Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
Dan Allyn culminated over 36 years of military service with duty as the 35th Vice Chief of Staff of the Army from 2014-2017. He commanded at every level in our Army from platoon to MACOM level, including command in combat at the platoon, company, Brigade Combat Team and Division level. He began his career as a Platoon Leader in 2nd Battalion, 508th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division, and served two subsequent tours with the 82nd Airborne, culminating as Battalion Commander, 1-325th AIR. Dan served three tours of duty with the 75th Ranger Regiment, including Company Commander, C/1-75 during Operation Just Cause in Panama, and Battalion Commander of 3rd Ranger Battalion. He led 3rd BCT, 3ID during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. Dan served as Chief of Staff, Deputy Commanding General and Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, including duty as the Chief of Staff, Multi-National Corps-Iraq in 2008-2009, and Deputy Commander of Operation Unified Response, the Earthquake Response and Recovery in Haiti in 2010. He commanded 1st Cavalry Division, including duty as CG, CJTF-1 in Eastern Afghanistan from 2011-2012. GEN Allyn’s final Army Command was with US Army Forces Command at Ft Bragg, NC, 2013-2014.
He is a native of Berwick, Maine, and was commissioned a 2LT of Infantry in 1981 upon graduation from the United States Military Academy. Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from USMA at West Point, a Masters in National Security Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, RI, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC.
Mike Hall is a retired Command Sergeant Major and a decorated combat veteran with over 34 years of service to the US Army and Special Operations. His experiences over the last 4 decades cover a wide range of roles, from the National Command Authority to the private on the ground. Hall served over 20 years with the 75th Ranger Regiment; he is the only soldier to have held the senior enlisted position at the Ranger Regiment, the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). He retired from active duty in 2008 after 32 years of service and in 2009 was recalled from retirement, to serve as the CSM and Senior Enlisted Advisor for the International Security Assistance Force/United States Forces Afghanistan North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Afghanistan (ISAF). He is a veteran of Operation Just Cause, Desert Storm-Phase III, Operation Uphold Democracy, operations in the Balkans, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hall has been the senior advisor to seven General Officers in time of war and peace.
After retirement, CSM (Ret) Hall was employed by Lockheed Martin Corporation as a Business Development Manager for Irregular Warfare and Stability Operations. In 2011, he joined the McChrystal Group as a consultant. In 2014, he left the McChrystal Group and was an independent leadership and operational consultant and executive coach for several years for commercial companies and the Department of Defense. In 2017-2018, he held the position as Chief of Staff, North American Sales with the Scotts Miracle Gro Company.
As of 2019, he has refocused his efforts to spend his time on Veterans’ issues.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) John Phillips is a “Mustang”. He served on active duty in the US Army Field Artillery as an enlisted soldier from 1975 to 1978 and then became a Commissioned Officer from 1982 to 1999. During his career, he served in the United States, Europe and throughout the Middle East. While in the Field Artillery, he served in VII Corps Artillery in Germany twice, 4th Infantry Division (5th Battalion, 29th Field Artillery), and the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division (1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery and 502d Infantry Regiment). While serving as a Comptroller, he served with 3d US Army that included one combat tour in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during Operations Desert Shield and Storm as well as numerous other deployments across the Middle East for a wide variety of missions. Mr. Phillips also served as the Secretary of the General Staff and Aide to the First US Army Commander rank of Lieutenant Colonel and retired in 1999.
LTC (ret) Phillips is the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Georgia (North), co-founder and Vice President of VETLANTA, and former Managing Director of Boots to Loafers, LLC. He is a former Finance Executive at The Coca-Cola Company and a US Army retired Lieutenant Colonel. He is a former member of the board of directors Executive Committee of USO of Georgia and was the Chair for the Audit Committee. He is a 2017 Marvin Myers Leadership Award recipient from the Georgia Veterans Day Association and a 2020 inductee to the Georgia Military Veteran Hall of Fame. He is also a board member for the Georgia Veterans Services Foundation. LTC (ret) Phillips is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, BS (Finance) and Syracuse University, MBA.
Lieutenant General (Retired) Keen retired from the US Army in 2013 after serving 38 years. LTG (Ret) Keen commanded in Special Forces, the 82nd Airborne Division, and the Rangers including the 75th Ranger Regiment, Joint Task Force – Haiti, following the Jan. 2010 earthquake, as well as serving on 3 U.S. Embassy Country Teams leading all military forces in Colombia, Haiti, and Pakistan during crisis periods, including arrival in Pakistan shortly after Bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces.
As the Commander of Joint Task Force – Haiti, LTG (Ret) Keen led the largest targeted U.S. military-based response to a foreign disaster consisting of 22,000+ personnel, 19 ships, and 57 aircraft with a budget of $500+ million and responsibility for coordinating vision and direction for the U.S. response to the earthquake.
