Maj. Gen. Aaron Becomes Army G-2 (5 NOV 1973)
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DVIDS - GeorgiaHarold Aaron was born in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1921. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant in 1943. In January 1945, he deployed to Europe and served in campaigns in France, Germany, and Austria. After the war, Aaron was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) School at Fort Holabird, Maryland, first as a student, then as instructor and adjutant. Between 1947 and 1950, he commanded the 470th CIC Detachment while also serving as the assistant G-2, U.S. Army, Caribbean. After attending the Infantry Officers Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff College, Aaron served with First Army and, from 1954 to 1956, with the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Taiwan.
Returning to the U.S. in 1956, Maj. Aaron attended the Armed Forces Staff College and Georgetown University. He then served with the Special Warfare Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, and the Directorate for Arms Control and United Nations Affairs, Office of the Secretary of Defense. After earning a PhD in international relations in 1964, Aaron was sent to Korea to serve with the Eighth Army. He returned home in 1965 and served the next two years with the Office of the Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In June 1967, then Col. Aaron took command of the Special Action Forces, Asia and the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) on Okinawa. A year later, he was commanding the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and attached units in South Vietnam, working with the Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Group. Following his tour in Vietnam, Aaron served briefly in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army before reporting as the assistant division commander of the 8th Infantry Division in Europe in December 1969. He was then assigned as chief of staff, V Corps, in Germany, before serving as deputy chief of staff, intelligence, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army.
On Nov. 5, 1973, Maj. Gen. Aaron became the ACSI. Over the next few years, General Aaron was faced with Army downsizing efforts following the Vietnam War and its effects on the intelligence command structure. He initiated the Intelligence Organization and Stationing Study, published in August 1975, which brought about numerous reforms in Army intelligence organization and training and resulted in the creation of the Intelligence and Security Command in 1977. Meanwhile, Aaron recognized the need to train and maintain soldiers for quick mobilization and combat readiness, leading to the establishment, in October 1976, of the Opposing Forces Program, an outgrowth of the Aggressor program established in the late-1940s.
General Aaron was passionate about intelligence professional development and keeping soldiers informed. In early 1975, he began writing “As I See It” for MI Magazine (today’s Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin). The column highlighted key initiatives and opportunities within the Army, as well as “new developments…ideas and concepts” affecting intelligence training and operations. Aaron hoped the column would “open up a channel of communication” between MI professionals, as he believed engaging in dialogue and continuous learning was of the utmost importance for professional development of intelligence personnel. He continued this column until his departure from the office of the ACSI in August 1977.
For the next two years, Aaron served as deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency before retiring in January 1979 as a lieutenant general. He had served more than thirty-five years in uniform and earned numerous awards and commendations. He passed away in April 1980 at the age of 58. Eight years later, General Aaron was inducted into the MI Hall of Fame, and in 1992, Aaron Plaza at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, was dedicated in his honor.
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Article by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian. New issues of This Week in MI History are published each week. To report story errors, ask questions, request previous articles, or be added to our distribution list, please contact: TR-ICoE-Command-Historian@army.mil.
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