Colonel Mark Read

Colonel Mark R. Read was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. Colonel Read holds a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from The Pennsylvania State University, where he studied climate variability and change, and the security implications of climate change. He has spent much of his career in a variety of operational infantry units in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He has also served on faculty at West Point, where he is currently assigned as Professor, USMA, and Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering. He recently spent six months at U.S. Africa Command helping the command understand and plan for the security implications of climate change in Africa. His academic interests include climate variability and change, environmental security, and military geography.