Colonel Stephen Boada has served in the Marine Corps for more than 26 years as an artillery officer, a foreign security force advisor, and a plans officer. He has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom along with several shorter deployments in the INDOPACOM region. His command assignments include battery command, recruiting station commanding officer and, most recently, the battalion commander of an artillery battalion in Okinawa, Japan. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and geography from Central Connecticut State University and an MBA from Gonzaga University.