Mike and his family came to the Frankford community when his father, an Army Colonel, was assigned as Commander of the Frankford Arsenal.  He spent three years at Frankford, with his brother who graduated with the class of 1970. 

 

While at Frankford, Mike ran varsity cross-country, varsity track and played JV soccer.  He was on also on the yearbook staff and a member of the Thirteen Club.

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Mike went on to an illustrious thirty-eight year career in the United States Army where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant General.  He served in a variety of tactical assignments with extensive experience across the spectrum of infantry units and assignments.  LTG Barbero has commanded American soldiers at every grade, from Lieutenant Colonel to Lieutenant General. 

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He commanded an Air Assault Infantry Battalion and a Light Infantry Brigade.  As a Brigadier General , he commanded one of the Army's two peremier combat training centers, the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk.  Louisiana. 

 

While commanding JRTC, he was responsible for design and execution of the Army's most complex joint training and live-fire exercises.  As a Major General, he commanded the United States Army Infantry Center and Fort Benning, Georgia. 

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At Fort Benning, he was responsible for the training of all U.S. Army Infantrymen, from private to captain; the development of all Infantry warfighting and training doctrine, and the design, organization and equipping of all infantry forces from the individual Infantry soldier to Infantry brigades. 

 

At each training center, he supervised the United States Army's most sophisticated counter-terrorism training and live-fire training.

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Lieutenant General Barbero served four years in Iraq over three separate tours in combat.  During the first year of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from 2003 to 2004, he served as the Assistant Division Commander of the 4th Infantry Division and directed all tactical operation of nearly 20,000 U.S. and Coalition Soldiers. 

 

In 2007, he was selected by General David Petraeus to be the J3, Chief of Operations for all U.S. Coalition and Iraqi Forces during "the surge" in 2007 and 2008.  In this assignment, he coordinated all military, counter-terror and intelligence operations across Iraq. 

 

During his most recent deployment to Iraq, from 2009 to 2011, LTG Barbero was the Commanding General responsible for the training, equipping and development of all Iraqi security forces and building the capabilities of both the Ministries of Interior and Defense. 

 

He managed a $12 Billion program and was the principal advisor to the Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior on all aspects of acquisition, training and logistics to support all security forces of Iraq. 

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He developed and managed the major training schools and bases for all Armed forces and Police Forces across Iraq.  He served simultaneously as the Commanding General of the NATO Training Mission-Iraq (NTM-I) and commanded all NATO forces in Iraq.

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Mike and his wife, Linda, have moved 18 times over the course of his Army career.  They have one daughter, Emily, who is a graduate of Xavier University and works as a program manager at the Department of Homeland Security.   

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Since retiring in July 2013, he routinely travels to the Middle East and Europe to develop business and infrastructure projects, meeting with senior political, security, industry and business leaders across these regions.  He and Linda now reside in Arlington, Virginia.

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Lieutenant General Barbero holds a Bachelor of Science degree form the United States Military Academy, a Master's Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the National Defense University, Washington, D.C.  He 's also a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies Program.

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