James H. Coffman, Jr.

Colonel James Henry Coffman, Jr., USA is an American Army officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for valorous conduct while serving as an advisor with the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq attached to the Iraqi Special Police Commandos in Mosul, Iraq in 2004. A 2013 documentary created by BBC News and The Guardian implicates Coffman in a network of Shi'a units allegedly involved in death squad activities and torture.

Early life and education
Coffman grew up in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and enlisted in the United States Army in 1972. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1978. Coffman subsequently earned a Master of Science degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. He was also a U.S. Army Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and attended the Boston University Overseas Program for Master of Science in International Relations in Vicenza, Italy. In the course of his formal education Coffman has authored papers on ethnic conflict in the post-Cold War world.

Awards and decorations
Coffman has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Special Forces Tab and the Ranger tab.

Distinguished Service Cross citation
Coffman's citation for the Distinguished Service Cross reads as follows: