Marines


Leaders
Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Col. Speros C. Koumparakis, U.S. Marine Corps

 

Colonel Speros C. Koumparakis is originally from Martinsville, Virginia and graduated from Martinsville High School in 1993.  He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in History and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1997.  He then completed The Basic School in 1998 and the Command and Control Systems Officer Course in 1999.
 
Following training, Col Koumparakis was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines in Twentynine Palms, CA where he served as the S-6 and Communication Platoon Commander from 1999 until 2001.   In 2001 he transferred to Commander Amphibious Group Three, San Diego, CA where he served as the Assistant Communications Officer and Maritime Prepositioning Force Communications Officer.
 
In 2003, Col Koumparakis attended the Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, VA.  After graduating, he was temporarily assigned to support Officer Candidate School as the Testing and Evaluation Officer.  Upon completion of this assignment, he transferred to the G-6, II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, NC in the fall of 2004 where he served as the II MEF FWD Information Technology Officer, Information Assurance Manager, and II MEF G-6 Plans Officer.
 
In 2006, Col Koumparakis was selected as a Marine Corps Legislative Fellow and in October of the same year transferred to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, DC.  He served as a Legislative Fellow for Congressman W. Todd Akin from the Second District of Missouri from January to December 2007.  Following the one-year Fellowship, he was assigned to the Office of Legislative Affairs where he served as a liaison officer and the Deputy Director of the Marine Corps’ House Liaison Office until May 2010.
 
From June to December 2010, Col Koumparakis attended language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA and upon completion of his training moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina where he attended the Argentine Naval War College.  After graduation he transferred from Argentina to 9th Communication Battalion, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, CA where he served as Alpha Company Commander, Battalion Detachment Commander, and Battalion Executive Officer.  In 2013 He then transferred to 1st Marine Logistics Group where he served as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Communications (Deputy AC/S G-6).

In June of 2014, Col Koumparakis took command of Communications School in Quantico, VA.  In August of that same year he moved the school from Quantico, VA to Twentynine Palms, CA.  There he activated the Communication Training Battalion and helped merge officer and enlisted communication training into one unit.  Upon completion of his tour, Col Koumparakis attended the Naval War College as a member of the Naval Command College.  He graduated in June of 2017 with a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies and transferred to the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity to complete Attaché Training.  In July of 2018, He transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia where he served as the Marine Attaché until moving to Hawaii to assume Command of MCB Hawaii in June of 2020.

Col Koumparakis’ personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (with three stars), Naval Commendation Medal (with three stars), and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. Other personal and foreign awards include the Colonel Donald G. Cook Award, the Copernicus Award, the Alfred M. Gray, the Colombian Command and General Staff Distinguished Service Medal, Colombian Navy Distinguished Service Medal, and the Colombian Marine Corps Distinguished Service Medal.

 

 

Marine Corps Base Hawaii