Colonel Eric Fleming is a native of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers University and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in May 2002. Upon completing The Basic School, he reported to Flight School in Pensacola, Florida and was designated a Naval Aviator in November 2004.
First Lieutenant Fleming reported to Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 39 for initial training in the AH-1W at Marine Helicopter Training Squadron (HMT) 303. In May 2005, he reported to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 169, deploying twice to Al Anbar Province, Iraq between 2006 and 2008 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In October 2008, Captain Fleming attended the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. In March 2009, he deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as the Future Operations and Plans Officer. He led the HMLA planning effort and served as Escort Flight Leader for Operation Khanjar, the major offensive of Regional Command South during the summer of 2009.
In May 2010, Captain Fleming reported to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS-1) to serve as an AH-1 Instructor Pilot. During this assignment, he participated in an Israeli pilot exchange, flying the AH-1S in the Israeli Air Force Flight Leader course.
In 2013, Captain Fleming was selected to attend the French Command and Staff College in Paris, France. Following language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, Major Fleming attended the Ecole de Guerre from January 2014 to June 2015. He served as president of the 96 international officers and played two seasons of rugby with the school team. He earned a master of arts degree from Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes and subsequently qualified as a Foreign Area Officer specializing in Europe.
In August 2015, Major Fleming reported to MAG-29, joining the Warriors of HMLA-167 and deploying to the US Indo-Pacific Command theater in support of Unit Deployment Program 16.1 in Okinawa, Japan.
In December 2017, Major Fleming reported to Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) to serve as the Marine Raider Regiment Air/Fires Officer. In November 2018, he deployed with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve as the J3 Air/Fires Director, J5 Plans Director, and Joint Terminal Attack Controller.
In July 2019, Lieutenant Colonel Fleming reported to MAG-39 to serve as the Operations Officer. He then assumed command of the Vipers of HMLA-169 in March 2020, deploying again to Okinawa in support of UDP 21.2. The squadron also sourced detachments in support of the 11th and 31st Expeditionary Units.
Lieutenant Colonel Fleming relinquished command of HMLA-169 in January 2022, then served on the 1st Marine Division staff within Future Operations. He attended the National War College from July 2022 to June 2023, earning a master of science in national security strategy. In July 2023, he reported to US European Command to serve as the Global Force Management Chief. He was promoted to his current rank in February 2024 and reported to MAG-39 in June 2025 to assume command.