AFCEA/USNI WEST 2026

Col Craig Clarkson, USMC
Commanding Officer
Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity (MCTSSA)


Colonel Clarkson was commissioned in December 1998. His operational assignments include: Platoon commander, Air Contingency MAGTF Platoon Commander, Engineer Detachment Commander, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, United Nations Military Observer, Battalion Operations Officer, Battalion Executive Officer, Marine Logistics Group Current Operations Officer, Defense Support to Civil Authorities Detachment Commander, and Squadron Commander. In these roles he deployed globally in support of multiple operations and combat operations. Colonel Clarkson’s other assignments include: Project Officer, Engineer Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command; Combat Engineer Instruction Company Commander, Marine Corps Engineer School; Explosive Obstacles and Hazards Branch Head, Marine Corps Engineer Center of Excellence; Counter Narcotics Program Engineer, United States Southern Command; Program Manager, Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations, Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command; Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Service Chief Fellow; and Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Tactical Systems Support Activity. Colonel Clarkson’s military occupational specialties include: Acquisition Officer; Combat Engineer Officer; Joint Specialty Officer; Planning, Programming and Budgeting Officer; Winter Mountain Leader; Aviation Ground Support Weapons and Tactics Instructor; Foreign Security Force Advisor; and Operational Advisor. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, Florida Institute of Technology, Marine Corps University, and National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degrees in logistics and supply chain management, military studies, and national resource strategy. Colonel Clarkson is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB), Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Program Consultant, ITIL4 Foundations Practitioner, DAWIA Program Manager Advanced/Level III, and Contracting Officer Representative. Additionally, he holds professional certificates in: Project Management from Florida Institute of Technology; Advanced Logistics and Technology from the Keenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Artificial Intelligence Business Strategies from the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley; and Blockchain Technologies and Applications from the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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