COL Stephen Parrish was born near Satellite Beach, Florida, and at the age of 12 moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Thomas B. Doherty High School in 1991 and attended college at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in sociology in 1994. He joined the U.S. Army in 1997 and attended Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon graduating, he commissioned as a military intelligence officer. In 2001, he earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and in 2020, earned a Masters of Strategic Military Studies from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama. COL Parrish has served in a variety of command and staff positions throughout his 23-year career.
COL Parrish’s assignments include:
532nd Military Intelligence Battalion, Yongsan, Republic of Korea.
COL Parrish deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the theater linguist manager and chief, Counter Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, Multi-National Forces, Baghdad, Iraq.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (five oak leaf clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (two oak leaf clusters), the Army Achievement Medal (four oak leaf clusters), the Joint Military Unit Award (two oak leaf clusters), the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon (oak leaf clusters), and the Army Master Space Badge.
COL Parrish has attended Military Intelligence Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Imagery Intelligence Officer Course, Space Operations Qualification Course, Space 200 and 300, Intermediate Level Education, Joint Professional Military Education Level II, the Special Technical Operations Planner’s Course, and the Senior Service College.
Colonel Parrish is married, and they have four children.