Lieutenant General Larry R. Jordan, U.S. Army, retired, was born and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, in the post-WW II era, attended public school there, and later attended and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1968. He retired after 35 years of active duty, serving in such places as the Republic of Vietnam, Germany, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo. His varied career included multiple operational tours in Germany, the Pentagon, and across the country. He also served three years at West Point as an assistant professor in the Department of History. Upon retirement from the Army, he worked in the defense industry for ten years.

He also served as a consultant with the Defense Science Board and with the Institute for Defense Analysis. Following a decade in industry, Jordan shifted the focus of his efforts to supporting a number of non-profit and service organizations. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of the U.S. Army and the Board of Directors of the Army Historical Foundation, and he is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors, West Point Association of Graduates. Previously, he served on the Board of Directors of Army Emergency Relief, the National Urban Fellows, and the ROCKS, a mentoring and professional development organization specializing on assisting minority officers grow and achieve.