Colonel Larry N. Barker was commissioned a Chemical Corps Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School, 26 February 1971. His first duty assignment was as Smoke Platoon Leader, Field Support Company, Fort McClellan, Alabama. | His subsequent duty assignments include:  Operations Officer, Field Support Company, Fort McClellan, Alabama; Chief Smoke and Flame Branch, Ordnance Center and School, Executive Officer, Company C, Student Enlisted Battalion, and Project Officer, Combat Developments, Ordnance Center and School, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Detachment Commander, 14th Chemical Detachment, 82d Airborne Division and NBC Element Director, 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Instructor and Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York; Staff Officer and Chief, Support Branch, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army, Heidelberg, Germany; Chief of Staff, Chemical Biological Defense Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Corps Chemical Officer, 18th Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.