A native of Campbell, California, LtCol Reaves enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in November 1999 as part of the Delayed Entry Program and graduated from MCRD San Diego in September 2000.  Following his completion of Marine Combat Training and Basic Engineer Equipment Repairman School, he reported to Company A, 4th Landing Support Battalion, 4th FSSG, Concord, CA in December 2000.  LtCol Reaves received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 2001, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in History (with Merit), and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant of Marines in May 2005.  LtCol Reaves graduated from The Basic School in January 2006 and reported to Fort Sill, OK for Field Artillery Officer’s Basic Course.

Following his graduation from Fort Sill in July 2006, LtCol Reaves reported to Battery M, 3d Battalion, 11th Marines in Twentynine Palms, CA.  He immediately deployed to Okinawa, Japan in support of the Unit Deployment Program as a Forward Observer.  Upon returning to CONUS in February 2007, LtCol Reaves served as Battery M’s Guns Platoon Commander and Fire Direction Officer until he attached to 3d Battalion, 4th Marines as their Artillery Liaison Officer in November 2007.  From February to September 2008, LtCol Reaves deployed with 3/4 to Al Anbar Province, Iraq in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.  After returning to 3/11, LtCol Reaves served as the Battalion’s Assistant Logistics Officer in preparation for the unit’s upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.  He deployed with 3/11 to Helmand Province from May to December 2009 in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and assumed the billet of Battalion Logistics Officer during the deployment.

In February 2010, LtCol Reaves transferred to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, Okinawa, Japan and served as the MEU’s Target Information Officer and Fire Support Officer for five MEU rotations.  Furthermore, LtCol Reaves served as the MEU’s Theater Security Cooperation Exercise Lead Planner for 11 exercises across Thailand, South Korea, Australia, and Indonesia to include COBRA GOLD, TALISMAN SABRE, and SSANG YONG.

Selected on the CCLEB, LtCol Reaves reported to Expeditionary Warfare School in July 2012 and graduated in May 2013.  He returned to 3d Battalion, 11th Marines and immediately deployed on an individual augment assignment as part of the Marine Corps Training Mission – United Arab Emirates from June 2013 to July 2014.  While deployed to Abu Dhabi, LtCol Reaves served as the Battalion Training Advisor to 1st Battalion, Khalifa Bin Zayed II Brigade, UAE Presidential Guard.  LtCol Reaves returned to 3/11 in July 2014 and assumed command of Headquarters Battery.  He then assumed command of Battery K in March 2015 until his promotion to Major in September 2015.  LtCol Reaves then served as 7th Marines’ Assistant Fire Support Coordinator where he designed and supervised the training program for 3/11’s Battalion and Company Artillery Fire Support Teams prior to their attachment to infantry battalions deploying in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE, UDP, and Marine Rotational Force – Darwin.

Selected on the CPIB for the Regional Affairs Officer Program, LtCol Reaves reported to Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA in December 2016 and graduated in June 2018 with a Master of Arts in Security Studies (Europe and Eurasia).  He received the school’s Liskin Award for outstanding achievement in regional security studies, the Marine Corps Foundation Superior Service Award for Outstanding Marine Student, and was the National Security Affairs Department’s nomination for the Monterey League Award for the top graduate of NPS’s Summer 2018 graduating class.

After graduating NPS, LtCol Reaves reported to Marine Forces, Europe and Africa and served as the G-5/G-35 Nordics Desk Officer.  In this role, he planned, coordinated, and synchronized the overall USMC engagement strategy with Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark in order to achieve operational and strategic effects in the EUCOM Theater of operations.  In July 2020, LtCol Reaves reported to 2d Battalion, 11th Marines in Camp Pendleton, CA and served as the Battalion Operations Officer where he coordinated the unit’s support of multiple service level training exercises and global force management deployments.  He then commanded Headquarters Battery, 11th Marine Regiment from June 2021 to May 2022 prior to assuming his current billet as Executive Officer, 11th Marines.

LtCol Reaves is a Distinguished Graduate of Field Artillery Officer’s Basic Course, Expeditionary Warfare School, Command and Staff College (Distance Education Program), and Naval Postgraduate School.