Brigadier General Jerry McAbee was born in 1948. He grew up in Rainsville, Alabama, where he attended Plainview High School. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, where he majored in history. He also holds diplomas from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the National War College. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1970, he served more than thirty-five years on active duty as a field artillery officer. General McAbee held a variety of command, staff, and training positions at home and abroad, including combat deployments in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Since retiring from the US Marine Corps in 2005, he has consulted on national security issues in Africa and the Middle East and has worked in the defense industry as vice president and general manager for a military equipment manufacturer in Huntsville, Alabama. These days he and his bride of forty-eight years, Margaret, spend their time between Valrico, Florida, and Mentone, Alabama. They have two children and four grandchildren.