Director, Mission Command Center of Excellence

Major General James J. Mingus enlisted into the Iowa Army National Guard in 1981. He was commissioned in the Field Artillery Branch in 1985 from Winona State University and later branched Infantry after he entered active duty in 1987. During more than 35 years of service, Maj. Gen. Mingus has commanded at every echelon from company to brigade in addition to working in key staff positions in Army, Special Operations Forces and joint units.

He served as a platoon leader, executive officer, and battalion maintenance officer at 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division in Germany from 1988 to 1991. After promotion to captain, he returned to the United States where he served as a rifle company commander, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Division Long Range Surveillance Detachment commander, aide-de-camp to the commanding general, and finally, commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps Long Range Surveillance Company at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Maj. Gen. Mingus subsequently moved to Tennessee where he served as an ROTC Assistant Professor of Military Science instructor for the University of Tennessee-Knoxville from 1997 to 1999. He was then selected to be the liaison officer, and later battalion operations officer, at 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia from 2000 to 2003. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as the chief, Joint Planning Group, and later chief, Current Operations, at Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg. He then took command of 4th Ranger Training Battalion at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 2005 to 2007. Subsequently, he commanded the Regimental Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning from 2007 to 2009. In August 2010, he assumed command of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado where he deployed the brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom 12 times from 2001 to 2012.

He also served as the deputy J5, Plans, United States Central Command (US CENTCOM). He previously served there as director of the Commander’s Action Group and executive officer to the commander US CENTCOM. Most recently, Maj. Gen. Mingus served as the Deputy Commanding General (Maneuver), 4th Infantry Division, where he also served as the Mission Command Director for U. S. Army Europe in support of Atlantic Resolve.

His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.