Christopher D. Croft Sr. is a retired United States Army colonel and American politician serving as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives. He represents District 8, which includes the southwestern portion of the city of Overland Park, Kansas. Croft is the chair of House Redistricting Committee and the vice chair of the House Insurance and Pensions Committee. Prior to his tenure in the Kansas House of Representatives, he served in the United States Army for thirty years and retired in 2018.

Military career

Croft was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

after graduating from the University of Central Florida in 1987. His initial assignment was to the 28th Transportation Platoon and the 22nd Area Support group at Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. He was then assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, where he commanded the 725th Main Support Battalion. Upon graduating from Command and General Staff College in 2000 and the School of Advanced Military Studies in 2001, Croft served as Chief of Plans and Exercises and as a division transportation officer of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and continued to serve in that role at Tikrit South Air Base, Iraq. Croft then became an operations officer to the 2d Brigade Combat Team in Baqubah, Iraq, and commanded both the 106th Transportation Battalion,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

(Air Assault) and the

101st Sustainment Brigade The 101st Division Sustainment Brigade is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army based at Fort Campbell providing logistical support to the 101st Airborne Division. Formerly a separate unit under the command of United States Army Forc ...

(Rear) (Provisional) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and later in Balad, Iraq. Following these assignments, Croft served as Chief of the Grade Logistics Branch for two years and one year as Chief of the Force Sustainment Division of the United States Army Human Resources Command. From 2013 to 2017, he was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as executive director of the Center for Army Leadership. He retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel in January 2018.

Political career

In the 2018 primary elections, Croft defeated incumbent Republican

Patty Markley Patty Markley (born March 27, 1969) is an American politician who served in the Kansas House of Representatives from the 8th district from 2017 to 2019. On August 7, 2018, she was defeated in the Republican primary for the 8th district. Referen ...

, 57.8% to 42.2%. After the general election later that year, he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives. In 2020 he was re-elected to the Kansas House of Representatives for a second term. During the 2020 legislative session, Croft introduced legislation which would speed up and expand the process of granting occupational licenses to working professionals from other states. The legislation expedites the process of acquiring a Kansas occupational license if an individual holds an equivalent license in another state and seeks to continue their practice in Kansas. This was brought forth in effort to bring more jobs and fill current vacant positions available in Kansas.

Personal life

Croft resides in Overland Park, Kansas, with his wife Connie. They have two children and five grandchildren.

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, Chris 21st-century American politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people)