D. Gregory Wark

D. Gregory Wark is President and co-founder of Force Ministries, a ministry that calls military and law enforcement communities to "Christ centered duty." In the mid 1990's Greg felt the call to begin praying for the military communities based in San Diego, California. Soon, doors began to open to military structures nationally and internationally giving birth to Force Ministries. He has served as a senior pastor for over twenty years and planted several churches. Greg also serves as chaplain with the federal government and San Diego police department.

Greg has traveled internationally sharing his unique message of destiny and duty. He has a passion to see servicemen and women embrace the message of the gospel and to see the church of Jesus Christ embrace valiant faith for these turbulent times.

He currently holds a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate in ministry. Greg and his wife of 28 years, have 5 children and one grandson. They currently reside in San Diego, CA.

Robert Owens
Pastor Robert will serve as a ministry advisor and will coordinate activities dealing with military chaplain's support and discipleship.

Robert Owens is pastor of University Family Fellowship, a church he and his wife Felicia planted in 1981. Their vision is to reach, impact, and disciple communities for Christ.

A graduate of Oral Roberts University with a B.A. in theology Robert has served in various capacities for over 20 years. Most recently, Pastor Robert has been appointed by Nevada's U.S. Senator John Ensign to be Nevada's representative to President Bush's Faith Based Initiatives Symposium on April 25th in Washington D.C. Robert and Felicia have 5 children.

Lt Col. Art Smith, Air Force, Retired
Art and Raylee will head up the missions and deployment areas and will coordinate the MPD teams.

Art Smith served in the Air Force for 25 years. He was a navigator and bombardier on B-52's for 13 years. During that time he flew 135 combat missions over Vietnam , including 5 missions over Hanoi during Linebacker II in December of 1972. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and 11 Air Medals for his service in combat. During the last 12 years of his career he served as a staff officer, commander and planner at bases in the United States , Guam and Germany . He completed his service as a planner for the
U-2 Reconnaissance Aircraft in Korea and California . Art is married to Raylee Staup Smith. They have 4 children. During most of their time in the military they were active in various churches and served as leaders in Officer Christian Fellowship. They believe God has called them to a ministry of evangelism and discipleship. Their vision is to work and serve among military families and college students. They are challenged to follow God's word to them,

"To Watch and See what I will do!"

Force Advisors and Staff

Captain W. Jeffrey Alderson, U.S. Navy
Director, U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs
Mr. Alderson will serve as our active duty advisor stationed in Bahrain. He will coordinate mission's activities in the Middle East .

Captain Alderson was born in Wilmington, Delaware and received a BA in English from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland in 1983. After working two years as a newspaper sports writer he attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island where he was commissioned March 28, 1986.

1986-1988: USS OKINAWA (LPH 3) where he made two deployments including a surge to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Ernest Will and earned his Surface Warfare qualification.

1988: Selected for the Public Affairs Officer designator.

1989: Graduated from the Defense Information School with honors. He was then assigned to Navy Internal Relations Activity in Washington, D.C. as Editor of the Navy News Service, All Hands Magazine and Flag Aide to the Chief of Information.

1990-1992: PAO aboard USS INDEPENDENCE (CV 62). In August 1990, INDEPENDENCE was the first carrier battle group on station at the start of Operation Desert Shield. INDEPENDENCE won the 1991 RADM Thompson Award for excellence for PA efforts during the ship's change of homeport from San Diego to Yokosuka, Japan.

1992-1994: PAO for Commander Logistics Group Western Pacific in Singapore, establishing the command's first PA shop. In October 1993, surged to support USS NEW ORLEANS off the coast of Somalia during Operation Continue Hope.

1994-1997: Eastern Pacific Action Officer and Media Officer at Pacific Fleet Public Affairs in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa 1997-1998 where he earned a Masters Degree in Organizational Communication.

1998-2001: Force Public Affairs Officer for Commander Naval Special Warfare Command. Job included media relations, oversight of SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen recruiting as well as the Navy Parachute Team "The Leap Frogs."

2001-2003: Force/Fleet Public Affairs Officer for Naval Forces Central Command/ U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Naval component PAO during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. CUSNC/C5F PA shop was awarded the 2001 RADM Thompson Award.

2003-2004: Executive Assistant to the Chief of Information and served as the Deputy Chief of Information December 2003 through July 2004.

2004- Present: U.S. Pacific Command Public Affairs Officer.

