Colonel Joseph Claros

COL Joseph Claros was born in San Salvador, El Salvador in the late 70's and immigrated to the United States with his family in the early 80's. He enlisted into the Washington Army National Guard in 1998 as an 88M and was assigned to HHC, 1-161 Infantry Battalion, 81st Brigade, Spokane, WA. In 2002, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers beside his triplet brothers, MAJ (Retired) Donald Claros and MAJ (Retired) Jack Claros, through the Washington State University ROTC program. From 2003 to 2005, he served on Active Duty. He was assigned to B Company, 8th Engineer Battalion, and 1-12 CAV with the 1st Cavalry Division, where he served as a Sapper Platoon Leader and an Assault and Obstacle Platoon Leader. COL Claros left Active Duty in 2005 and joined the Nevada National Guard team in 2007.

COL Claros currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics for the Nevada Army National Guard. His most recent role was as the Brigade Commander of the 17th Sustainment Brigade from April 2024-April 2025. He previously served as the Battalion Commander of 757th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB). COL Claros has served in Engineer, Cavalry, Recruiting and Retention, and Logistic Units. He is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom II (2004-2005) and Operation Enduring Freedom IX/X (2009-2010). From 2013-2015, he spent 23 months in South Korea working as a Project Engineer for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, where he contributed to the $15 billion Yongsan Relocation Plan and Land Partnership Plan. In 2016, he deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield (OSS) and Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), where he served as the SPO Forward for the 17th Sustainment Brigade in Iraq. From the fall of 2024 to summer of 2025, he deployed with the 17th Sustainment Brigade in support of OSS and OIR supporting the CENTCOM Area of Operations across the region.

His military education includes the Engineer Officer Basic Course, the Engineer Captain Career Course, the Support Operations Course, the Ordinance Officer Basic Course, the Officer Strength Manager Course, the U.S. Army Command General Staff College, and the U.S. Air Force War College.

In addition to his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from Washington State University, COL Claros holds a master's degree in business administration from Northcentral University and a master's degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Air Force War College.

His awards and decorations are commensurate and in line with those earned by Soldiers who have had the honor and privilege to serve the United States of America in the Post 9/11 era of conflict. He resides in Northern Nevada with his family.