Jim "Murph" Murphy

James D. "Murph" Murphy, the Founder & CEO of Afterburner, Inc., has a unique and powerful mix of leadership skills in both the military and business worlds. Murph joined the U.S. Air Force where he learned to fly the F-15. He logged over 1,200 hours as an instructor pilot in the F-15 and accumulated over 3,200 hours of flight time in other high-performance aircraft. As the 116th Fighter Wing's Chief of Training for the Georgia Air National Guard, Murph's job was to keep 42 combat-trained fighter pilots ready to deploy worldwide within 72 hours. As a flight leader, he flew missions to Central America, Asia, Central Europe and the Middle East.

Prior to his service in the U.S. Air Force, Murph had a successful career in imaging equipment sales, where he helped increase his company's sales by 500%. Years later, he became Director of Sales for a small paint company. The concepts he developed and utilized in business and the U.S. Air Force would become known as Flawless Execution®. Applying Flawless Execution's continuous cycle of planning, briefing, executing, and debriefing, he increased his new employer's sales from $5 million to $52 million per year. Realizing that all companies and organizations could benefit from these same concepts, Murph started Afterburner Incorporated in early 1996.

Through his leadership, Afterburner landed on Inc. Magazine's "Inc. 500 List" twice. Murph has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Inc. Magazine, Newsweek, Meetings & Conventions Magazine and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and Bloomberg News. He was also named as one of Atlanta's top 50 entrepreneurs by Catalyst Magazine. To date, the Afterburner team of elite military professionals has led over 1 million executives, sales professionals, and business people from every industry through Afterburner's Flawless Execution Model℠, and its unique, high-energy programs.

Murph and Afterburner have shared the podium with notable speakers like Bill Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Marcus Buckingham, Colin Powell, J.W. Marriott Sr. and Terry Bradshaw. Murph serves as a panel member of the League of Extraordinary Minds with business and self-improvement gurus such as Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey. He is the author of the groundbreaking books Business Is Combat and Flawless Execution through Harper Collins publishing and has spoken at many of the world's most notable business schools to include Harvard, Wharton, Cornell, Emory, Duke and Fudan University in Shanghai, China.

Michael "Pisser" Kenny

Michael Kenny is one of the most experienced members of the Afterburner Team. Since 1997 he has worked with hundreds of different companies providing Flawless Execution℠ solutions. He has been called upon by some of the top CEO's in the Global 1000 to facilitate their Strategic planning, Project Management, Product Launches & Standard Operating Procedures. He is also our Subject Matter Expert and a leading authority in the area of Corporate Debriefing. His clients include companies such as Kellogg, Bank of America, New York Life, Union Pacific, Bausch & Lomb, Pfizer, H&R Block, CIBA Vision, & TIBCO, to name few. Michael is also a contributing author of Afterburner's 2005 release Flawless Execution (Harper Collins).

After graduating from the US Naval Academy with a degree in Mathematics, He went on to be a Marine Pilot for over 20 years. For 5 years he flew the AV-8B Harrier and then the F/A-18 Hornet for the last 15 years, accumulating over 3800 Tactical flight hours. His Combat experience includes 36 missions during Desert Storm and combat operations in Somalia.

In 1992 he was handpicked to attend the elite Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron (MAWTS) course or the Marine equivalent of "Top Gun". From 1993-1997, he was an instructor at the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center (NSAWC); A Naval Aviation training center of excellence in Fallon, Nevada. These Top notch training environments afforded him the requisite skills to teach Businesses how to lead, train and standardize their Teams.

Michael has over 23 years of leadership experience as a Marine Corps Officer and is now a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. At Afterburner he is our Senior Consultant and Solutions Director.

Charles "Chaz" Campbell

Charles Campbell, call sign "Chaz" is the Director of Afterburner University and the most senior member of the Afterburner Team. He recently retired from active service having achieved the rank of Brigadier General and accumulating over 30 years of service in the US Air Force and the Florida Air National Guard. He now shares his experiences and leadership lessons with Afterburner clients and students in the Afterburner University.

During his career Chaz has commanded at all levels of the Air Force structure. None more demanding than his last assignment as the Vice Commander of Air Forces North, First Air Force where he dealt with the "Can't fail" high pressure environment of Air Defense of the entire United States airspace...helping ensure "9-11" will never happen again!

Chaz is not only a graduate of the US Air Force Fighter Weapons School but was also selected as an instructor in the most elite of the Air Force fighter schools. He led the first F-16 team in the William Tell Air to Air competition and designed and commanded the first fighter Air National Guard Instructor Pilot Associate program to the US Air Force. He has been combat ready in the F-4, F-16 and the F-15 with over 3,700 hours.

Chaz was handpicked in 2007 to lead the Afterburner University. In that capacity he develops and executes the highly successful curriculum of the Flawless Execution℠ program.

Patrick "Lips" Houlahan

Patrick "Lips" Houlahan was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet Instructor Pilot and has flown the A/OA-10 Warthog with the United States Air Force Reserve accumulating over 2600 hours of flight time.

Lips graduated from The Citadel in 1992 and also graduated from "Top Gun", the United States Navy Post Graduate Fighter Weapons School, in 2000. While on active duty, Lips applied his superior tactical expertise, leadership, and instructional capabilities to train over 320 replacement aircrew.  In 2003, Lips was selected as the Instructor Pilot of the Year and was nominated for the Marine Corps Aviator of the Year.  Lips has also received numerous awards recognizing his unequalled ability to instill tactical readiness in his students and directly contributing to the training and readiness of all Marine and Navy F/A-18 Squadrons.  Lips is a graduate of the United States Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School, the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and has excelled as a Logistics, Maintenance, and Training Officer.

