The following distinguished military leaders in the United States Armed Forces have signed a letter of support for the pending Shaheen Amendment to the FY 13 National Defense Authorization Act (S.3254) that would provide servicewomen and military dependents with abortion coverage in cases of rape and incest.
Gen. Joseph P. Hoar (USMC, Ret.) retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1994 after a long and distinguished career. During his last three years of active service, he was the commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command, the unified command that has planning and operational responsibilities for nineteen countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and the Horn of Africa. Highlights of his tenure include enforcement of the naval embargo in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf and the no-fly zone in southern Iraq; humanitarian and peacekeeping operations in Kenya and Somalia, support for operations in Rwanda; and the evacuation of United States civilians from Yemen during the 1994 civil war.
Hoar was the deputy for operations for the Marine Corps during the Gulf War, and prior to that, he was General H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s chief of staff at Central Command. Hoar has held a broad range of command and staff assignments. As an infantry officer, he commanded at all levels, from platoon to regiment. He also commanded three Marine Corps Air Ground Task Forces.
Following his retirement from the military, Hoar formed the consulting firm of J.P. Hoar & Associates, which is engaged in business development in the Middle East and Africa. Since 2002, Hoar has actively opposed the war in Iraq. He has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee and has written several articles for newspapers and magazines about his opposition.
General Hoar holds a Masters Degree from George Washington University, and is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and the National War College.
His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Bronze Oakleaf Cluster, Distinguished Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V” and gold star; the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star and ten foreign decorations.
Lieutenant General Ronald R. Blanck, D.O. (USA, Ret.) was the 39th Surgeon General of the United States Army (1996 to 2000). He is a doctor of osteopathic medicine and is the only such physician ever appointed Surgeon General of the Army. He was also president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth from 2000 to 2006.
Dr. Blanck began his military career in 1968 as a medical officer and battalion surgeon in Vietnam. He retired 32 years later as the Surgeon General of the US Army and commander of the US Army Medical Command, with more than 46,000 military personnel and 26,000 civilian employees throughout the world.
During his military career, Dr. Blanck also served as commander of Walter Reed Medical Center; first commander of the North Atlantic Region Medical Command; and Director of Professional Services and Chief of Medical Corps Affairs for the US Army Surgeon General. Other assignments included Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine; Chief of the Department of Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center; Commander, Berlin Army Hospital; and Commander, Frankfurt Regional Army Medical Center.
Dr. Blanck is now is a partner and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Martin, Blanck & Associates, which does health care consulting for the private sector and the government.
His military honors include Distinguished Service Medals, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and Meritorious Service and Army Commendation Medals.
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. (USA, Ret.) is a 31-year veteran of the US Army and served in combat in Korea and Vietnam. He served as executive assistant to two secretaries of defense, was the first Director of Human Resources Development for the US Army and served as President of the National Defense University.
Lt. Gen. Gard is currently Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his policy work focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, missile defense, Iraq, Iran, military policy, nuclear terrorism, and other national security issues.
After retiring from the US Army, Lt. Gen. Gard served for five years as director of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Center in Bologna, Italy, and then as President of the Monterey Institute of International Studies from 1987 to 1998. Since 1998, he has been an active consultant in Washington, DC on national security issues, including the international campaign to ban landmines.
Lt. Gen. Gard has written for a diverse number of well-known journals and periodicals that focus on military and international affairs and has lectured widely at US and international universities and academic conferences. He serves on the board of eight non-profit organizations and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His decorations include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Defense Distinguished Flying Cross and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
Lieutenant General Arlen Jameson (USAF, Ret.) is a member of the Air Force Academy’s Board of Visitors. Prior to retiring in 1996, he served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Strategic Command, where he directed 4,000 men and women. Prior to his StratCom assignment, Lt. Gen. Jameson commanded the 14,500 men and women of the U.S. 20th Air Force, and was responsible for all U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, seven major subordinate units, operational training, testing, security and readiness.
In addition, Lt. Gen. Jameson has served as Chief of Staff of Strategic Air Command, SAC’s Director of Command and Control and the Commander of the Air Force Strategic Missile Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. There, he directed the activities of the Air Force’s third largest base, staffed with 10,000 military, civilian and contractor employees.
Since retiring, Lt. Gen. Jameson has served as President of Arrowsmith Technologies, Inc., a software development company, Vice President of Alliant Techsystems , Inc., an aerospace corporation; President and CEO of Starcraft Boosters, Inc., and Executive Director of the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund.
Lt. Gen. Jameson received his undergraduate degree in Business Management in 1962 from the University of Puget Sound, an MBA in Business Management from Ohio State University, and completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business Program for Senior Executives. He graduated from the National War College and attended the Harvard University Kennedy School National Security Program for Senior Executives.
His military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with “V” device and two oak leaf clusters, Combat Readiness Medal National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star, Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars Humanitarian Service Medal,
plus many others.
Lieutenant General Claudia Jean Kennedy (USA, Ret.) is the first female to reach the rank of three-star general in the US Army. She retired in 2000 after 31 years of military service.
Lt. Gen. Kennedy was born in Frankfurt, Germany. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Southwestern at Memphis and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in June 1969 through the Women’s Army Corps. She was confirmed by the Senate for promotion to Lieutenant General and assigned to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence as of May 21, 1997.
Lt. Gen. Kennedy has held a variety of command and staff positions throughout her career. Key assignments include: Commander, 3d Operations Battalion, US Army Field Station Augsburg, Germany; Commander, San Antonio Recruiting Battalion, US Army Recruiting Command; and Commander, 703rd Military intelligence Brigade, Field Station Kunia, Hawaii.
She has served as Operations Officer, US Army Field Station Augsburg, US Army Intelligence and Security Command; Staff Officer, Directorate of Training, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, DC; the Director of Intelligence, G2, Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia, as Deputy Commander, US Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca/Assistant Commandant, US Army Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona; and as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence at Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC.
