Our ninth recipient, Colonel (Ret) David J. Eskelund, completed the AMP at Harvard Business School in October 2014.  Dave is retired and currently is the Chairman of the Agriculture Advisory Board to the County Commissioners of Chatham County, NC.  He and his wife own and operate Fidelis Fields Farm outside of Siler City, NC.  Additionally, he is the assistant golf coach for Chatham Central High School.  David previously served as the Director of the Marine Corps War College, Marine Corps University in Quantico, VA.  He has served in a variety of billets in the operating forces including: Platoon Commander 7th Motor Transport Battalion; Company Commander 7th Engineer Support Battalion; Motor Transport Officer 6th Marine Regiment; Truck Company Commander, 2D Marine Division; and Battalion Commander, Combat Logistics Battalion – 6.  Dave additionally served on Marine Security Guard Duty as Inspecting Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer for Companies A and E in Frankfurt, Germany.  Dave was assigned as an Action Officer in Installations and Logistics, Logistics Policy and Operations, and served as the Marine Liaison Officer to Military Sealift Command.  He also served as the first Commanding Officer to the Marine Corps Logistics Operations Group (MCLOG), Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command in Twentynine Palms, CA.  Dave received an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M, and is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, The Norwegian Defense Staff College, and Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF).  He is a Western European Foreign Area Officer and has served on Joint Duty with the Defense Logistics Agency Headquarters.  Dave participated in Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Restore Hope (Somalia), Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom.

David and his wife, Kristi, have five children.