About Jack

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Epidemiological Consultation (EPICON) to Congressional Suicide Task Force

Starting in 2018 and continuing into the fall of 2019, United States Army Alaska (USARAK) and Fort Wainwright witnessed a string of suicides and serious attempts. Leadership at Fort Wainwright requested the United States Army Public Health Center's (APHC) to conduct a behavioral health study. The efforts of my work within Alaska were identified by the Fort Wainwright Board of Directors and Health Promotion Officer. Due to my familiarity of the affected organizations, my services were requested to support the inquisition by the United States Army Public Health Center's information about risk mitigation, health promotion, and leader development.

Following the EPICON, Senator Dan Sullivan requested a Suicide Prevention Task Force on Fort Wainwright. The task force was assigned to look for possible issues and solutions that could assist in decreasing completed suicides. I was asked to join the Suicide Task Force and then lead a sub-task force that would develop better leaders, improve relationships, deepen connections between Non-commissioned officers and Junior Soldiers. The sub-task force efforts evolved into the Health of the Force-Pilot initialized by the United States Army. 

Master Resilience Trainer-Performance Expert

Following my final season with the New Mexico State University Volleyball team in 2013, I took a position within the Comprehensive Soldier and Family-Fitness (CSF2) program. The CSF2 program was established to increase resilience and enhance performance of soldiers and families through instruction of sport psychology and resilience coping skills. In October 2014, I helped the CSF2 expand by working with a small team to open the United States Army Alaska-Performance Center on Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. During my time in Alaska I had the opportunity to work as the Lead-Master Resilience Trainer-Performance Expert for the United States Army Alaska-Performance Center. Since 2014 my role evolved as I became the embedded adviser for the senior leadership of Fort Wainwright’s: 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron, Bassett Community Hospital, Community Health Promotion Council, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team-25th Infantry Division, Northern Warfare Training Center, 1/25 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1/52 General Support Aviation Battalion, 65th Explosive Ordinance Disposal, and the USARAK Marksmanship Program.

As a command team adviser, I developed long-term programming that will enhance leadership, promote pro-social intervention abilities, improve communication styles, and incorporate the use of military and civic resources designed to assist our service members and their families. In addition to my executive level advising, I have been the primary applied performance expert for Fort Wainwright tenant units. This role has been focused on the development of “Science to Application” cognitive training for Arctic survival, Combat lethality, Deployment psychology, Soldier-Family Readiness Groups support, Academic support, and Special Forces candidates. preparing to go to Ranger School, Ranger Selection, and Special Forces Qualification School.

I have designed short- and long-term programs that focus on service member and family preparation for the rigors of deployment. In response to this need, I have implemented the first life-skills programming based on the ongoing research from the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research and the Army’s Center for Enhanced Performance to make sure our tactical athletes are increasing their technical and tactical abilities. Due to these programs increasing lethality and combat preparation, command teams requested my services as an embedded advisor during field training operations, conventional/special forces collaboration exercises, and deployment to the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

University of Alaska-Fairbanks

In 2014, I started working with Rifle team at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Following a successful season of the Rifle team, the UAF Athletic Department wanted a program that could support athletes for practice, competition, and to link services on campus to help athlete’s management their mental health. My role expanded into training's covering a variety of issues that coaches and teams would encounter; such as, communication style development, conflict resolution, leadership development, stress management, study skills development, time management, connecting students to mental health services, and competition-day cognitive coaching. A handful of my Rifle athletes from UAF continue to work with me to this day. Their careers continue to grow in their new roles the United States Rifle National Team and Professional status; specifically, the athletes have amassed a variety of accolades: All-American Awards, Pan American Games titles, Women’s Air Rifle National Record Holder, and Army Marksmanship Unit athletes.

New Mexico State University

In 2011, I started coaching with the New Mexico State University Volleyball Team. My first year on staff the Aggies placed second in the WAC Tournament, falling to the University of Hawai'i in five sets. The 2012 and 2013 seasons the Aggies won the WAC Tournament and received bids to the NCAA Division 1 Women's Volleyball Tournament. Over the course of my three seasons on staff the Lady Aggies claimed one All-American, ten All-WAC tournament Team selections, and two WAC Tournament MVP's.