During her career, Lt. Gen. Kennedy has received awards and decorations to include the Legion of Merit (three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters) and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
Vice Admiral Harold Koenig, MD (USN, Ret.) retired in 1998 as Surgeon General of the Navy and Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery with the permanent rank of Vice Admiral after a 32-year Navy career.
As Surgeon General, Dr. Koenig exercised day-to-day executive management and oversight of the entire Department of the Navy’s medical policies, programs, and activities. Prior to serving as Navy Surgeon General he was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs).
Dr. Koenig is currently the Chairman of the Board and President of The Annapolis Center for Science Based Public Policy, a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting responsible environmental, health and safety decision-making. He is also the President of the Kensington-Talmadge Community Association. He is a partner in Edward Martin & Associates Inc. a consulting firm to the healthcare industry and healthcare information management and technology companies.
Dr. Koenig’s military awards include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, Navy Commendation Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal.
Lieutenant General Carol A. Mutter (USMC, Ret.) retired from the U.S. Marine Corps effective January 1, 1999. Her last assignment was as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (DC/S, M&RA), Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
General Mutter was born in Greeley, CO in 1945. In 1967 she was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps upon graduation from the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley, CO. In addition to holding a B.A. degree in Mathematics Education and an honorary doctorate from UNC, General Mutter has an M.A. degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College at Newport, RI and both an M.S. and an honorary doctorate degree from Salve Regina College, also in Newport.
In July 1988 as a Colonel she joined the U.S. Space Command, J-3 (Operations) Directorate in Colorado Springs becoming the first woman to gain qualification as a Space Director. After initially serving as a Command Center Crew Commander/Space Director she became the Division Chief responsible for all operations of the Space Command Center.
August 1990 brought a transfer to III Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) on Okinawa, Japan and duty as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Comptroller for both III MEF and 3d Marine Division. In June 1991, she returned to Quantico as a Brigadier General to serve as the Deputy Commanding General, Marine Corps Systems Command and Program Manager for all Marine Corps Command and Control Systems. In June 1992, she again transferred to Okinawa, this time as the first woman of general/flag officer rank to command a major deployable tactical command, the 3d Force Service Support Group, III MEF, U.S. Marine Forces Pacific. In June 1994, she became the first woman Marine Major General and served as Commander, Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, VA. Upon advancement to Lieutenant General (the first woman Marine to attain this rank) on September 1, 1996, she assumed her duties as DC/S M&RA.
Her medals and decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation with bronze star, National Defense Service Medal with bronze star, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with four bronze stars.
Lieutenant General James M. Thompson (USA, Ret.) graduated from West Point in 1950. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1951. After serving in various command and staff assignments through brigade level, he was assigned to the Army Staff in Plans and Policy, then to Director for Estimates, DIA and subsequently to the Pentagon as Deputy Director for Plans, Policy and NSC Affairs in the Secretary of Defense’s Office. His next two major assignments were to Turkey as a Major General, Chief of the Military Mission and then as a Lieutenant General to Naples, Italy as Chief of Staff to Admiral William J. Crowe in NATO’s Southern Region.
Major General Nancy Adams, RN, MSN, FAAN (USA, Ret.) was the nineteenth Army Nurse Corp (ANC) Chief (1991-1995) and guided the ANC through the turbulent period of post-Cold War reorganization and downsizing while moving Army nursing practice and organizational structure into the 21st Century.
Maj. Gen. Adams received her ANC commission in 1968. She served as the Assistant Surgeon General of the Army for Personnel, and Commander for the Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Prior to these leadership positions, she served in a variety of clinical nursing and nursing administration positions in the Army Medical Department and DoD.
From 1998 through 2002, Maj. Gen Adams served as Commanding General of Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, a medical center employing 3,000 personnel, with an annual budget of $245 million. She led the organization to a perfect 100 percent score on the survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. She also was responsible for TRICARE Pacific, serving 527,960 beneficiaries in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific region. Prior to this command, she commanded William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, medical center, with 1,800 personnel serving 400,000 beneficiaries. Maj. Gen. Adams retired from the Army in 2002.
Most recently, Maj. Gen. Adams served as the Source Selection Authority for five major, multi-billion dollar healthcare procurements for the Department of Defense (DoD). In addition to shepherding this unprecedented contracting effort through to completion, Ms. Adams defined the business planning process, established transition plans and served as the spokesperson at meetings with senior military leadership, DoD officials, Congressional staff and the GAO for the formation of the three Tricare regional offices. Following the multi-year procurement process, as the Director of TRICARE Regional Office North, she was responsible for managing the DoD health care contract worth more than $1 billion annually across a 17-state region.
She has received the Legion of Merit, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star Device, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal among her awards and honors.
Maj. Gen Adams is now a Senior Partner with Martin, Blanck & Associates, which provides health care consulting for the private sector and the government.
Maj. Gen. Adams received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Master of Science from The Catholic University. She was selected to be a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Major General Donna Barbisch, DHA, MPH (USA, Ret.) joined the Army in 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War when most women just did not do that. To put it in historical perspective, it was that year–1967 that restrictions to women’s promotions were lifted.
Maj. Gen. Barbisch started her military career as a Private First Class in the Army Student Nurse Program and rose to the rank of Major General over a military career spanning more than 38 years, retiring from the Army in 2005. Today Maj. Gen. Barbisch is the President of Global Deterrence Alternatives, a consulting business focused on deterring terrorism and building capacity to manage disasters. She works nationally and internationally to improve preparedness and works with think tanks and executive boards to develop strategic solutions to complex issues. Maj. Gen. Barbisch has been described as a visionary with an entrepreneurial approach to emerging threats.
Over the course of her career she was selected to command a MASH hospital (a first for a nurse), completed a master’s degree and had two wonderful daughters. In 1995 she was selected to attend the US Army War College. She was honored with a follow-on assignment as the Director of Reserve Component Integration Studies in the War College’s Department of Command, Leadership, and Management. Because of her experience at the War College, her efforts shifted to the study of bioterrorism and combating weapons of mass destruction. She led an initiative to identify military roles in domestic support of terrorist attacks. Her seminal work in NYC established policy and protocol credited with improving NYC response to 911. During her promotion to Major General, the Chief of the Army Reserve said “We would not have responded so well on September 11th and since then without the contributions of Donna Barbisch.”
