Rafael O'Ferrall

Brigadier General Rafael O'Ferrall (born June 29, 1954) is an Army National Guard officer who is the Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the Assistant Adjutant General (Army) and Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Force Headquarters at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Early years O'Ferrall (birth name: Rafael O'Ferrall Córdova ) was born to Victor Manuel O'Ferrall Sr., from Santurce and Blanca Rose Córdova, a nurse from the town of Yabucoa. His parents moved to the United States from Puerto Rico in search for a better way of life and lived in New York City where O'Ferrall was born. When he was five years old, he was sent to live with his grandmother in Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. In the 1960s O'Ferrall's mother returned to Puerto Rico upon the death of his grandmother. He was enrolled at Dr. Jose M. Lazaro High School in Carolina, Puerto Rico, where he excelled in sports. In 1972, he was asked by the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee to represent Puerto Rico in the Munich Olympics in track and field events, however he was later substituted by the more experienced Luis Alers. After he graduated from high school in 1973, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico and participated in various competitions as member of the track and field team of his alma mater. Later, he represented the island in the XII 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games which were celebrated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. During his student years he became a member of the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps program, which is also known as ROTC. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration on Natural Science on June 20, 1978, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Puerto Rico National Guard that same year. In 1986 he earned a Master of Business Administration and Management from the University of Turabo.

In 1986, O'Ferrall earned his master's degree in business administration and management from Turabo University in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, and served as range control officer at Camp Santiago until October 1988. That same year he served as trainer and facilitator at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico's biotechnology workshop. From October 1988 to May 1992, he continued to serve at Camp Santiago, as detachment commander and as director of administration branch and was promoted to major.

In 2004, O'Ferrall attended the Executive Seminar Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection, Level IV, at Washington, D.C., and the United States Navy, Commanding Officer Anti-Terrorist/Force Protection Course, Level III at Norfolk, Virginia. Upon the completion of the courses he was assigned to the 92nd Infantry Brigade Separate in Puerto Rico as Deputy Brigade Commander and in September 2004 as Director Military/Civilian at the Joint Force Headquarters. In 2005, O'Ferrall served in the Board of Directors of the Chamber of the Food Industries Marketing and Distribution Association in Puerto Rico.

Guantanamo Bay

In December 2008, O'Ferrall was deployed and named Deputy Commanding General, Joint Task Force Guantanamo at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, position in which he currently serves while simultaneously serving as Assistant Adjutant General (Army) and Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Force Headquarters, of San Juan, Puerto Rico. O'Ferrall became the first Hispanic and general officer from the Puerto Rico Army National Guard supporting a joint forces mission of this caliber.

He is responsible for the supervision of over 2150 members from the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard as well as over 5000 civilian contractors and workers on the base. Among O'Ferrall's responsibilities is to ensure that those under his supervision provide safe, humane, legal and transparent care custody of detained enemy combatants, conduct intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination for protection of detainees and personnel working in Joint Task Force-Guantanamo in support of the Global War on Terrorism, support the Office of Military Commissions to law enforcement and war crime investigations in planning for and on order to respond to Caribbean mass migrations operations. He is a member of the Alpha Sigma Gamma fraternity. He is married to Maria Del Carmen Vazquez and has four children: Carmen Michelle O'Ferrall (from a previous marriage); Rafael Jr., Gian and Stephanie O'Ferrall.

Written works Among the written works in which O'Ferrall has participated either as author or co-author are the following:

"The Transformation of Reserve Component (RC) Modernization: New Options for DOD?" LTC (P) Rafael O'Ferrall, LTC R Alford, LTC K. Riedlera and LT Col C. Rehberg. "United States Army War College Article: Reserve Component Equipping: A Critical Element of the National Military Strategy." LTC (P) Rafael O'Ferrall, LTC R Alford, LTC K. Riedler, LT Col C. Rehberg.

Military awards and decorations Among O'Ferrall's military awards and decorations are the following: