Lieutenant Colonel Knathan T. LeFever currently serves as the Commanding Officer of Air Control Training Squadron (ACTS), Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School (MCCES), located at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California. He assumed command in June 2025.
Lieutenant Colonel LeFever enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1998 and completed Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. As an enlisted Marine, he served as an Intelligence Specialist and Calibration Technician. While assigned to MCCES, he was selected for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in March 2009.
Following graduation from The Basic School and the Air Support Control Officer Course in 2010, Second Lieutenant LeFever reported to Marine Air Support Squadron 1 (MASS-1) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, where he served as a Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, serving in the Direct Air Support Center (DASC) as a Tactical Air Director, Helicopter Director, and Senior Air Director. In 2013, he graduated from the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course and subsequently returned to Afghanistan as the DASC Officer-in-Charge for MASS-1 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 13.2.
In 2015, Captain LeFever graduated with distinction from resident Expeditionary Warfare School and reported to Marine Air Support Squadron 6 (MASS-6) in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where he served as the Operations Officer. He later attended resident Command and Staff College in Quantico, Virginia, earning a Master of Military Studies degree from Marine Corps University in 2019.
From 2020 to 2022, Major LeFever served as the Current Operations Officer for U.S. Marine Forces Korea, playing a key role in maintaining stability and readiness on the Korean Peninsula during a period of heightened tension. In 2022, he returned to Chicopee to serve as Site Commander for Marine Corps Site Support Chicopee, overseeing all site functions, regional funeral honors, and Active Duty support to Selected Marine Corps Reserve operations. He also served as the senior advisor to the MASS-6 Commanding Officer.
His personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two gold stars, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with three gold stars.
Lieutenant Colonel LeFever is married.