Marco “Ivan” Parzych is the Training Officer and Deputy Program Manager of Air USA, Inc where he oversees all training and standardization/evaluation functions of flight operations. Originally from western Massachusetts, he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1996, also earning his commission as an officer in the United States Air Force.

After earning his pilot wings in 1997, Ivan was selected to attend F-16 qualification course at Luke AFB, Arizona. Upon graduation, he received orders to the 35th Fighter Squadron located at Kunsan Airbase, Republic of Korea. Following Kunsan, Ivan received orders to Spangdahlem Airbase, Germany, assigned to the 23rd Fighter Squadron flying the Block 50 F-16. While in Germany, he deployed multiple times in support of Operations Southern and Northern Watch, leading combat missions as a Mission Commander.

Following Germany, Ivan was assigned to the 15th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) as an Air Liaison Officer (ALO). Leading a flight of Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs), he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, supporting the 3rd Infantry Division with close air support throughout the invasion of Iraq and initial occupation of Baghdad. Upon completing his tour as an ALO, Ivan returned to a Block 50 F-16 assignment at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. During this assignment, he served as a Flight Commander, F-16 Instructor Pilot and Flight Examiner, deploying in support of Operation Noble Eagle.

In 2007, Ivan was selected to attend Air Command and Staff College, earning his second Masters’ degree. Following school, Ivan reported to Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas, for a staff assignment. In this role, Ivan led a joint Operational Test and Evaluation team charged with providing early influence on the design and testing of the F-35. Ivan was next reassigned to the Defense Contract Management Agency, remaining in place at Air Force Plant 4, serving as the site Government Flight Representative (GFR) and Chief of Flight Operations as well as an initial cadre pilot on the F-35 program. In this role, he provided oversight of all F-16 and F-35 manufacturing and operations, flying multiple models of F-16 and all three service variants of the F-35. In his final role on active-duty, Ivan was reassigned to Cameri Airbase, Italy, as the U.S. Government’s Site Lead for the standup of the F-35 Program’s first overseas operation, leading an 800+ person team consisting of U.S. servicemembers, government civilians and U.S. and Italian contractors.

In September 2016, Ivan retired from the Air Force and continued his support of U.S. warfighters as a Deputy Program Manager with American Systems Corporation, providing contractor support to the DoD’s F-35 Operational Test and Evaluation efforts. In 2018, Ivan co-founded a national nonprofit, Mission Ready Finances, and published a book on the topic of personal finance recognized by Forbes several times. He joined the Air USA team in late 2018. Ivan and his family currently reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado.