Lieutenant Colonel Ted Bucierka retired from the United States Marine Corps in December 2021 with over twenty years of active-duty service as Special Operations & Infantry Officer. During his time in the military, he deployed multiple times to support combat operations and special missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Southeast Asia. Ted was born and raised in Eden, New York (30 miles south of Buffalo). He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Buffalo State College in 2000. In August 2001, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps following completion of Officer Candidate School. Ted is a founding member of Marine Special Operations Command where he served in a variety of command and staff positions to include serving as the commanding officer of 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Camp Pendleton, California from June 2019 to June 2021. Following retirement, Ted now works as a Senior Manager at Anduril Industries (Defense Technology Company) based in Costa Mesa, California. Ted is married to the former Suzanne Garasic of Allison Park, Pennsylvania and they currently live in Southern California.