Lieutenant General Bob Wood
U.S. Army (Retired)
CEO, American Veterans Vote
Bob Wood is the Chief Executive Officer for American Veterans Vote, a Veteran based advocacy group oriented on encouraging Veterans to understand and use their collective political voice. Prior to his present position, Bob was Executive Vice President for National Security and Defense for AFCEA International, a large 501(c)6 member-based trade association serving the National Security, IT, Cyber, and C4I communities.
Bob served 36 years in the U. S. Army before retiring as a Lieutenant General. Throughout his career in peace and war, he commanded at all levels through Army Division and served in senior operations and staff positions at Army, Joint, and Coalition level. Bob also held a variety of positions focused on strategic planning, education, and innovation. He was a White House Fellow in the Reagan National Security Council. In his last job before retirement, he served as the Deputy Commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Bob earned a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Chicago, a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences at the Army’s Command and General Staff College, and a Bachelor of Sciences degree from West Point. As an Army Strategic Studies Fellow, he attended Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Michael Flanagan, Chief of Operations
COL Mike Flanagan USA (RETD) is an independent consultant in the defense industry while also serving as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army (CASA) for Virginia (South). Mike also serves on the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and represents the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) on Virginia’s Joint Leadership Council for Veteran Service Organizations (JLC VSO). He is a 1986 graduate of USMA and served 27 years active duty in the Army as an armor officer and later as an acquisition officer. He has been an active volunteer on GOP campaigns and committees since he retired from the Army in 2013.
Staci Goede, Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Thom Owens, Chief Marketing and Membership Officer
Thom Owens retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel after a 20-year career in both combat arms and special operations units and assignments. Following his time in service, he was a founder and served as the Chief Operations Officer and Chief Executive Officer of a defense contracting firm providing specialized manpower back to the government supporting efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. After selling the business, he continued his education and earned a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University. He started a leadership development and process improvement consultancy and also serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching business, leadership, and management part-time at Regent University at the undergraduate level.
Bill Bunting, Chief Liaison Officer (Field Force Lead)
Bill Bunting earned his BS and MS at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), before entering active duty in the Army Chemical Corps (1980-84), mainly conducting DARPA classified research on military chemical systems at Edgewood Arsenal, MD. He left active duty in May 1984 as CPT(P), then spent 34 years as an industrial polymer chemist specializing in polyurethanes technology, for three different companies (Union Carbide, Carpenter Co., and Evonik Industries). He retired in 2018, at which time he founded a part-time consulting business, PUR-OPT Consulting LLC. He also started Centralia Animal Hospital with his veterinarian wife, acting as business manager for 19 years (1993-2012) before selling the practice to a national chain.
Andy Melton, Director of Political Analysis
Dr. Arch Turner, Director of Research
Arch Turner is a former Naval Aviator, with over fifty years of service in national security. Arch spent fourteen years flying carrier-based attack aircraft, and after retiring from the Navy, he worked in the defense industry as a consultant, and in government – accepting a position with DHS. He spent seventeen years in DoD/DHS science and technology. He is a graduate of the USNA with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and earned his Ph.D. from George Washington University, as well as an MS in information systems technology. He also earned an MS in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Frank Wickersham III, Veteran Service Organizations
Frank G. Wickersham III COL USMC (Ret) is the Vice President of VSE Corporation’s Corporate Responsibility (Veterans Outreach), where he designed, developed and deployed VSE’s Veterans Outreach Program. In the Marine Corps, Frank held a variety of positions including: Fleet Marine Officer/Special Staff Officer to Commander Naval Forces Central Command and Commander US 7th Fleet (Gulf War); Director, Joint Strategic Branch, Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps; Deputy Commander, Air Combat Element, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (Somalia); Commander, Marine Corps Air Facility, Camp Pendleton; Squadron Operations Officer, Squadron Strike/Flight Leader (Vietnam). Frank graduated from the University of Florida. He earned his MA in International Affairs in 1987 and his PhD in World Politics/Legislative Affairs in 1998 from Catholic University of America.