Colonel William J. “Joe” Parker, III received his commission as a Quartermaster Officer from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC where he received a BA in Communications. He is a graduate of the Quartermaster Officer Basic and Logistics Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Parachute Rigger School, Command and General Staff College, the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies, and the US Army War College Military Fellows Program.
Prior to his selection as the Garrison Commander of Rock Island Arsenal, he was assigned to Army Sustainment Command and served as the Chief of Plans and Exercises G5 and the Chief of Operations, G3/5/7 at Rock Island Arsenal, IL. Immediately preceding his arrival to the Quad Cities, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics in Cambridge, MA as a US Army War College Fellow. Additionally, he was assigned to Operations Group, National Training Center in Fort Irwin California, where he served as the Senior Sustainment Trainer Goldminer 07, training sustainment formations to prepare for large scale combat operations. Previous non-command assignments include service as a Support Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Brigade Maintenance Officer, and Support Battalion Plans Officer in the 1st Cavalry Division; 3rd Infantry Division G5 Sustainment Planner, Brigade Logistics Officer and later, Brigade Executive Officer for the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division; Executive Officer to the Deputy G4, Headquarters, Department of the Army in the Pentagon; and Chief of Plans, Special Operations Command J45/J51 Logistics Directorate.
Colonel Parker’s command assignments include: 30 months as Commander, E Forward Support Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas where he deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; and 24 months as the Squadron Commander of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment’s Regimental Support Squadron “Packhorse” at Fort Irwin, California.
His operational deployments include Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) II in Baghdad, Iraq, OIF 06-08 in the Diyala Providence, Iraq, and OIF 09-11 in Qayarrah and Mosul, Iraq. Additionally, he deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013, and Bagram/Kabul in support of Operation Resolute Support in 2017. Most recently, he served with the XVIII Airborne Corps and the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine as the Army Materiel Command LNO in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Colonel Parker holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree from the School of Advanced Military Studies, and a Master of Arts in Procurement and Acquisition Management from Websters University. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with 3 OLC, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with 5OLC, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with 1 OLC, the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, the Parachutist Badge, the Parachute Rigger Badge, the HQDA Staff Badge, and the Combat Action Badge.
He is married to his wife Danielle, herself an Army Veteran. Together, they have three daughters.