Lieutenant Colonel Terrell, a native of San Antonio, Texas, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant after graduating from Oklahoma State University and completing Officer Candidates Course (OCC) 136 in December of 1987. After completing The Basic School and the Infantry Officer Course, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines where he served as a Rifle Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer. During this assignment he deployed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in support of Operations Desert Shield and Storm from August to March 1991.
From August 1991 through 1994 he served at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California as the Assistant to Unit Operations, Officer-in-Charge of the Mountain Leaders Course and S-3 Alpha. Following this assignment, he attended the Amphibious Warfare School. Upon graduation, he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines where he served as the Logistics Officer. He assumed command of Alpha Company 1/3 in July 1995 and deployed to Okinawa as part of the Unit Deployment Program.
In 1997 he was assigned to Landing Force, Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) aboard the Landing Ship Tank (LST) U.S.S. Frederick as the Operations Officer. The CARAT Exercise series is conducted with the South East ASIAN and South Pacific nations and centers around amphibious operations and the Marine Corps Planning Process. In November 1997 he was assigned as the S-3 Training Officer at Headquarters and Service Battalion, Camp Smith, Hawaii.
In 1998 he was assigned to Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Base, Hawaii where he served as the Executive Officer. In June of 1999 he was selected to serve as Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, Marine Forces Pacific, LtGen Frank Libutti. He graduated from U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff Non-Resident Course in 2000 and upon completion of his tour as Aide-de-Camp he was assigned to Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Headquarters Marine Corps where he served as the Program of Memorandum (POM) Officer for the Marine Corps personnel account.
In 2003 he was assigned to 3rd Marine Division where he served as the Current Operations Officer. In September 2004 he was assigned as an Individual Augment to U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa Florida, CCJ5 Special Strategy Directorate as an Iraq Planner.
Following this assignment, Lieutenant Colonel Terrell returned to 3rd Marine Division to continue his service as the Current Operations Officer. He assumed command of the 4th Marine Regiment in November 2005.
In 2006 he was assigned Training and Education Command where he served as the Operations Officer for the Ground Training Branch. While serving with the Ground Training Branch, Lieutenant Colonel Terrell was selected as the first Marine to serve in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands Program.
In 2009 he conducted Pashto Language training and all Pre-Deployment requirements for his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. Lieutenant Colonel Terrell deployed to Afghanistan in May 2010 to serve as the Regional Command South, Joint Border Coordination Center, Deputy Director.
In May 2011 he returned to the states and was assigned as the Executive Officer of the Marine Embassy Security Group aboard Quantico, Virginia.
Lieutenant Colonel Terrell holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University. His personal decorations include The Bronze Star Medal, The Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars, and the Combat Action Ribbon.