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Colonel Mark W. Erb is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York where he earned his commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1983 through the NROTC program. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Management Engineering, a Masters of Business Administration from Illinois Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from The Naval War College.
Colonel Erb’s initial operational assignment following The Basic School at Quantico, VA., and Flight Training in Pensacola, FL. was with HMH-463, MAG-24 located at Kaneohe Bay, HI in 1985. He served as the Admin Officer, Schedule Writer, Flight Line Officer and Airframes Officer while also completing two unit deployments to the WESTPAC with HMM-262 and HMM-165.
He served as the Marine Officer Instructor at the NROTC Unit Illinois Institute of Technology from 1989-1992. Responsibilities included Freshman Class advisor and Battalion Advisor. He also served as a Platoon Commander on the Staff of the Officer Candidate School at Quantico VA.
In 1992, Colonel Erb returned to HMH-463 where he served as the Admin Officer, Director of Safety and Standardization, Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor, Maintenance Officer, and Executive Officer. He also completed deployments in support of JTF-Full Accounting in Cambodia, COBRA GOLD in Thailand, and TANDEM THRUST in Australia.
In 1997, Colonel Erb transferred to 31 MEU, III MEF in Okinawa, Japan. He served as the MEU Air Officer and completed two MEU(SOC) Certification Exercises. He also completed deployments with the USS Belleau Wood ARG to COBRA GOLD in Thailand, VALIENT SHIELD in Australia, and FOAL EAGLE in Korea.
Graduating from Marine Corps Command and Staff College at Quantico, VA in 1999, Colonel Erb returned to MAG-24 in Kaneohe Bay, HI. He served as the Group Operations Officer, Logistics Officer, and Executive Officer. Additionally, he served as the OIC for HMH-463 Detachment “A” during a deployment to NATURAL FIRE in Mombassa, Kenya.
Colonel Erb commanded HMH-363 from Dec 2002 – May 2004. He deployed the squadron to Iwakuni, Japan and supported FOAL EAGLE in Korea and COBRA GOLD in Thailand. They self deployed over 4000 miles through Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Mishap free under his leadership, they rec’d their second and third consecutive CNO Aviation Safety Awards, and received the Commandant’s nomination for the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Award.
Graduating from the Naval War College in 2005, Colonel Erb reported for assignment as the J35, Plans and Future Operations Division Chief, Operations and Logistics Directorate, U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia. His responsibilities included the 06-08 OIF and OEF combat forces and global rotational forces sourcing plans that received SECDEF approval, contingency sourcing of all geographic COCOM warplans, joint personnel recovery, anti-terrorism, critical infrastructure protection, information operations, and special technical operations. He is also a graduate of the Air War College, the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the Aviation Safety Command Course, and the Joint Forces Staff College.
Joining Marine Forces Command in 2007, he was the G9 Capabilities Division Chief. His primary responsibility was to ensure the Marine Operating Forces equities were reflected in both Service and Joint, near and long term, capability development efforts. He was also "picked" by the Commandant as the USMC representative on the core writing team for the, CJCS 2009 Capstone Concept for Joint Operations.
Colonel Erb’s awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with 3 gold stars. He has accumulated over 3200 flight hours in 8 different aircraft.
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Colonel