Lieutenant Colonel Marshall Merriss graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Military Police Corps, and then later became dual branched in the Chemical Corps. He served in leader, staff and command positions in platoon, company, and battalion sized units.
Merriss was uniquely qualified for a critical assignment on Johnson Island, a remote Pacific Island, that stored a significant amount of the American chemical weapon stockpile. His security and chemical knowledge and experience was vital to initiate and achieve the eventual destruction of the stockpile. Merriss, as Director of Public Safety at Ft. Rucker Alabama, demonstrated exceptional leadership as his directorate earned the 1996 Best Provost Marshall Office award within TRADOC. The culminating assignment of his military career was as the Professor of Military Science at Jacksonville State University. The Jacksonville State program ranked in the top 15% of the 270 nation wide programs in three of his four years as PMS.
Merriss has dedicated his civilian career to working in the college academic field and in special service to military veterans. As administrative founder and advisor, the Northern Kentucky University Veterans for Education and Transition (V.E.T.S) was presented the Community Service award with “Distinction.”
Merriss and his wife, Mary, reside in Cold Spring, KY.