Mark Aitken Email & Phone Number

San Antonio, Tx, Us

Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Exercise planner for Marine Forces Europe

Saudi Arabia

Joint Base San Antonio

Chief of Staff for the Contingency/Deployable Command Post for United States Army - North, with the mission of supporting local, state, and federal governmental agencies response efforts following natural or man-made disasters. Planning, coordinating, and employing Department of Defense assets for immediate life saving effects and facilitating a rapid return to normalcy. - Supported hurricane response, relief, and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico with 25,000 Service personnel providing immediate life saving resources, coordinated for the receipt, inventory, and distribution of food and water for the entire island for 30+ days, cleared and opened every major road, coordinated and implemented an island wide medical evacuation program responsible for saving countless lives.- Deployed to Houston, Texas following landfall of hurricane Harvey, providing immediate life saving resources to support local and state agencies, coordinated the transport and emplacement of 600 tons of barrier material to prevent further loss of life and property due to flooding.- Planned, coordinated, and conducted Disaster Response Exercises in Texas, New Mexico, California, Georgia, Montana, New York, and Massachusetts to increase efficiency and response times for future disasters.- Awarded the Joint Services Commendation Medal for superior performance in Puerto Rico, and the Humanitarian Service Medal for duty in both Puerto Rico and Texas.

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Deputy Chief of Operations Group Alpha, Mission Command Training Center; serves as Coach, Teach, Mentor for large organizational staff's on the development, resourcing, coordination, implementation, and assessment of solutions for complex problems. Routinely includes inter-service (Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard), inter-agency, and international partners.- US Army Doctrinal Subject Matter Expert for military operations above division level; providing one -on-one mentorship for senior level staff officers to enable self-learning and implementation of lessons learned.- Expert in both US and NATO level military operations; routinely interacting with partner nations military forces to facilitate integration and development of common goals for successful mission accomplishment.

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations & Planning, responsible for developing, coordinating, standardizing, synchronizing, resourcing, disseminating, and assessing all Army level Soldier education, leader development and training across the total force (Active, National Guard, and Reserves) with an annual budget of $600 million.- Planned and conducted the activation of The Army University; standardizing all Army education programs under one headquarters. Initiative sponsored/supported by many national universities and colleges; one success resulted in the recognition of Army training and education thereby benefiting soldiers as they transition to the civilian workforce.- Lead planner for the integration of women Soldiers to Armor and Infantry career fields.- Lead planner for all army educational and doctrinal initiatives as the army transitioned following the drawdown in forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.- Established the first Afghan Army Battalion level pre-command course; one of many initiatives implemented to professionalize the Afghan National Army.

Camp Arena, Herat, Afghanistan

Served dual hatted as both Deputy Commander for a NATO Coalition Infantry Brigade and Commander, United States Forces West, comprised of Soldiers from 9 different nations responsible for the planning, resourcing, and conduct of an advisory mission to the 207th Afghan Army Corps. Served as overall commander during countless operations synchronizing resources and application of the same to achieve desired endstates. Simultaneously, served as Commander, US Forces West, comprised of 3,000 + US Service members conducting operations in support of national objectives and guidance.- Effectively integrated U.S. military forces within a NATO led Infantry Brigade, serving as the Deputy Commander, during the historic transition between combat operations and an advisory mission. - Planned and led 3,000+ U.S. military forces during retrograde operations, maintaining a high operational tempo while simultaneously airlifting vehicles, equipment, and personnel out of Afghanistan. Balancing a combination of tactical and logistical challenges to maintain mission success in both areas.- Effectively managed conflict between allied nations on a daily basis, serving as both Soldier and diplomat to solve complex challenges.

Joint Base Lewis - Mcchord

Commander / Chief Executive Officer of a medium sized organization with 500+ people, 250 vehicles and associated equipment, and an annual operational and maintenance budget of $25 million; responsible for planning, resourcing, conducting, and assessing directed operations in support of national strategic objectives.

Fort Bliss, Texas

Commander / Chief Executive Officer for a medium sized organization. Very unique opportunity as I was the very first commander activating a new organization. Developed, planned, and established every organic system (Human Resources, Talent Management, reception and integration of equipment, development of long and short range goals, and many more).

Stuttgart Area, Germany

Political / Military Expert; planned, coordinated, resourced, conducted, and assessed all U.S. military support / engagement in several East African Countries (Rwanda, Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania). Daily interaction with U.S. Department of State and partner nations to include diplomatic negotiations, military to military exchanges, and development of goodwill.

Master'S Degree, Military Strategic Studies, General

Activities and Societies: Commandants Reading program Student attaining a degree in National Security Studies and Strategic Leadership.

Master Of Arts (M.A.), Military Security Policy And Strategy

Attained a degree from the United States Air Force in Military Studies and International Relations

Ma, History

Attained a degree in Military History (Weekends & Nights while working full time)

Ba, Biology

Activities and Societies: Reserve Officers Training Corps Attained a degree in Biology