National Advisory Council
A note of thanks from Ken Hartman and the rest of the team at Our Community Salutes:
“We are honored to benefit from the extraordinary experience our council provides and thank them for their individual and collective guidance on matters related to our mission: to provide assistance to our nation’s high school enlistees and their parents and guardians.”
-Kenneth Hartman, Founder and President
U.S. Army
Jeffrey Snow
Major General, USA, Retired
Jeffrey Snow was the 25th commanding general of US Army Recruiting Command. He has served in the U.S. Army for 35 years, and is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Peter Lennon
Major General, USA, Retired
Peter Lennon was the Deputy Commanding General, U. S. Army Reserve Command (USARC). He has served in the U.S. Army for 40 years, and is a graduate of Bucknell University.
John Wayne Troxell
Command Sergeant Major, USA, Retired
John Wayne Troxell was the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as most senior noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Armed Forces from 2015 until his retirement in 2019. He served in the U.S. Army for 37 years.
Jack L. Tilley
Sergeant Major of the Army, USA, Retired
Jack Tilley was the 12th Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army, advising on all enlisted service member-related matters. He has served in the U.S. Army for 36 years, and is the author, “A Soldier’s Life: Lessons From The 12th Sergeant Major Of The Army”.
Michelle Jones
Sergeant Major, USA, Retired
Michelle Jones, USA, (Ret.) was the first woman to serve as the 9th Command Sgt. Maj. of the U.S. Army Reserve, and at the time, the highest-ranking enlisted African American in the Army Reserve. She served in the U.S. Army for 25 years.
U.S. Air Force
Frederick ‘Jim’ Finch
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, USAF, Retired
Jim Finch was the 13th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, representing the highest enlisted level of leadership as the adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff. He served 28 years in the Air Force.
Cherly Adams
Chief Master Sergeant, USAF, Retired
Chief Master Sergeant Cheryl D. Adams was the 11th Command Chief Master Sergeant for Air Force Reserve Command. Adams also served as Chief of Enlisted Matters, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Strategic Diversity Integration. She served 30 years in the Air Force.
U.S. Navy
Kirk Foster
Rear Admiral, USN, Retired
Kirk Foster led senior legal advisory positions in naval service, including the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General, Civil Law organization. He served 28 years in the Navy, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University School of Law.
James L. Herdt
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, USN, Retired
James Herdt was the 9th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, representing enlisted personnel as the senior enlisted advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations. He served 35 years in the Navy, and remains active in the Naval community.
U.S. Marine Corps
Patrick Hermesmann
Major General, USMC, Retired
Patrick Hermesmann was the former Commander, Marine Forces Europe and Africa; Commander, Marine Forces Korea; and Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff Marine Forces Reserve. He holds degrees from the Army War College, Joint Forces Staff College, Rutgers University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Toledo. He served 34 years in the Marine Corps.
Alford L. McMichael
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, USMC, Retired
Alford L. McMichael served as the 14th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, representing enlisted personnel as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and was the first Staff Non-Commissioned Officer for Allied Command Operations for NATO. He served 36 years in the Marine Corps, and is the author of, “Leadership: Achieving Life-Changing Success From Within”.
Anthony Spadaro
Sergeant Major, USMC, Retired
Anthony A. Spadaro was the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Pacific Command, one of six geographic unified combatant commands of the United States Armed Forces with 380,000 uniformed Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine service members. He served 35 years in the Marine Corps.
U.S. Coast Guard
Vince Patton
Master Chief Petty Officer, USCG, Retired
Vince Patton was the 8th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, serving as a senior advisor to the Commandant of the Coast Guard on all matters related to enlisted personnel. He served 30 years in the Coast Guard.
National Guard
Victor Perez
Brigadier General, USA, Retired
Victor Perez was the former Director of the Joint Staff, Puerto Rico Army National Guard with command responsibility to coordinate and direct National Guard Homeland Defense (HLD) Operations. He served more than 35 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard.