Lieutenant Colonel Robert Knauer is a native of Washington, DC.
Following his commissioning in 1999, he reported to his first unit, 5th Battalion 11th Marine Regiment. In 2003, he deployed to Iraq in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM as the Executive Officer of Battery S, which was deployed with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Following this tour, he reported to 2d Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO), where he was promoted to Captain and conducted two additional deployments to Iraq in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, once as the ANGLICO Detachment Officer-in-Charge with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (2004-05) and again as Assistant Operations Officer with 2d ANGLICO (2006). Following this tour, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve.
From 2006-08, Capt Knauer served as a Platoon Commander with Company D and Company B, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
From 2009-11, Capt Knauer activated as the U.S. Marine Forces, Central Command Liaison Officer to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. During this tour, he was promoted to Major.
From 2011-13, Maj Knauer was the Company Commander of Company A, 4th Antiterrorism Battalion, in Rochester, NY.
From 2013-15, Maj Knauer supported exercises in the Asia-Pacific Region in support of the III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Force Fires Coordination Center.
From 2016-18, Maj Knauer was a member of the Marine Reserve Attaché Program, activating on three occasions to serve in Latvia, Turkmenistan, and, most recently South Sudan, where he was the Defense Attaché. During his tour in Latvia, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
LtCol Knauer holds a BA in History from the College of the Holy Cross and an MA in International Relations from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University, and he is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff Distance Education Program.