COL (Ret) Donald R. Franklin was born in Morganton, N.C. He was commissioned in Field Artillery from the ROTC program at Appalachian State University in 1991, where he was a Distinguished Military student and graduate.
His duty assignments include:
- Col. Franklin's first assignment in Special Forces was with 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from 1999-2002, serving as the commander of Operational Detachment - Alpha 521 and 524, and as the battalion S1. While at Fort Campbell, he participated in Operation Enduring Freedom I as the battalion assistant S3 and the Task Force Dagger LNO to the CIA.
- Commander, C Co, 1st Battalion, 5th SFG (A) from 2003-2005 followed by an assignment as the Battalion S3. During this period, he participated in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM II and IV as the commander, Advanced Operational Base 530 in the Anbar Province and as the Forward Operational Base – Central (Baghdad) operations officer, respectively.
- Commander, A Co, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Group (Airborne), Phase III, 18A Course of the Special Forces Qualification Course.
- Commander, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) and deployed the battalion to Operation Enduring Freedom XV from January to September 2010, where he served as the commander of Special Operations Task Force–East, responsible for Special Forces operations in Regional Command-East. From September to July 2011, Col. Franklin served as the deputy commanding officer for 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).
- US Army Special Warfare Center G3 from 2011-2012 and as the Chief of Staff from 2012-2013
- Commander, Special Warfare Education Group (Airborne).
COL. Franklin is a graduate of the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Signal Officers Transition Course, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course and the Army Command and General Staff Officers Course.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with two oak-leaf clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak-leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with two oak-leaf clusters, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal with oak-leaf cluster, Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Military Freefall Parachutist Badge, Ranger and Special Forces Tabs.