Col. Kent Park
Colonel Kent Park is the commander of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. As the commander, Colonel Park ensures mission essential support and services to units, service members, families, civilian employees, contractors and retirees – which totals more than 290,000 people within 414,000 acres – to ensure the resilience of our service members and their families.
As the commander, Colonel Park is responsible for installation management, facility maintenance and construction, environmental protection, housing, emergency management, communication systems, security and law enforcement, fire protection, dining, lodging, recreational services, human resources management, supply and vehicle fleet management.
Colonel Park is a 1999 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, where he was commissioned as an infantry officer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he and his family immigrated to the United States when the colonel was just eight years old. He grew up mostly in Houston, Texas, before the Army sent him across the U.S. and the world during his 24 years in the Army.
His overseas and deployment experiences include: Republic of Korea as an infantry and scout platoon leader with 2-9 Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, Civil Affairs Operations Officer with 8th Army, and Chief of Current Operations with the Combined Forces Command/U.S. Forces Korea; Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) as a company commander with 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) as Battalion Operations Officer with 1-23 Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division; and Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) as Squadron Commander of 3rd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment.
Other assignments include: associate professor at the United States Military Academy teaching American Politics, Civil-Military Relationship, and American Foreign Policy in the Department of Social Sciences; researcher for talent management initiatives at the Office of Economics and Manpower Analysis (OEMA); and director of Commander's Action Group and speechwriter for the commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific.
Colonel Park’s previous experience at JBLM include: battalion operations and executive officer with 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of the former 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (now 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division), and chief of Current Operations with the 7th Infantry Division.
Before returning to JBLM as commander, Colonel Park was a member of the Carlisle Scholars Program at the U.S. Army War College, in Pennsylvania, where he researched modernization efforts for the Selective Service System and mass-mobilization challenges in a large-scale combat operations. His other research interests include Civil-Military Relationship, Talent Management and the U.S. Pacific Strategy.
Colonel Park earned a Bachelor of Science in International Relations from the United States Military Academy, Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Master in National Security Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Colonel Park is married to the former Dr. Jae Rin Suh. They have three children: Wesley, Nathan, and Joshua.