Biography

Colonel Anklam was born in Saginaw, Michigan and was raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In August 1994, he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps under an infantry option and attended Recruit Training at Parris Island, S.C., graduating as the Company Honor Graduate. His enlisted assignments included 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion; 1st Battalion, 8th Marines; and Inspector Instructor Staff, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines. In 1996, he deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and participated in Operation SILVER WAKE. As a Staff Sergeant he attended the University of Florida under the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, NROTC, where he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2002.

Colonel Anklam’s officer assignments include Fleet Marine Force tours in both 1st and 2d Marine Divisions. Following Infantry Officer’s Course, he was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division where he served as a rifle and weapons platoon commander during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM II and III, in Fallujah and Ramadi, Iraq in 2004 and 2005. As a Captain he was assigned to 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, 2d Marine Division, where he served as the Echo Company and Weapons Company commander during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, in Marjah and Sangin districts, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2010,11,12. As a Major, he deployed to Okinawa, Japan in 2017 with the Unit Deployment Program as Executive Officer, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, 2d Marine Division. As a Lieutenant Colonel he commanded 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2d Marine Division and deployed to Okinawa, Japan in support of Unit Deployment Program, 23.1.

Colonel Anklam’s staff assignments include service as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Detachment and Liaison to the Commanding General, United States Army Infantry Center, Ft. Benning, Ga.; Marine Officer Instructor and Associate Professor of Naval Science for the Naval Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, Purdue University; Speechwriter to the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.; Strategist for the Joint Force Development Team, The Joint Staff, J-7; Deputy Program Manager – Assault Breaker II portfolio, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Director – Wargaming Division, Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory/Futures Directorate Combat Development and Integration.

Colonel Anklam is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry Captains Career Course, receiving the Ralph Puckett Leadership Award and a Distinguished Graduate from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Security Studies Program-CMC Fellow, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Strategy and Statecraft Fellow.

A dedicated life-long learner, Colonel Anklam has continuously pursued educational opportunities. He graduated from Columbus State University with a Master of Public Administration degree in 2008 and completed a PhD in modeling, simulation and analysis from Purdue University Polytechnic Institute in 2015.

His personal awards include: 2 Bronze Star Medals with Combat “V”, Purple Heart Medal, Joint Meritorious Service Medal, 2 Meritorious Service Medals, 4 Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals (2 with Combat “V”), 3 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (1 with Combat “V”), the Army Achievement Medal, and 2 Combat Action Ribbons.

Colonel Anklam is married with three children.