Maj. Gen. Barbisch’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Medal, Bronze Service Star, Vietnam Service Medal with Service Star, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Expert Field Medical Badge.
Major General Stephen M. Goldfein (USAF, Ret.) was the Vice Director of the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. The general assists the Director of the Joint Staff and provides oversight to Joint Staff support activities, including administration and action management, budget, information technology and services, support services, and security.
Maj. Gen. Goldfein was commissioned in 1978 following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. His assignments include duties as a T-38 and F-15 instructor pilot and flight examiner, U.S. Senate liaison officer and Joint Director for Operations. He has also served as executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, Deputy Director of Joint Warfighting Capability Assessments on the Joint Staff, and Director of Requirements for the U.S. Air Force. His previous commands include a fighter squadron, fighter operations group, fighter wing and the USAF Warfare Center. Prior to his current assignment he was Vice Commander, Air Combat Command.
In 1998, Maj. Gen. Goldfein commanded Airmen from 10 bases in the Pacific theater on the first Air Expeditionary Force deployment to provide precision air-strike capability from Kwang-Ju, South Korea. He converted a bare base to a full F-15E fighter wing operation. In 1999, he assisted the Air Force Chief of Staff in Operation Allied Force strategic planning and direction. On Sept. 11, 2001, Maj. Gen. Goldfein commanded the 1st Fighter Wing in Operation Infinite Justice, the first active-duty response to the terrorist attacks. In 2002, Maj. Gen. Goldfein conducted early strategic planning exercises for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. As Commander of the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center from 2004 to 2006, Maj. Gen. Goldfein commanded all Predator operations in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as well as supervising all training and development programs. These operations have averaged more than 40,000 combat operations flight hours per year.
Maj. Gen. Goldfein holds a Bachelor’s degree in military history from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master’s degree in human resources management, Golden Gate University, Holloman AFB, and a Master’s degree in national security strategy, National War College. He is a distinguished and outstanding wing graduate from the Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, and was a National Security Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Maj. Gen. Goldfein’s military honors include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal, plus many others.
Major General Marcelite J. Harris (USAF, Ret.) retired from the Air Force in 1997, after serving more than 32 years. During her career, she recorded a series of “firsts” for women in the military. These included becoming the first woman maintenance officer, one of the first two women air officers commanding at the Air Force Academy, the first woman to be the Director of Maintenance for the Air Force, and the nation’s first African-American woman major general. In addition to all of these accomplishments, she also served as a White House Social Aide during the Carter administration.
At the time of her retirement, Maj. Gen. Harris served as the Air Force’s Director of Maintenance, overseeing an aerospace weapon system inventory of more than $260 billion and a workforce of more than 120,000, the largest single career field in the Air Force. She also was instrumental in developing and modernizing the Air Force’s premier maintenance management program known as the Integrated Maintenance Data System (IMDS).
Throughout her career, Maj. Gen. Harris has been a major leader in restructuring, enhancing, and improving Air Force business and war fighting processes. She was responsible for the Air Force’s total technical training program, impacting over 300,000 people annually. She streamlined it, reduced its cost, and implemented programs that ensured a technician graduate “ready to work”. With a passion for the utilization of women, Maj. Gen. Harris was NATO’s leader in revamping their total program on the utilization of women in the NATO member country forces.
Maj. Gen. Harris has been recognized as a trailblazer on her own and in support of women’s rights in the forces. Among the many honors she has received are the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the 1998 Living Legacy Patriot Award, “Black Woman of Courage” from the National Federation of Black Women Business Owners, and “Woman of the Year” from the National Organization of Tuskegee. She is listed in “Who’s Who in America,” “Who’s Who Among Black Americans” and ”Who’s Who Among Business Women.”
Her community included membership and leadership roles on the boards of United Way, Junior Achievement, Astronaut Memorial Foundation, Florida Space Authority, Florida Space Business Roundtable and others. She also served on a congressional committee chaired by Nancy Kasselbaum Baker examining the training of women in the military.
Maj. Gen Harris has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Maryland University College and the Honors College of Florida Atlantic University.
President Barack Obama appointed General Harris to the Board of Visitors (Board of Trustees) for the United States Air Force Academy.
Her military citations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, four Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, nine Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, the Viet Nam Service Medal plus many others.
General Harris earned degrees from Spelman College and the University of Maryland. She also received the Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Maryland University College and an honorary doctorate of letters degree from Spelman College.
Major General Dennis Laich (USA, Ret.) served for 35 years in the US Army Reserve, 14 of which were spent in various command positions, the last as commander of the 94th Regional Readiness Command in Ft. Devens, MA.
Maj. Gen. Laich holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Lafayette College, and master’s degrees from West Virginia University and St. Francis College in Business Administration and Labor Relations. He completed postgraduate studies at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and is a graduate of the Army War College.
He is currently serving as Ohio Dominican’s PATRIOTS Program Director. Maj. Gen. Laich is the University’s support liaison for veterans applying for the PATRIOTS program, providing one-on-one assistance and linking them with resources they need to meet their educational goals. His military awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Joint Meritorious Service Medal.
Major General Gale S. Pollock (USA, Ret.), Army Nurse Corps, CRNA, FACHE, FAAN, is currently an Advanced Leadership Fellow in Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. Before retiring from the Army she served as Commander, US Army Medical Command and Acting Surgeon General of the Army in 2007 (the first woman, non-physician to have this role in any of the military services with a $9.7B annual budget).
She is an adjunct clinical professor of Yonsei University Graduate School of Nursing, a consultant with CornerStone Associates and owner of Pollock Associates, LLC. Maj. Gen. Pollock was the founding Executive Director of the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration and associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and School of Nursing.
During her Army career, Maj. Gen. Pollock’s military assignments include Acting Surgeon General and Commander of the Army Medical Department; 22nd Chief of the Army Nurse Corps; Deputy Surgeon General for Force Management; Commander, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI; Command Surgeon, US Army Pacific Command; Special Assistant to the Surgeon General for Information Management and Health Policy; Commander, Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning, Ga.; Commander, US Army Medical Activity, Fort Drum, NY; Staff Officer, Strategic Initiatives Command Group for the Army Surgeon General; Department of Defense Healthcare Advisor to the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance; Health Fitness Advisor at the National Defense University; Senior Policy Analyst in Health Affairs, DoD; and Chief, Anesthesia Nursing Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.
Maj. Gen. Pollock’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with 2 oak leaf clusters), Legion of Merit (with 2 oak leaf clusters), and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 oak leaf clusters), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. She received the Army Staff Identification Badge for her work at the Pentagon and earned the German Armed Forces Military Efficiency Badge “Leistungsabzeichen” in gold. She earned the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge, and is proud to wear the Parachutist Badge.
Maj. Gen. Pollock received the 2008 Agatha Hodgins Achievement Award from the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists; was the 2007 “Woman of the Year” of the American Legion Auxiliary; and was a Distinguished Alumna of Baylor University in 2006.
Maj. Gen.Pollock received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland. She attended the US Army Nurse Anesthesia Program and is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). She received her Master of Business Administration from Boston University; a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Baylor University, a Master’s in National Security and Strategy from the National Defense University, and an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Maryland. She is also a Fellow in The American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN).
Her passion is restoration of sight and when not advancing this cause, she spends time with her “spousal-unit” Doug McAllaster, enjoying exercise and the beauty of the outdoors.
Rear Admiral Alan M. Steinman, MD (USCG, Ret.) was commissioned in the United States Public Health Service as a lieutenant in July, 1972 to commence a military career of over 25 years in the United States Coast Guard and the Public Health Service. 1987. During his operational assignments, Dr. Steinman flew on countless emergency medical helicopter evacuations of ill and injured seamen, fisherman, recreational boaters, loggers and military active duty personnel. His expertise in emergency medicine and in cold-weather operations, particularly in the areas of sea-survival, hypothermia and drowning, let to his initial assignment at Coast Guard Headquarters as the Chief of Special Medical Operations from 1978-1982.
Dr. Steinman served as the Chief of Clinical and Preventive Medicine at USCG HQ from April, 1987 to September, 1990. Dr. Steinman next served under the U.S. Surgeon General (Dr. C. Everett Koop) as the Deputy Director of Medical Affairs at USPHS HQ from September, 1989 to February, 1990, following which he served as Chief of the Medical Branch at USPHS HQ until February, 1991. He returned to USCG HQ as Chief of the Wellness Branch from February, 1991 to August, 1993.
RADM Steinman was selected for promotion to flag officer in August, 1993 for the position of Director of Health and Safety at USCG HQ (equivalent to both the Surgeon General and Chief of Safety Programs for the other branches of the armed forces). He retired from the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service in September, 1997. Following his retirement, Admiral Steinman was appointed to the Presidential Special Oversight Board for Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf-War Chemical and Biological Incidents, where he served under Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH) as the chief medical advisor for the Board from July, 1998 to January, 2001.
During his years as a Coast Guard medical officer and flag officer, Dr. Steinman designed, supervised and implemented an emergency medical services system for Coast Guard search and rescue operations, including the establishment of an EMT training school and the establishment of standardized emergency medical equipment for use on CG helicopters and rescue vessels. He performed the only realistic, rough-sea tests, to date, of protective clothing worn by USCG and USN personnel, resulting in a more accurate estimation of survival times for crewmen of aircraft and vessel mishaps in heavy seas. In addition, he developed the current survival time charts used by the USCG for search and rescue operations. His research and publications in hypothermia and cold-water survival won him the prestigious 1989 Arnold D. Tuttle Award from the Aerospace Medical Association.
During his tenure as Director of Health and Safety, RADM Steinman managed a comprehensive health care program for over 160,000 beneficiaries with a budget of over $250 million. He also served as the Director of the Coast Guard’s Safety and Environmental Health programs, overseeing the safety of all USCG personnel.
Admiral Steinman’s educational degrees include a Bachelor of Science in 1966 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; a Doctor of Medicine in 1971 from the Stanford University School of Medicine; and a Master of Public Health in 1986 from the University of Washington. His first post-graduate year in medicine was at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, MN in 1971. Dr. Steinman also graduated from the U.S. Navy School of Aerospace Medicine, where he earned the designation of U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon in 1973.
Dr. Steinman is Board Certified in Occupational Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
RADM Steinman’s decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, two USCG Commendation medals, the USCG Achievement medal, the USPHS Commendation medal, two USPHS Unit Commendation Medals, the USPHS Surgeon General’s Medallion, and the USPHS Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal.
Major General Deborah Wheeling, MS, MSN, RN (ARNG, Ret.) served as Deputy Surgeon General for the Army National Guard and served in a variety of clinical assignments within the Army Medical Department spanning all three Army components. Assignments at Fort Ord, Calif., Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Colo., and Fort Bragg, N.C., provided clinical experience within Active Component TDA units where she served as Clinical Head Nurse in a variety of outpatient settings. While assigned to Womack Army Community Hospital, Fort Bragg, and Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, her expertise and experience enabled her to develop and implement the role of an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist, thereby establishing the template for advanced oncology nursing practice at both of these facilities.
Maj. Gen. Wheeling served with the US Army Reserve, 312th Evacuation Hospital, Greensboro, N.C., and the 3264th Augmentation Hospital, Durham, N.C., during her graduate studies at Duke University. She joined the West Virginia Army National Guard upon release from active duty in 1984, and served as the State Chief Nurse, West Virginia Army National Guard for five years, overseeing the medical deployment of West Virginia National Guard forces in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. In October 2002, she was selected as the Assistant Surgeon General for Mobilization, Readiness and National Guard Affairs, Office of the Surgeon General. In October 2005, Maj. Gen. Wheeling was selected as the Deputy Surgeon General for the Army National Guard.
