Colonel John R. Parker, USMC (Ret.)
Senior Advisor, Board of Advisors
John “Bones” Parker has over 35 years of experience in aviation, strategic planning, global operations, program management and international relations. Over his distinguished career, he has held leadership positions in the United States Marine Corps, the Pentagon, the Council on Foreign Relations, and most recently, with The Boeing Company. As Director of Boeing’s Vertical Lift Global Sales and Marketing, John was responsible for the development of foreign military sales for Boeing’s vertical lift aircraft portfolio, leading an international sales team focused on worldwide sales and marketing of the AH-64E Apache, AH-6 Little Bird, CH-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey, coordinating purchases with U.S. Government agencies, allies and eligible coalition partner nations. At the Pentagon, he was International Affairs Branch Head – Headquarters Marine Corps, supporting the Commandant of the Marine Corps on politico-military matters, international affairs, security cooperation, foreign disclosure and technology transfer. In this position, he was responsible for identifying key international partnerships, capitalizing on emerging global opportunities, and establishing policy to facilitate security cooperation activities, providing authorization and oversight for more than 90 Foreign Military Sales cases, including MRAP, to multiple countries with a combined value of over $2 billion. As Marine Corps Fellow to the Council on Foreign Relations, John served as subject matter expert to promulgate civil-military relations and concepts to world leaders and figures. As Commanding Officer of HMM-261, he led both the Marine Corp Squadron and Aviation Combat Element, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom II and Operation Vigilant Resolve, with no casualties and zero loss of aircraft (30 airframes/400 personnel). At AIRLANT, he provided executive oversight on over 400 Navy and Marine aircraft to include engineering, acquisition and logistical support during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Among Mr. Parker’s awards and recognitions over his over 27 years in the Marine Corps are the Alfred A. Cunningham Award, the USMC Aviator of the Year Award (1997), Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with Gold Star), Strike Flight and Mission Air Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon (with Gold Star). Mr. Parker received a B.S. in Political Science from The Citadel – The Military College of South Carolina, a M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the College of Naval Command and Staff – Naval War College, and a M.A. in Strategic Studies and Joint Campaign Planning from the Joint Advanced Warfighting School - Joint Forces Staff College.