Guest Speaker
Colonel
Philippe D. Rogers,
USMC (Ret.)
Colonel Philippe D. Rogers graduated with degrees in History and French from the University of Virginia in 1986 and was commissioned in 1987 from the UVA NROTC program. After The Basic School and flight training, he flew in A-6E Intruders and F/A-18 Hornets. His operational assignments included various combat and peacetime tours with Marine aviation squadrons and special operations units. He participated in combat operations in the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, Horn of Africa, and Afghanistan, and humanitarian missions from Haiti to the Far East.
His tours include Company Commander, Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) while attached to the 75thRanger Regiment; Commanding Officer, Team Site Smara, UN Mission to the Western Sahara; Commanding Officer of Marine Aircraft Group-11 Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron, Miramar; Commanding Officer of Headquarters & Support Battalion, Camp Pendleton; European Policy Desk Officer, U.S. European Command; Operations Officer, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward); being a “plank owner” at Marine Corps Special Operations Command; and Deputy Director, Operations, Headquarters, Marine Corps. He has over 2,200 hours in tactical jets from various “Gun Squadron” tours from the East and West Coast, with over 121 combat missions totaling 324 combat flight hours during nine combat tours. He was the Distinguished Honor Graduate at both the Amphibious Warfare School (Command and Control Course) and the Naval War College; and was the Foreign Honor Student at the French War College. He also completed a fellowship at MIT. He has masters’ degrees from La Sorbonne, the University of Paris, the Naval War College, and American Military University.
His last active-duty tour was as Deputy Military Representative to the Military Committee at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Chief of Staff at U.S. Military Delegation to NATO, NATO Headquarters, as well as being the Senior Marine at NATO. His most recent posting was as a diplomat as the Director of Defense Operations at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium. He is now a consultant on NATO matters and a motivational speaker. He is married to Ms. Heather Rhine, the Principal of AFNORTH Middle/High School supporting NATO in Brunssum, the Netherlands. He is also the proud father of his children, Paris and Rio.
His passions are Marines: Leading Marines, speaking to Marines, learning from Marines, promoting Marines, awarding Marines, reenlisting Marines, speaking about Marines, jumping with Marines, and helping Marines out in any way, shape or form. He is crazy about them all!