Major James Marques

By Tom Bannister

Major James Marques, a lifelong resident of Somerville, is about to become Lieutenant Colonel James Marques.

It has been five years since Marques has been last deployed overseas. In 2011, he returned from Afghanistan. Prior to that, he had been deployed twice to Iraq, once in 2005 and once in 2008. He was a Logistics Officer when he started, turned to Civil Affairs, and is now in a Training Unit with the 75th Training Command in Newport, Rhode Island.

Marques has been in the Army Reserve or the Army National Guard for a total of 33 years, joining when he was 19 years old. He was recently selected for Lieutenant Colonel, which will probably by the last rank he obtains before retiring in 2020, unless the military lets him extend. Marques says that this is unlikely to happen due to cutbacks. In his civilian career Marques works as a contract for the DoD around the world, doing side work as a transporter and a handyman when he is home.