces team, made up of British and Americans, to stop a "Trojan Horse" operation, involving John Walker Lindh; for his actions he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and a Navy SEAL was awarded a Navy Cross. Mitchell was later involved in the capture of Mohammad Fazl. In 2003, he deployed to Iraq. Later that year he traveled to MacDill Air Force Base, where he received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions leading the effort to quell the Taliban's offensive at the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi in 2001. CIA Director George Tenet, the widow of Agent Johnny Micheal Spann, and others attended the award ceremony.