Colonel David H. Ickles is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana. He graduated in 1999 from Texas A&M University and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. After completion of the Marine Officers Basic School in Quantico, Virginia and subsequent training as an Artillery Officer at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Col Ickles was assigned to 2d Battalion, 11th Marines in Camp Pendleton, California. While there, he deployed to the Pacific Area of Operations with Battery E as a Forward Observer with Company F, Battalion Landing Team 2/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit; Guns Platoon Commander; and Battery Fire Direction Officer. In 2003 he served as the Battalion Fire Direction Officer/Assistant Operations Officer during the initial combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In 2003, Col Ickles was transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he served as an Instructor at the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. There, he trained U.S. Army and Marine Corps officers, along with select international officers, to be Joint Forward Observers and Fire Support Officers at the company and battalion levels. Upon completing this instructor tour, he attended resident Professional Military Education at the Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS). After graduating from EWS in 2007, he joined 3d Battalion, 11th Marines. He served on Military Transition Team (MiTT) 0730 as a lethal and nonlethal fires and effects advisor for the Iraqi Army’s 3d Brigade in Al Qaim, Iraq between September 2007 and September 2008.
In 2008, Col Ickles returned to 29 Palms where he served as the commanding officer of Battery L, 3d Battalion, 12th Marines. In 2010, he studied at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. He graduated with a master’s degree in Regional Security Studies (Middle East and North Africa). Upon completion of NPS, he conducted 13 months of In-Country Training (ICT) based out of the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt as a Middle East Foreign Area Officer.
In 2013, Col Ickles joined 5th Battalion, 11th Marines where he served as the Battalion Executive Officer. In 2014, he deployed to the United Arab Emirates where he served as the Marine Corps Training Mission-United Arab Emirates Deputy Officer in Charge. In 2017, Col Ickles transferred to 12th Marines in Okinawa, Japan, serving as the Regimental Logistics Officer.
From July 2018 to June 2020, he served as the Inspector-Instructor for 2d Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment. During this timeframe, the battalion manned, trained, and equipped three HIMARS detachments in support of combat operations in Afghanistan. In July 2020, Col Ickles attended the United States Army War College and graduated with a master’s degree in Strategic Studies.
In July 2021, he assumed his current duties with the Joint Staff (J35) as the Emergent Sourcing Branch Chief.