Maj. Gen. Wheeling’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and the hallmark of clinical and academic expertise, the Surgeon General’s 9A proficiency designator.
Brigadier General Clara L. Adams-Ender, RN, MS, FAAN (USA, Ret.) rose from a staff nurse in the army nurse corps to become the chief executive officer for 22,000 nurses, a brigadier general and director of personnel for the Army Surgeon General. She was vice-president for nursing at the prestigious Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the largest health care facility in the Department of Defense. In 1967, she became the first female in the Army to be awarded the Expert Field Medical Badge. Brig. Gen. Adams-Ender also commanded an army base, a position equivalent to city manager, magistrate and mayor of a city. She was responsible for a $90-million budget while providing quality customer services to 85 different constituent groups. She is an educator, lecturer, consultant and leader who has given over 500 presentations to audiences of health care professionals, community leaders, businessmen and women, lawyers, credit union managers and staffs, veterans groups and students both at home and abroad.
Brig. Gen. Clara L. Adams-Ender was born in Wake County, North Carolina, the fourth oldest of ten children. She received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, NC; a Master of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN and a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS. She has been awarded twelve honorary doctorate degrees in law, public service, humane letters and science.
Brig. Gen. Adams-Ender is President and Chief Executive Officer of Caring About People With Enthusiasm (CAPE) Associates, Inc., a management consulting and inspirational speaking firm. The agency specializes in health care management and health care reform, leadership issues and leader development, cultural diversity, women in the workplace and conflict management and resolution. She is a charismatic, knowledgeable and inspiring speaker and one never leaves her presence without being impressed by these qualities.
Brig. Gen. Adams-Ender is Past Chairperson, Board of Directors of the Andrews Federal Credit Union, a Charter Member, Board of Visitors, U.S. Marine Corps University and a former member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). She has received many awards for her community work and service, including the Roy Wilkins Meritorious Service Award of the NAACP, Gertrude E. Rush Award for Leadership from the National Bar Association, and the Regents’ Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Minnesota. In 1996, she was named by Working Woman magazine as one of 350 women who changed the world from 1976-1996.
Brig. Gen. Adams-Ender’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Expert Field Medical Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
Brigadier General Julia J. Cleckley (ARNG, Ret.) began her military career in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). She resumed her military service by joining the New York Army National Guard in 1976. In April 2001, she became the first woman to be assigned as the Chief, Human Resources Officer (G-1) for Army National Guard, where she was responsible for providing personnel, manpower, health programs, policy guidance and resources to enable the 54 States and Territories to achieve optimum levels of personnel readiness.
Brig. Gen. Cleckley is the first African-American female line officer to be promoted to Brigadier General in the Army National Guard. She was also the first African-American woman to be promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Army National Guard’s Active Guard Reserve (AGR) program and the first woman to be assigned as division chief at the National Guard Bureau.
She served as a Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee member, and was charged with providing advice to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on administration of benefits and services for minority veterans. She is the former chair of the Army National Guard Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Committee.
Brig. Gen. Cleckley is a recipient of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Roy Wilkins Renowned Service Award, a military award that recognizes excellence in community service and mentorship. She also Chairs the Army National Guard Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Committee. BG Cleckley is the military special assistant to the President of the Federally Employed Women (FEW). She is a member of the Hunter College Hall of Fame.
Brig. Gen. Cleckley received her BA degree in Psychology and Education from Hunter College and her Masters in Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University. She is currently an inspirational and keynote speaker for Cleckley Enterprises.
She is the recipient of Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon.
Brigadier General Pat Foote (USA, Ret.) was born in 1930, commissioned in the US Army in 1959 and served over 30 years before retiring on September 1, 1989.
Her final tour of duty was as the Commanding General, Ft. Belvoir, Va.
Brig. Gen. Foote holds a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University, a master’s degree from Shippensburg State University and is a graduate of the Executive Program of the University of Virginia, the Army War College and the Center for Creative Leadership. She is also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wake Forest University.
In her career, Brig. Gen. Foote commanded at the company, battalion, brigade and major installation levels. She was the first women to be appointed to the Army War College faculty, and the first Army woman to command a brigade in Europe. Brig. Gen. Foote also served a tour in Vietnam and three tours of duty at Department of the Army level.
She was recalled to active duty from 1996-1997 to serve as Vice Chair of the Secretary of the Army’s Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment.
She is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Bronze Star Medal.
Brigadier General Dr. John H. Johns (USA, Ret.) served as a combat arms officer in the Army for over 26 years, retiring as a brigadier general in 1978. During his career, he served in command assignments up to Assistant Commander of the 1st Infantry Division. He also served in a number of staff positions, including 8 years on the Army General Staff, retiring as the Director of Human Resources Development. He taught leadership and ethics at the U.S. Military Academy and has lectured on ethics at the Air War College, the Army War College, the U.S. Military Academy, and the Naval Academy.
After retirement from active duty, Dr. Johns continued to serve in the Department of Defense until retirement in 1995. He served four years as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Career SES 5) before becoming a Professor of Political Science at the National Defense University at Ft. McNair. In addition to teaching Political Science and Strategic Decision making, he taught a 12 week Ethics course to over 700 students over a 10 year period. From 1990 to 1995, he served as the Dean of Faculty and Academic Programs at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, one of the colleges of the National Defense University teaching courses on the US Constitution and on ethics. From 1996 to 2004, he was an adjunct professor at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Dr. Johns has an undergraduate degree in economics and political science from the University of Alabama. He has masters’ degrees from Vanderbilt (psychology) and George Washington University (international affairs) and a Ph.D. from American University (sociology). He is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, The National War College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Rear Admiral Rabbi Harold L. Robinson (USN, Ret.) served as a member of the Chaplain Corps and was Deputy Chief of Chaplains for Reserve Matters and the Director of Religious Programs, Fleet Marine Force.
