Lieutenant Colonel Colton Bowser graduated from the University of Missouri in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps in December of that year. Following graduation from The Basic School in November 2009, he underwent flight training at NAS Pensacola, earning designation as a Naval Flight Officer in June 2011 and was awarded the Strike Leadership Award for his class. His career progressed with assignment to Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA, where he completed EA-6B Prowler training in June 2012 and was awarded Prowler Student of the Year. From July 2012 to June 2016, he served with Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3 (VMAQ-3) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC, fulfilling roles as the Classified Material Control Custodian, Electronic Warfare Officer, and Assistant Operations Officer. Lieutenant Colonel Bowser deployed twice in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, and once in support of a Unit Deployment Program to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan and graduated from the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course in fall 2014.
In July 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Bowser reported to the Expeditionary Warfare School as a student in Quantico, VA. From Quantico, he was selected for an inter-service exchange with the United States Air Force to fly the EC-130H COMPASS CALL and reported to the 55th Electronic Combat Group (55 ECG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in July 2017.
Lieutenant Colonel Bowser was designated as an EC-130H Mission Crew Commander in January 2018 and was assigned to the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron (43 ECS) until July 2021. During this tenure, he served as the assistant director of operations, earned the qualification of instructor, and graduated from the USAF Weapons School in December 2019, receiving the Outstanding Graduate Award. He completed 1 deployment in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE in 2018 and served as the detachment commander in spring 2021 in support of EUCOM exercises Defender 21, Swift Response 21, and Astral Knight 21 across Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, and Croatia.
From 2021 to 2026, Lieutenant Colonel Bowser served as the Future Operations Officer and the Operations Officer at Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12). He was selected for command of MWHS-1 during this tour and executed orders to Okinawa in March 2026.
Lieutenant Colonel Bowser’s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, Air Medal (strike-flight) with Numeral 2, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.