Mark Sanders

Mark Sanders is President and CEO of R3. He retired from the U.S. Navy after more than 20 years as an EOD Officer with qualifications as a special operations officer, Master EOD technician, Surface Warfare Officer, naval parachutist, deep-sea mixed gas diving officer, and joint specialty officer. His last three assignments were focused on the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) threat. At U. S. Joint Forces Command as the IED Defeat lead action officer, he coordinated operational and strategic level support to the Joint IED Defeat Organization and U.S. Central Command. He commanded EOD Training and Evaluation One, responsible for advanced tactical training of EOD forces deploying to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

As Deputy Commander of Combined Joint Task Force Troy, Iraq’s multinational and interagency counter-IED brigade task force, he oversaw the 1400-person task force at the height of the surge. Additional tours included Operations Officer on a Mine Countermeasures ship, Officer in Charge of an EOD detachment for a carrier battle group during Operation Desert Strike, Executive Officer of the Navy’s Experimental Diving Unit, and overseas duty with the U. S. Seventh Fleet where he planned and executed such multinational exercises as Cobra Gold (Thailand) and Balikatan (Philippines). His personal decorations include the Bronze Star.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Oceanography with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds two Master’s degrees in National Security and Public Administration. He chairs the Board of Advisors of Command Post Technologies, a cyber security and network engineering government services firm, is on the Executive Board of the NDIA Explosive Ordnance Disposal Planning and Advisory Committee, the Advisory Board of the Navy Special Operations Foundation and on the Board of Directors of the EOD Warrior Foundation.