As a military veteran, Chris Aber served as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1988 to 1992, including a deployment to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm, and later, as a Petty Officer First Class in the U.S. Navy from 1999 to 2006, which also included a tour in South Central Iraq while assigned to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Protective Service Operations Department (PSO) in support of the U.S. Department of State, Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). After returning from Iraq, Chris continued serving with NCIS by providing protective operations support for various visiting counterpart Ministers and Chairman of Defense via the U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Liaison Office (DFLO). Upon being honorably discharged from active duty in 2006, and in continued support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), Chris embarked on a career as a Security Contractor with the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan, and later as a Side-by-Side (SBS) Officer conducting human intelligence (HUMINT) operations in Northern Iraq. After leaving the CIA for the private sector in late 2021, he coordinated and managed various training evolutions for business executives and contractors still actively serving within various U.S. government entities. His combined military and CIA experience laid the foundation for his commitment to supporting fellow service members and their families