Brig. Gen. James C. Yarbrough will assume command of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk during an assumption of command ceremony at  9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22, at Warrior Field.
Yarbrough comes to Fort Polk from Iraq where he served as the Commander of the Iraqi Assistance Group, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yarbrough, a Georgia native, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from Tulane University and, as a Distinguished Military Graduate, was commissioned an Infantry second lieutenant.
His initial assignment was with the 101st Airborne Division (Assault), where he served as Rifle Platoon Leader and Anti-Tank Platoon Leader in 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry. He was reassigned to 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, where he served as Rifle Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Battalion assistant operations officer, and participated in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada.
After graduating from the Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course, he commanded a rifle company in 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry (Mechanized), Republic of Korea. Following company command, he served as Operations Officer and Chief, Current Operations, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, then Aide-de-Camp to Commander, XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, N. C. Next, he served as Battalion Operations Officer for 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment; then Brigade Operations Officer for the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment before being reassigned as Chief, Theater Operations Branch at US Atlantic Command.
He then commanded 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry in the 101st Airborne Division. Following attendance at the War College,  Yarbrough commanded the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy. As the XVIII Airborne Corps Operations Officer, Yarbrough served for 11 months as the Combined Joint Task Force 180 operations officer executing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
He then served as the Deputy Commanding General, United States Army Infantry Center, Fort Benning, Georgia.
On 1 August 2006 he became the Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. In July of 2007, Yarbrough deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom where he assumed command of the Iraq Assistance Group, while holding the position of Assistant Division Commander for Maneuver of the 1st Infantry Division.
In addition to a master of arts in business management from Webster University and a master of strategic studies, Yarbrough’s military education includes the Infantry Officer’s Basic and Advanced Courses; Air Assault, Airborne, Ranger and Pathfinder Schools; Jumpmaster, Military Freefall and Freefall Jumpmaster Courses; and U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the War College.
His personal and unit awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion Of Merit (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal (5 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Service Award, Joint Meritorious Unit Award (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Valorous Unit Award, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Pathfinder Badge, and Ranger Tab.
The ceremony is open to the public. Alternate severe weather location is the Bayou Theater.