CAPT Alderson's personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (three), Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal (three) as well as several campaign and unit awards.

Jeff and Sally Bramstedt

Jeff and Sally will serve as Force Parachute directors and ministry staff. Jeff, a Navy SEAL and Sally Bramstedt, a former Olympic athlete, met at Morning Star Christian Church in La Jolla and were married 2 years later. Jeff left his hometown of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin in pursuit of his dream to be a Navy SEAL. By August of 1992, he was one of the few to successfully meet the demands of the rigorous BUD's training. Only 23 out of 142 members of his class graduated and went on to receive the coveted Trident. Upon graduation, Jeff spent 5 years with Seal Team One and completed 3 deployments that took him all over the world. He then spent 2 years as an instructor teaching courses in trauma medicine, land navigation and shooting to members of Special Boat Unit 12. He is currently a member of the "Leap Frogs", the Navy's professional demonstration skydiving team. This 12-man team travels the nation performing for over 1 million people annually. Jeff is concurrently pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has appeared in 2 major motion pictures (Men of Honor, Pearl Harbor) and numerous shows, infomercials and advertisements.

Sally, a native Southern Californian, graduated from UCLA with a Bachelors degree in History While she grew up competing in several different sports, it wasn't until her freshman year in college that she found her niche in the sport of rowing. Seven months into her new athletic pursuit she was ranked 2nd in the nation for her age group and was invited in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia. Sally is currently teaching part-time and preparing for motherhood. They reside near the Naval Base in Coronado, California and have 3 children.

LT Commander John Macdonald US NAVY SEAL
John will serve as a member of Force Parachute team and active duty advisor.

LT Jon MacDonald was born in Providence , RI in August of 1969. He was raised in Durham, CT. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1993 with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. After graduation, he went directly to Basic under Water Demolition/SEAL (BUD's) training and graduated with Class 192. Upon completion of BUD's, he was assigned to SEAL Team FIVE, where he made deployments as a platoon Assistant Officer-in-Charge and Officer-in-Charge. He transferred from SEAL Team FIVE to the United States Navy Parachute Team, where he acted as the Officer-in-Charge for two and a half years. Next, he was assigned as a Task Unit Commander at SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team TWO. He has earned the Special Warfare insignia and the Master Parachutist badge. His personal awards include the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal and numerous campaign and unit awards.

LT Kurt & Sandy Parsons

Kurt enlisted in the Navy in June of 1991 at the age of 17. After successfully completing basic training in Orlando FL and A-School in Philadelphia Penn. he went on to graduate from U.S. Navy Deep Sea Dive School in Pearl Harbor HI. Kurt reported aboard the USS Beaufort a diving salvage ship based in Sasebo Japan on May of 1992. During the next two years their dive locker traveled throughout Southeast Asia working with and diving in over 11 different nations.

As a Petty Officer Second Class, Kurt was accepted to the BOOST program in June of 1994, of which he helped setup in Newport , RI and successfully complete in June of 1995. He then went on to the small private school of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville FL. There he earned his B.S. in Political Science and was Commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy on May 2, 1998. During his three years at JU, Kurt organized and ran several clubs while finishing his time as the Battalion Commander. Kurt went on to flight school and was winged as a Naval Aviator on Dec. 15, 2000 in Corpus Christi , TX . After learning the P-3 Orion in VP-30 he went on to serve three years as a War Eagle in VP-16. While aboard VP-16 Kurt deployed to over eight countries and flew over 150 hours in combat zones and 1000 hours operationally. Kurt led his crew around the world as their plane commander and mission commander. A sample of the missions flown included; the capture of war criminals in the Balkans, the capture of weapons of mass destruction in the Mediterranean Ocean, armed CAP flights for U.S. naval forces entering and leaving the Med. and the largest naval drug bust in U.S. history out of South America. Kurt has been awarded over 24 different medals and ribbons throughout his 14 years of service. LT Parsons is currently receiving his masters degree in Leadership from the Naval Post Graduate School with the LEAD program at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). After completion
of his degree he will teach leadership, ethics and law to midshipman at the USNA.

Kurt and Sandy were married on May 21, 1994 and are currently serving the Lord in Annapolis , MD along with their three daughters Kasandra, Makaeli, and Justice. Kurt and Sandy's marriage of 11 years has been rooted in the foundation of Jesus Christ. They have been called by the Lord to serve in over 7 churches and are now setting up "Force Ministries" at the U.S. Naval Academy.