Colonel Glenn McCartan is the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) embed to the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, a position he has held since September 2023. From 2021 to 2023, he served as DIU’s primary engagement lead to the U.S. Marine Corps in the Washington, DC National Capitol Region, where he developed over $100 million in prototypes for the Marine Corps innovation and acquisition communities, coordinating efforts across the Joint community and the Department of Defense innovation ecosystem, including DARPA. A combat engineer officer by training, McCartan has held leadership positions in both the Active and Reserve Components of the U.S. Marine Corps. On active duty from 2000 to 2009, he served with the III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) in Okinawa, Japan, and deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with I MEF from Camp Pendleton, California. Before transitioning to the Reserve Component in 2009, he served on recruiting duty in New York City. As a reservist, he held command and staff positions in the 4th Marine Division and deployed with Marine Forces Central Command (Forward) to Manama, Bahrain. Before joining DIU, he was a staff officer in the Strategy, Plans & Policy section (J5) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In his civilian career, McCartan held leadership and staff roles within the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), focusing on Security Cooperation and Foreign Military Sales across all Geographic Combatant Commands. He has led delegations and briefed Congressional defense and appropriations committees, with assignments spanning Eastern Europe to Western Africa. His military education includes the USMC Amphibious Warfare School (DEP), USMC Command & Staff College (resident), and the USAF Air War College (DEP). He holds a master’s degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in Government from St. John’s University.