Colonel Mark R. Read was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. Colonel Read holds a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Geography from The Pennsylvania State University.

During his twenty-seven years in the Army, he has served in a wide variety of assignments and locations throughout the United States and overseas, including Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kuwait, and Iraq. Colonel Read currently serves as Professor, USMA, and Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at West Point.

His academic interests include climate variability and change, environmental security, and military geography. He has been married to his wife Jennifer for over twenty-six years; they have four children, from college-age to elementary school, and enjoy spending time together outdoors—traveling, hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing.