Major General John Rafferty

Commander 56th Artillery Command, US Army

Maj. Gen. John L. Rafferty, Jr. assumed command of the 56th Artillery Command June 13, 2024. He most recently served as the Department of the Army Chief of Public Affairs. Maj. Gen. Rafferty enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987, serving as an infantryman with the 8th Infantry Division before attending Longwood University where he was commissioned as a field artillery officer. He was first assigned to 5th Battalion (AASLT), 8th Field Artillery (FA) Regiment of the 18th FA Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg (now known as Fort Liberty), North Carolina, where he served as a fire direction officer and platoon leader. He then served as the fire support officer for B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Fort Benning (now known as Fort Moore), Georgia. Following the USMC Amphibious Warfare School at Quantico, Virginia, Maj. Gen. Rafferty was posted with the 1st Armored Division Artillery in Baumholder, Germany, as a staff officer before commanding B Battery, 1st Battalion, 94th FA (MLRS), and then Headquarters Battery, 1st Armored Division Artillery. He returned to the 75th Ranger Regiment to serve as the battalion fire support officer for 1st Ranger Battalion, at Hunter Army Airfield, Fort Stewart, Georgia, where he deployed in support of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. After attending the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College in Shrivenham, England, Maj. Gen. Rafferty was assigned to 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he served as the brigade fire support officer and brigade operations officer while deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was then assigned as an Army liaison to the U.S. Congress in the Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison (OCLL) in Washington, D.C. Maj. Gen. Rafferty was reassigned to Fort Bragg to command the 1st Battalion, 319th Airborne FA Regiment, 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, before attending the U.S. Army War College where he completed the Advanced Strategic Art Program. He returned to OCLL as deputy chief of the House of Representatives division before deploying to Kabul, Afghanistan, as the legislative advisor to the Commander, International Security Assistance Force/U.S. Forces-Afghanistan. Upon redeployment, Major General Rafferty assumed command of the 18th FA Brigade at Fort Bragg and deployed in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield. He was the executive officer for the Director of the Army Staff for one year, followed by a four-year assignment in Army Futures Command as the Director of the Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.