Home : Units : 407th : Deputy to the Commander

Mr. Mark W. Akin


Deputy to the Commander

407th AFSB Deputy to the Commander
 
 

Mr. Mark W. Akin serves as the deputy to the commander, 407th Army Field Support Brigade, Fort Cavazos, Texas, a position he has held since June 2015.

Mr. Akin served in the U.S. Army from 1980 through 2008, retiring as a colonel from the Army’s Logistics Corps. From 2008 until January 2010, he served as a vice president and senior joint logistics analyst with Christmas Logistics Enterprises, based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 2010, Mr. Akin returned to the Army service as a Civilian as the 407th AFSB DCO. From April 2011 to April 2012, and March 2014 to May 2015, Mr. Akin deployed to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, where he served as the DCO, 401st AFSB. Mr. Akin returned to his position as 407th AFSB DCO in June 2015.

During his 28-year military career, Mr. Akin held these command and staff positions: platoon leader and shop officer with the 1st Armored Division, Germany; commander of a Heavy Maintenance Company in the 2nd Armored Division, Fort Hood (known as Fort Cavazos since 2023); executive officer for the Program Executive Office at the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, Warren, Michigan; helped stand-up Camp Doha, Kuwait, following Desert Storm as a logistics officer; Support Operations officer in a 4th Infantry Division Forward Support Battalion; lead U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command Liaison Officer for the Army’s Force XXI Warfighter Experiment, Fort Hood; speechwriter to the Army G4, Pentagon; commander of the 18th Corps Support Battalion, Hanau, Germany; 1st Infantry Division G4 in Germany; brigade commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps Distribution Command, 1st Corps Support Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (known as Fort Liberty since 2023) and Balad, Iraq (OIF 04-05); with his last active-duty position being the director, Joint Logistics Department, J9 U.S. Joint Forces Command.

As the DCO for the 401st AFSB, Mr. Akin assisted the brigade commander in overseeing 53,000 military, Army Civilian, and contractor personnel provide integrated and synchronized Acquisition, Logistics and Technology support from the Army Materiel Enterprise and drawing down the Afghanistan theater in the 2014-15 timeframe. As the 407th AFSB DCO, Mr. Akin serves as the brigade's senior DA Civilian intimately involved in leading the Brigade across multiple U.S. Army Sustainment Command Materiel Enterprise responsibilities – from supporting warfighters on Army readiness requirements to assisting in the management and resourcing of 12 Logistics Readiness Centers spread across 13 states in the continental U.S.

Mr. Akin has a Bachelor of Arts in Management from Texas A&M University; Master of Science, Logistical Management from Florida Institute of Technology; and a Master of Science, National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He is Level III certified in Life Cycle Logistics. Mr. Akin’s military education includes: Basic Airborne; the Ordnance Officer Basic and Advance courses; a one-year Training With Industry with FMC Corporation, California; Materiel Acquisition Management; Command and General Staff College; and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Mr. Akin’s civilian and military awards include two Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legion of Merits, Bronze Star Medal, six Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Parachutists Badge, the Army Staff Identification Badge, and the Ordnance Samuel Sharp Medallion.

Mr. Akin is a Texas native. He and his wife, Erin, have two children.