Colonel Paul W. Turnbull, Jr. was commissioned as Second Lieutenant of Infantry upon completion of Officer Candidate School Class 2-94, 14 April 1994, at Fort Benning, Georgia. His first duty assignment was as Platoon Leader, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

His subsequent duty assignments were S-3 Air, Mortar Platoon, Support Platoon and S-4, 2-505th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; S-3 Air and Headquarters Company Commander, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington; Senior Defense Official, U.S. Embassy, East Timor; Operations Officer, Office of Defense Cooperation Indonesia, U.S. Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia; Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation Cambodia, U.S. Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation Sri Lanka and Maldives, U.S. Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka; Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation Vietnam, U.S. Embassy, Hanoi, Vietnam; Deputy Director, Security Assistance Office, Combined Security Transition Command, Afghanistan; and Plans Officer, Headquarters, U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter, Hawaii. At the time of his induction in the OCS Hall of Fame, COL Turnbull was serving as Senior Defense Official, Defense Attache and Chief of the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group Thailand, U.S. Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand.

COL Turnbull is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Army Command and General Staff College, Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Staff Service School, Vietnamese Basic Language Course, Defense Attache School, U.S. Army Ranger School, Pathfinder School, and Airborne and Jumpmaster Schools.

COL Turnbull's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and Multinational Force and Observers Medal.