Lieutenant Colonel Hunter Ripley “Rip” Rawlings IV was a Marine Corps infantry and Reconnaissance Officer with over 22-years of service. With ten combat and peace keeping deployments including Iraq (OIF), Afghanistan (OEF), CJTF-HOA (OEF) Djibouti and a specialty military reconnaissance advisor to Saudi Arabian forces, to name a few.

Lieutenant Colonel Rawlings' last assignment was as an instructor at Marine Corps University with an appointment as the Command & Staff College Associate Dean and the Department Head for Warfighting.

Prior to this appointment, he served as Battalion Commander, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines, the Marine Corps’ storied “Darkhorse” battalion.