LTG (Ret) Keen serves as the Associate Dean of Leadership Development and Program Lead for the Master in Business for Veterans Program at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business in Atlanta, Georgia. In these roles, he leads a graduate business degree specifically designed for veterans transitioning to a business career and manages a school-wide leadership program. LTG (Ret) Keen is a native of Hyden, Kentucky and was commissioned as a 2LT in the Infantry following graduation as a distinguished military graduate from Eastern Kentucky University in December 1974. Additionally, he is a graduate of the University of Florida’s Master of Arts in Latin American Studies program.
Sean D. Naylor is the author of Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command and Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda, both of which were New York Times bestsellers. He is a co-founder and a lead reporter for The High Side, an online publication that focuses on national security issues. From 1990 to 2013 he was a reporter for Army Times, covering special operations forces, combat operations, exercises, training, readiness, force modernization and the Army's senior leadership. He spent time as an embedded reporter in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. From January to August 2015, Sean was the intelligence and counterterrorism correspondent for Foreign Policy magazine. From 2014 to 2017 he was also a contributing reporter for the New York Times, participating in an in-depth investigation of SEAL Team 6 that won the 2015 George Polk award for military reporting. He was also a contributing writer for Newsweek magazine. Most recently, from 2018 to early 2021 he was a national security correspondent for Yahoo News.
Sean received his bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University in 1988 and a Master of Arts in international relations from the same institution in 1990. Born in Canada, and raised in England and Ireland, Sean became a U.S. citizen in 2000. He lives just outside Washington, D.C., in Montgomery County, Maryland, reluctantly hung up his rugby boots 22 years ago after a 25-year playing career and is an avid soccer fan.
Lt. Gen. Brad Webb retired in May 2022 as the Commander, Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Joint Base San Antonio–Randolph, Texas. He was responsible for the recruitment, training, and education of Air Force personnel. His command included Air Force Recruiting Service, two numbered Air Forces, and Air University. The command operated more than 1,400 trainer, fighter, and mobility aircraft, 24 wings, 11 bases and five geographically separated groups, training more than 293,000 students per year with approximately 60,000 active duty, Reserve, Guard, civilian, and contractor personnel.
Lt. Gen. (Ret) Webb (graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1984. A career special operator and helicopter pilot, he accumulated more than 3,700 flying hours, including 117 combat hours in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia. Prior to AETC, the general commanded seven other times including Air Force Special Operations Command, Special Operations Command Europe, and NATO Special Operations Headquarters.
Lieutenant General (Retired) Christmas retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1996 after serving for 34 years. In 1968 in Vietnam, during the Battle for Hue City, then Captain Christmas was awarded the Navy Cross for “extraordinary heroism.” He was severely wounded during the action and received a Purple Heart. LtGen (Ret) Christmas’ story about the action at Hue City was recorded by the Witness to War Foundation, and all of his interview clips can be seen here. His Navy Cross citation can be seen here >
After retiring in 1996, LTG (Ret) Christmas served as the CEO of the Marine Heritage Foundation until 2011. He is a director at Stone Energy Corporation in Louisiana. LtGen (Ret) Christmas is a native of Philadelphia and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts. He also received a Master of Science degree from Shippensburg University.
MG (Ret) Scott has served in a wide variety of assignments in Infantry and Armored Divisions in the United States and in Germany. He served as the Commanding General and Division Engineer, South Pacific Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in San Francisco, California, Chief of Legislative Liaison and Commanding General of USASAC. Other assignments included serving as a White House Fellow as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation, Elizabeth Dole; Military Assistant to the Executive Secretary for the Secretary of Defense; Service on the Army Staff as the Deputy Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy; and Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
MG (Ret) Scott is a 1972 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of Science. He is an Olmsted Scholar and received a Master of International Relations equivalent from the Universitaet Freiburg, FRG. He also holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. Four of his six children are West Point graduates.
Upon retirement in 2002, MG (Ret) Scott held positions as Vice President, ITT Defense, and President, ITT Defense International until 2011. In May of 2011, General Scott was appointed as President and CEO of The George and Carol Olmsted Foundation.
Mr. Weiss, an early supporter of the Witness to War Foundation, had an extensive career in corporate management and management consulting. Mr. Weiss was responsible for top line revenue as a Vice President of a $700 million division of RJR/Nabisco; previously Mr. Weiss held senior management roles at several other Fortune 500 multinational corporations.
Mr. Weiss helped build Weston Group into a premier business strategy consulting firm with clients such as Sharp Electronics, Time, Inc., Nabisco Foods, Hershey Foods, Colgate-Palmolive, Pillsbury, Kraft Foods, Unilever, AT&T, Brown-Forman, and General Electric. After selling Weston Group to Computer Sciences Corporation, Mr. Weiss was Senior Partner & Executive-in-Charge of the Growth Strategy Practice and Executive-in-Charge of Global Client Relationships. Upon retiring, Mr. Weiss formed and chaired CSC’s Advisory Board.
Mr. Weiss currently leads Charles Weiss, LLC, where he serves on company boards, advises CEO’s, and makes private equity investments. Mr. Weiss also serves on the board of the Eissey Campus Theatre. Mr. Weiss has a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University.