Rear Adm. Robinson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1968. He also earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters, 1972, and a Master of Arts and ordination as a Rabbi, in 1974, both from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. In 1999, the College Institute conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity and in 2005, Coe College awarded him the Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Rear Adm. Robinson’s military career began in 1971, when he was commissioned as an Ensign in the US Naval Reserve and in 1975, he became a Navy Chaplain.
His flag assignment was Deputy Chief of Chaplains for Reserve Matters and Director of Religious Programs, Marine Force Reserve. Rear Adm. Robinson served as President of COMNAVRESFOR Policy Board FY 2005. He was made a Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer. His overseas assignments took him all over the world.
His personal awards and honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Naval Commendation Medal with two Gold Stars and the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Deployment Ribbon. Rear Adm. Robinson is currently the Director of the JWB-Jewish Chaplains Council of the Jewish Community Centers of North America.
Brigadier General Wilma Vaught (USAF, Ret.) is President of the Board of Directors of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc.
Her last military assignment was as Commander of the US Military Entrance Processing Command, North Chicago, IL, where she served from June 1982, until her retirement in August 1985.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Women’s History Museum and serves on the Virginia War Memorial Foundation Board of Trustees. Following retirement, she worked as a consultant with the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization as well as with industry. She speaks around the United States on leadership and management.
A native of Illinois, Brig. Gen. Vaught earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana from which she received the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 1983; she also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Affairs from Columbia College, SC. She is the first Air Force woman graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
During her military career, she held various positions in the comptroller field at Barksdale AFB, LA; Zaragoza AFB, Spain; McCoy AFB, Orlando, FL; Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Saigon, Vietnam; Air Force Logistics Command, Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH; the Air Staff, The Pentagon, Washington, DC; and she was the Deputy Chief of Staff, Comptroller, Air Force Systems Command, Andrews AFB, MD.
Brig. Gen. Vaught served as Chairperson of the NATO Women in the Allied Forces Committee from 1983 to 1985 and was the senior woman military representative to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services from 1982 to 1985.
Brig. Gen. Vaught’s numerous military decorations and awards include both the Defense and Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, Air Force Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Vietnam Service Medal with four service stars, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Lt. General Dirk Jameson retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1996 after more than three decades of service. General Jameson’s final assignment was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief U.S. Strategic Command. General Jameson commanded the Air Force’s 20th Air Force and was responsible for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile forces of the United States. General Jameson served as Chief of Staff and Director of Command Control, Strategic Air Command and commanded the USAF Strategic Missile Center at Vandenberg AFB, California. After retiring from the Air Force, General Jameson served as President of Arrowsmith Technologies, Inc., a software development company; Vice President of Alliant Techsystems, Inc., an aerospace corporation; President and CEO of Starcraft Boosters, Inc.; and Executive Director of the Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. General Jameson is the vice chairman of the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.
General Jameson received his undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Puget Sound, an MBA in Business Management from Ohio State University, and completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business Program for Senior Executives. General Jameson graduated from the National War College and attended the Harvard University Kennedy School National Security Program for Senior Executives.
General Jameson received the Moller Trophy in 1985 as the Strategic Air Command Outstanding Wing Commander. In 2012 the General was awarded the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award by the Tufts University Institute for Global Leadership.
Lieutenant General James M. Thompson (USA, Ret.) (Boise, Idaho) retired from the US Army in 1983 after serving 33 years on active duty. During his military career, Lt. Gen. Thompson served as the Chief of Staff for the Allied Forces Southern Europe in Naples, Italy, where he was the Chief Executive Officer for a multinational NATO staff from the United States, UK, Italy, Greece, Turkey and France with links to Portugal and Spain.
Lt. Gen. Thompson’s career began in an unusual fashion: in 1950, the Secretary of the Army requested that Thompson and several other West Point graduates form a modern pentathlon team to compete in the first Pan American Games held in Buenos Aires under the auspices of the US Olympic Committee; the team won a gold medal.
Lt. Gen. Thompson graduated from West Point in 1950, where he later taught history, government and a special course on the Middle East in the department of social sciences. In 1951, Thompson attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and later attended the Command and General Staff College in Kansas and the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Lt. Gen. Thompson has had numerous overseas assignments that have taken him across the globe, including Iran, Italy, Germany and Vietnam. Lt. Gen. Thompson was also assigned to the Pentagon where he was Chief of the Army’s Strategic Plans and Policy Division. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1974, he was appointed Deputy Director for Estimates, Defense Intelligence Agency. He was later sent on a special mission to Vietnam to assess the need for an additional $200 million in military assistance for South Vietnamese Forces.
In 1976 he became Director, Policy Plans and National Security Affairs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. His principal tasks included overseeing staff preparations of policy papers in coordination with the Services, JCS, State Department and the White House.
In early 1979, the US Ambassador to Turkey requested that he be assigned to Ankara as Chief, Joint U.S. Military Mission for Aid to Turkey. Within two years he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces Southern Europe. On retirement, Thompson received both the Army and Defense Distinguished Service Medals.
Since retiring, Lt. Gen. Thompson has dedicated his time to local issues. After relocating to Boise, ID, Lt. Gen. Thompson became the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation and later chief of staff in the mayor’s office. He has also been involved in the charter school movement, sat on a school board, worked with AUSA, and is currently a Trustee of Boise City’s Library.
Major General Nancy Adams, RN, MSN, FAAN (USA, Ret.) was the nineteenth Army Nurse Corp (ANC) Chief (1991-1995) and guided the ANC through the turbulent period of post-Cold War reorganization and downsizing while moving Army nursing practice and organizational structure into the 21st Century.
Maj. Gen. Adams received her ANC commission in 1968. She served as the Assistant Surgeon General of the Army for Personnel, and Commander for the Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Prior to these leadership positions, she served in a variety of clinical nursing and nursing administration positions in the Army Medical Department and DoD.
