Lieutenant Colonel Matthew A. Ives is the incoming commander of the Tampa Recruiting Battalion, U.S. Army Recruiting Command. He attended Florida State University on a 4-year ROTC scholarship. He earned his commission as an Infantry Officer in 2005.
He served in 1-14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division as a Rifle Platoon Leader and Battalion Assistant Operations Officer (AS3). He was selected for Army Special Operations Forces as a Special Operations Civil Affairs Governance Officer (38S). Upon completion of ARSOF training, LTC Ives served as a Team Commander and as the Plans and Exercises Chief in the 98th CA Battalion (Special Operations) (Airborne). He later served as the Group S9 and Deputy Operations Officer for the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) before returning to the 98th CA Battalion as the commander of A Company. Following command, LTC Ives served as the Deputy Chief of Future Operations (G35) and Executive Officer to the Commanding General of III Armored Corps. LTC Ives’ last assignment was as the Chief of Civil Affairs Branch and Joint Proponent, J39 at U.S. Special Operations Command.
Lieutenant Colonel Ives’ operational deployments include Operation Iraqi Freedom (07-08), Eastern Afghanistan with a Joint Counter-Terrorism Task Force (2011-2012), Colombia (2013-2014), Deputy Commander for Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Caribbean and Central America to SOCSOUTH (2018) and Honduras (2020), and various other short-term missions throughout the western hemisphere.
Lieutenant Colonel Ives is a Distinguished Graduate of the Command and General Staff College at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation and a graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighter School. He holds a Master of Science in Technology Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Fayetteville State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology with minors in Psychology and Military Science from Florida State University.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), Army Commendation Medal for Valor, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (3 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Ribbon (with numeral 4), NATO Medal (ISAF), Valorous Unit Award, the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Combat Action Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, and four foreign parachutist wings (Brazil, Colombia, Chile, and Peru).