During the 2012 season, I collaborated with the NMSU athletic department to start a sport psychology program. Working side-by-side with Dr. Phil Post, we started consulting and teaching student-athletes about goal setting, stress management, introduction to psychology and sport psychology classes. Student athletes from the volleyball, golf, tennis, swimming, and diving teams started utilizing our services for practice, competition, stress management, and test prep. 

Starz Diving

In 2003, I started coaching with Starz Diving. An amazing organization that was developed to be a grass roots system to feed United States Diving. At the core of the program was a professional development system for the coaches that taught dryland conditioning, gymnastics fundamentals, hand-spotting, platform progressions, rope-spotting, springboard progressions, trampoline progressions, and re-enforced fun for the kids. The Starz Diving Club laid the mental scaffolding for me to help developing athletes in all sports. It also provided me with the entry point to functional movement screens, sport psychology, and strength and conditioning for elites. 

Triathlon

2003 continued to be a fruitful year, this was the year "Jack Parker LLC" was developed. I was racing Half-Ironman and IronMan distance races. Peers asked if I could help them with swim training, running mechanics, threshold training for the bike. Seeing how much I loved to help the individual athlete, I joined the Mid-East Regional Board for USA Triathlon. Volunteering on the board for five years as the Indiana State Rep, Treasurer, and Event planning support.

Human Performance-Strength and Conditioning

The lessons I learned preparing for BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition School) shaped my philosophy of injury prevention, health maintenance, and performance enhancement. Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI) provided the academic support I needed to create my training philosophy. The course work prepared me to obtain the following certifications: ACSM-HFI, Functional Movement Screen (FMS), Motivational Interviewing, NSCA-CSCS, USA Cycling Level 3, and USA Triathlon Level 1 and Level 2. The proximity to world class training facilities for organizations such as the Circle City Multisport Club, Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and USA Diving provided access to athletes from all walks of life. Mentors such as John Wingfield and Sean McCarthy pushed the mental philosophy of “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Continue to train to make your good, better. Your better, best. But, never let it rest.” Taking this philosophy, while working with a variety of Olympic bodies based out of Indianapolis, gave me a platform to merge my client goals with the science I bring to their dreams.

Volleyball

On the mend and cleared to begin physical activity. I went back to a sport I played and coached a little bit in high school. Starting in 1995, I started coaching at the club level with SunWest VBC; at the same time, worked as a volunteer assistant at MESA Junior College. My passion for coaching took me back to Indiana where I continued to coach club, and NAIA college volleyball. Each summer I traveled to college camps at Ball State, Purdue, Michigan State, Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford, Santa Barbara, and UCLA. My dream was to pursue high quality coaches and ask them to help mentor me in my development as an athlete, training coach, and to understand the science of coaching. While I worked and talked with coaches each summer, I began to assist at the USA High Performance clinics/tryouts hosted at USA Volleyball Regional Qualifiers to learn how to assess talent, playing ability, sport-specific IQ, work ethic, and recruiting practices of college recruiters from across the country.

 United States Navy and BUDS

Growing up in a family where military service is a right of passage, I followed the path of a group of friends. This career path would impact my mental and physical health the rest of my life. Basic training was glorified camping, Gunnersmate "A" school provided a few chances for poor choices, and the fleet was the end. Waiting to class up with BUDS Class 199 is where it all came to a stop. I sustained an injury that required life-saving surgery. Serious enough that the Red Cross got involved. I had surgery, the Doctor said I did not qualify for BUDS anymore, and that was the end. Following one year of hospitalization due to a botched surgery, I was Honorably-Medically Discharged.

Martial Arts

Tae Kwon Do is and will always be the love of my life. At an early age I struggled with academics, bullying, maturity, and self-esteem. What happened? I tried to fight the playground. Yup, you read that right. This is when Jack and Dianne (Truly their names) decided it was time for some personal development through martial arts. My life immediately changed. I took to Tae Kwon Do like a duck takes to water. I found an amazing mentor, team, and home where I had to rely on my mental strength, athletic ability, and focus for my anger. For 13 years I was a competitive fighter on a nationally known team. Finishing in the top three, two out of three USTU Junior Olympics I attended. My final JO’s I missed joining the national team, and a trip to Egypt, by one point. That was a difficult pill to swallow being it was a ticket to the ’92 Olympics.