From 1998 through 2002, Maj. Gen. Adams served as Commanding General of Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, a medical center employing 3,000 personnel, with an annual budget of $245 million. She led the organization to a perfect 100 percent score on the survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. She also was responsible for TRICARE Pacific, serving 527,960 beneficiaries in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific region. Prior to this command, she commanded William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, medical center, with 1,800 personnel serving 400,000 beneficiaries. Maj. Gen. Adams retired from the Army in 2002.
Most recently, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Adams served as the Source Selection Authority for five major, multi-billion dollar healthcare procurements for the Department of Defense (DoD). In addition to shepherding this unprecedented contracting effort through to completion, Ms. Adams defined the business planning process, established transition plans and served as the spokesperson at meetings with senior military leadership, DoD officials, Congressional staff and the GAO for the formation of the three Tricare regional offices. Following the multi-year procurement process, as the Director of TRICARE Regional Office North, she was responsible for managing the DoD health care contract worth more than $1 billion annually across a 17-state region.
She has received the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Meritorious Service Medal among her awards and honors.
Maj. Gen. Adams is now a Senior Partner with Martin, Blanck & Associates, which provides health care consulting for the private sector and the government.
Maj. Gen. Adams received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University and a Master of Science from The Catholic University. She was selected to be a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Brigadier General Julia J. Cleckley (ARNG, Ret.) began her military career after high school in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). In 1976, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Adjutant General’s Corps with the 42nd Infantry Division in New York City. She went on to earn a BA degree in Psychology and Education from Hunter College in New York City and a MS degree in Human Resource Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA. She was selected for the US Army War College in June 1992, where she received a Senior Service Fellowship to study at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, MA. BG Cleckley continued her military service by joining the New York Army National Guard while simultaneously establishing herself in the fields of public relations and education.
Brigadier General (Ret.) Cleckley served in numerous positions throughout her military career including Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Professor of Military Science at Hampton University, Hampton, VA and as the Army National Guard Advisor at Fort Eustis, VA. In 1987, she was assigned to the National Guard Bureau, Military Personnel Management Branch and went on to manage over 44,000 federally recognized officer promotions for the Army National Guard. She also served on the Department of the Army Staff at the Pentagon. Brigadier General (Ret) Julia Cleckley served as the Special Assistant to the Director, Army National Guard from July 2002 thru September 2004. As Special Assistant for Human Resource Readiness, she assisted the Director with human resources programs and policies that affected over 350,000 Army National Guard citizen Soldiers.
Throughout her 28 years of military service, BG Cleckley broke many military barriers and held several high-ranking positions. She was the first minority woman, line officer, to rise to the rank of Brigadier General in the Army National Guard. In addition, prior to becoming a One-Star General, she was the first African American woman to be promoted to the rank of Colonel in the Army National Guard’s Active Reserve (AGR) program. BG Cleckley’s other pioneering achievements at the National Guard Bureau include being selected to serve as the first minority female Branch Chief; first woman to be assigned as a Division Chief; and the first woman and minority to serve on the Army National Guard Director’s special staff as Chief, Human Resources Officer (G1).
Brigadier General Cleckley’s numerous awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and Army Service Ribbon. She is the recipient of several honors to include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Roy Wilkins Renowned Service Award and is a Hunter College Hall of Fame Inductee. BG Cleckley is a member of the Top Ladies of Distinction (TLOD) and also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is a member of the Veterans Administration’s Female Homeless Veterans Committee, which advises the Secretary of Veterans Administration on all matters concerning minority veterans. She is also a member of the Defense Advisory Council on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) Committee and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) as well as the historic 7th Regiment, 42nd Infantry of New York.
She is President and CEO of Cleckley Enterprises, an Inspirational/Motivational speaker organization. She resides in Fredericksburg, VA.
Captain Dwayne Oslund, USN (Ret.) completed 25 years of U.S. Navy service and retired in June 1996. His last duty assignment was Chief of Staff to the Commander, Naval Base San Francisco, where he spent three years coordinating the drawdown and BRAC closure of eight major Navy bases in the Bay Area.
Prior to coming to San Francisco, CAPT Oslund served three tours as a helicopter pilot replenishing ships at sea and training new helicopter pilots. CAPT Oslund’s Navy flying career culminated as Commanding Officer of VT-27, a training squadron where he was responsible for all aspects of primary and intermediate flight training by 100 instructor pilots and 350 Navy and Marine Corps student pilots a year.
CAPT Oslund’s duty assignments included commissioning crewmember and helicopter pilot aboard a Navy amphibious assault ship, USS Belleau Wood. He also served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations developing promotion plans and policies for the Navy’s officer corps and frequently representing the Navy position before Congressional and White House staff, top-level Navy leaders, DOD and the other armed services.
In January 1990, CAPT Oslund reported as Operations Officer, Naval Forces Central Command. In August of that year, he led the first contingent of Navy liaison personnel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. During Operation Desert Storm, he was responsible for the operational scheduling of 32 Navy aircraft providing air logistics services to 100 ships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and to 8000 Navy personnel ashore. Among the air logistics pilots were some of the first women Navy pilots to fly operational missions in a designated war zone. On occasion, CAPT Oslund came to the defense of our female pilots when they were told not to fly combat missions in combat areas, even though their male counterparts had no similar restrictions. CAPT Oslund stated, “My small actions may not have influenced what is the norm today, but it meant a lot to the women pilots for whom I felt a responsibility of fairness and equality.”
CAPT Oslund holds a Master of Science in Management from the Naval Postgraduate School that includes a specialty in Manpower, Personnel and Training Analysis. From 1994-2008, he volunteered his time as the Vice Chair of the San Francisco Fleet Week Committee overseeing the annual production of an air show featuring the Navy’s Blue Angels and coordinating numerous events and activities featuring the port visit by Navy, Coast Guard and international ships.
CAPT Oslund is now the Director of Administration, Human Resources and Facilities for Airship Ventures, Inc. providing services to support a staff that operates the only commercially flying Zeppelin airship in the U.S.
Captain Joellen Drag Oslund, USNR (Ret.) broke new ground for US servicewomen when she completed Navy flight training as the Navy’s fourth female Naval Aviator and the first woman helicopter pilot in 1974.
