John Gruehl (LtCol, USMC, Ret)

John served 22 years in the military, from 1968 to 1990, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. His career began in Motor Transport, serving with 3d Motors in Vietnam, before transitioning to artillery. In artillery, he held several key positions, including Battery Commander, Fort Sill Instructor, and Assistant S-3/Nuclear Safety Officer with the 12th Marines. Later, he returned to Motor Transport, serving with the 1st MAB in Hawaii, at HQMC, and in Okinawa, where he was the Executive Officer (XO) of 9th Motors and later a G-2 staff officer with the 3d FSSG. He completed his military service at HQMC, working in RD&S and later with MCRDAC as the Logistics Development Coordinator.

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He attended the six-month Program Managers course and became one of the first board-certified Acquisition Management Officers. As Program Manager, he oversaw the Logistics Vehicle System sole-source program and served as the Marine Corps PM for the joint (USMC/Navy/Air Force) P-19 Crash/Fire/Rescue program.

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After retiring from the military, John transitioned to the private sector, working in profit and loss management, primarily in sales. He later spent eight years in Afghanistan, where he held significant roles, including Senior Advisor to the Afghan government, Finance and Contracts Director for the AECOM Maintenance contract, and defacto J8 for the $3.65B Special Mission Wing program. He concluded his work in Afghanistan as Deputy Director for Resource Management on the staff of the Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan, where he managed the $10B provided to the Afghan government.