In 1972, CAPT Oslund graduated from Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) with a BA in Political Science. She was one of four civilians selected for US Navy flight training when the program was opened to women by Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Chief of Naval Operations. In 1973, CAPT Oslund graduated from Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and entered Navy flight training at Pensacola, Florida.
From 1975 to 1978, CAPT Oslund was a plaintiff in Owens v. Brown, a lawsuit that challenged the combat and shipboard assignment restrictions of women in the Navy. As her commanding officer noted to the Secretary of the Navy, because of the assignment restrictions, CAPT Oslund was “excluded from virtually all operational commitments routinely undertaken by her contemporaries” despite her “demonstrated outstanding performance in all aspects of her assigned duties.” The court ruled in favor of CAPT Oslund in 1978.
After successfully challenging the Navy’s assignment restrictions, in 1978 CAPT Oslund was deployed aboard USS Vancouver as a member of a target drone recovery detachment. She was the first woman aviator to be assigned to duty aboard a Navy ship. Between 1977 and 1979, CAPT Oslund rescued a total of 6 survivors of aircraft accidents at-sea, 5 crewmembers of a Navy H-46 helicopter and the pilot of a Marine A-4 jet. She also rescued a one-week survivor of a private airplane crash in rugged, snow-covered mountainous terrain north of NAS Point Mugu.
In 1979, CAPT Oslund transferred from Navy active duty to the U.S. Naval Reserve. Between 1980 and 1984, CAPT Oslund was assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 9 at NAS North Island, San Diego, flying Combat Search and Rescue training missions. During this time, CAPT Oslund qualified as a Combat SAR Helicopter Aircraft Commander. Between 1984 and 1998, CAPT Oslund was assigned to the Navy Command Center, Office of the CNO at the Pentagon; Commander Fleet Air Mediterranean in Naples, Italy; and Navy Emergency Planning Liaison Officer to FEMA for the Commander, Naval Base San Francisco. CAPT Oslund retired in 1998, after completing 25 years of service.
CAPT Oslund is married to Dwayne Oslund, a retired Navy Captain and former Navy helicopter pilot. They have two adult children—Kenneth, an EE graduate of Caltech who completed his Masters studies in Robotics at Stanford University in 2012; and Cassandra, an Animal Science graduate of UC Davis who is enrolled in Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University
Since retiring from the Navy, CAPT Oslund has remained busy supporting local schools and participating in community planning projects. She is an avid equestrian who owns and trains several horses and provides English riding instruction to adults and children alike. For the past 10 years she has been an adult leader of the Alameda County 4-H Horse Project.
Colonel Michael E. Pheneger, USA (Ret.) spent 30 years on active duty as a US Army Intelligence Officer retiring in 1993. He had overseas assignments in Germany, Vietnam, Korea, Panama, and the Middle East. His key assignments include: Commander, US Army Intelligence School (Fort Devens – then a part of the National Security Agency’s Training System); Director of Intelligence, US Special Operations Command (MacDill AFB); Deputy Director of Intelligence, US Central Command (MacDill AFB); Commander, 470th MI Group (Panama); G2, Second Infantry Division (Korea), and Director of Operations, 66th MI Brigade (Germany).
Colonel Pheneger holds an M.P.A. from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, a B.S from Bowling Green State University, and is a graduate of both the Command & Staff Course, US Naval War College, and the US Army War College. After military retirement he developed training programs for adult professionals for the University of South Florida’s Professional and Workforce Development Division. He teaches courses on the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, terrorism and geo-politics for learning-in-retirement programs in Tampa and Sarasota. Colonel Pheneger currently serves as the President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.
Captain Glenna L. Tinney, MSW, ACSW, DCSW, U.S. Navy (Ret.) served for 24 years in the Navy as a social worker working with military families and managing worldwide family violence and sexual assault programs.
In 2000, CAPT Tinney was appointed to serve as the Deputy Executive Director for the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence, a Congressionally-mandated task force established to review the Department of Defense response to and prevention of domestic violence across all military services and make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. The Task Force made over 200 recommendations focused on a broad spectrum of topics such as victim confidentiality, offender accountability, training, safety planning, risk assessment, prevention, etc. After the Task Force completed its work, Capt. Tinney was instrumental in implementing the Task Force recommendations.
CAPT Tinney now serves as the Military Advocacy Program Coordinator for the Battered Women’s Justice Project, where she manages a special project to increase the capacity of community-based advocates to serve military-related intimate partner violence survivors and family lawyers to represent them in civil legal cases. She is also responsible for developing a model coordinated community response to incidents of co-occurring combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder and intimate partner violence.
Lieutenant Colonel Sherry M. de Vries, USMC (Ret.) graduated from Officer Candidate School and the Women’s Basic School in 1966. She served as Executive Officer of Service Co., H&S Bn, an 800-man company at Camp Lejeune, NC. From 1968-1970, she served on the adjutant’s staff at Fleet Marine Pacific, Camp Smith, Hawaii traveling frequently to Japan and Okinawa.
She then embarked on a 27-year long career in the Marine Corps Reserve. Lt. Col. de Vries’s first Reserve assignment was to the 4th Tank Battalion in San Diego. After moving to Chicago, she was assigned as the adjutant of 2nd Bn 24th Marines and later was a member of the 15th Staff Group.
Lt. Col. de Vries’s civilian occupation in banking required living in Europe and Great Britain for a number of years where she belonged to Naval Reserve units at CINCUSNAVEUR in London and Frankfurt, Germany, and was on the J-5 staff at EUCOM in Stuttgart, Germany while living in Amsterdam. While working in Frankfurt, she assisted with Marines evacuated from the bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Sherry is a graduate of the Naval War College.
Lt. Col. de Vries was recalled to active duty for Operation Desert Storm where she was the Regional CACO with teams in 17 states to perform casualty assistance duties. This was followed by duty as the OIC of the Transition Assistance Program at Camp Lejeune.