After leaving active duty in the Marine Corps in 2004, Lips brought his wealth of instructional experience to the Afterburner team and immediately made a significant impact. An expert at teaching and applying the Flawless Execution model, he quickly became one of Afterburner’s dynamic speakers and breakout facilitators. Lips has been requested by a number of clients because of his ability to connect with their teams.

Lips was selected as the San Diego’s MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Speaker of the Year for 2006. He still participates in the Marine Corps Reserves as an F/A-18 Hornet Instructor Pilot. In September, 2009, Lips deployed to Al Asad, Iraq flying missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and worked as the squadron’s Future Operations Officer.

Furthermore, Lips has been involved with the start-up of two companies as an operations and business development executive. The challenging experience of starting a business coupled with his vast knowledge of leading high performing teams, has made Lips one of Afterburner’s most valued speakers. Lips regularly speaks and consults with many of today's leading corporations such as Verizon, GE, ExxonMobil, Medtronic, and H&R Block to name a few.

Jim "Boots" Demarest

Jim "Boots" Demarest is an F-15 Instructor Pilot and Mission Commander recognized as a Distinguished Graduate of the prestigious Air Force Fighter Weapon School "Top Gun" program. Boots, a Desert Storm veteran, has extensive business experience. After graduation from Cornell Law School as the Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review, Boots spent over 9 years as a Commercial Litigation attorney in Florida. A self-proclaimed "recovering attorney", Boots now owns and operates a martial arts school while overseeing his real estate development projects in Southwest Florida.

Boots joined Afterburner in 2002 and has delivered his leadership and consulting experience to such companies as Sara Lee, Meridian Gold, Genworth, Kohler, Motorola, and GMAC, helping to develop their senior leadership teams through the full range of Afterburner's products and coaching programs.

Matthew "Whiz" Buckley

E. Matthew “Whiz” Buckley is the founder and CEO of Strike Fighter Financial LLC, a privately held consulting firm that works with select clients in the financial industry. He is the founder and CEO of Top Gun Options LLC and is the Chief Strategy Officer and a partner at Options University Group LLC headquartered in Boca Raton, FL.

Whiz is a highly experienced business executive with decades of leadership and execution experience from the front lines to the front office. Whiz was the founder and CEO of PEAK6 Media LLC, a financial media firm. The company provided options and futures news, commentary, analysis, entertainment, and up to the minute reporting directly from the floors of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and Board of Trade. This exclusive information allowed retail and professional options and futures traders around the world to execute at a higher level.

Prior to this Whiz was the Managing Director of Strategy for PEAK6 Investments L.P., one of the largest proprietary volatility arbitrage options trading firms in the country. He was responsible for the strategic development, execution, and debriefing of all strategic plans across the firm and retail business units. Whiz rose from the position of Managing Director at this leading Wall Street firm to CEO of a subsidiary company in one year at the age of 38. This firm recruited Whiz based on his experience as a consultant at Afterburner, his military leadership experience, and his retail options trading knowledge.

Whiz’s military background makes him a highly successful options trader. At Top Gun Options he applies many fighter pilot methodologies and techniques to trading such as executing a well defined strategy with predetermined exit points, managing risk by having a contingency plan, and debriefing each trade to get lessons learned so he can improve future performance. His firm teaches professional and retail traders how to sort through information overload (trading task saturation) to ensure that they have the highest probability of success before squeezing the trigger on a trade. One of his options based portfolios returned over 75% in 2010, and year to date another portfolio is up 60%.

Whiz is a columnist on Jim Cramer’s financial website TheStreet.com and writes a column called “The Firing Line". He also writes an options trading column on Investors Observer. Whiz has been quoted as a financial expert in the Wall Street Journal and Market Watch and as a military expert for Fox News.

From 2004 to 2006, he was the Director of Leadership for Afterburner where he became a nationally recognized and highly sought after business consultant and speaker. He developed and deployed leadership and strategic planning products and was a C level advisor to many Fortune 500 companies, including GE, Cisco, GM, AT&T, Sears, First Industrial, GMAC, Panasonic, Washington Mutual, Capital One, GM, MasterCard, Tyco, and Gilead Sciences.

Whiz has written a book called From Sea Level to C Level: A Fighter Pilot’s Journey from the Front Lines to the Front Office, which combines his experiences in the military and in corporate America.

Whiz is a decorated Naval Aviator who flew the F/A-18 Hornet for the United States Navy. He flew 44 combat sorties over Iraq and graduated from the Navy Fighter Weapons School (“TOPGUN”).

Tracy "Jackie O" LaTourrette

Tracy "JackieO" LaTourrette, one of the first female fighter pilots in the world, has flown missions globally as a combat mission-ready F-16 fighter pilot. JackieO qualified in both the F-16 fighter and the C-21 Learjet, and is a Lieutenant Colonel currently serving on the Colorado National Guard’s Joint Staff as the Deputy Director of Current Operations. She is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate with a coveted appointment by President George H.W. Bush and has a Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Engineering. Post 9-11 JackieO flew Presidential protection missions and flew in a classified location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

JackieO has accumulated over 1,200 total flight hours, 4 Aerial Achievement Medals, and over 2,000 hours as an AWACS Air Weapons Controller. She is a Top Gun and Turkey Shoot Champion, and a graduate of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Weapons School Interoperability training at the Top Gun facility with the Navy. Tracy completed Fighter Electronic Combat training, Air Force Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and is currently enrolled in Air War College. She has an extensive background in weapons and tactics, training, mobility, and scheduling, to name a few. JackieO brings her expertise in discipline, flexibility, and process improvement to the thousands of participants she trains both nationally & abroad.

JackieO 's customization is best in class. She is known for her ability to readily assess the most complicated of businesses, accurately speaking their language and addressing company specific real world issues from the stage and in breakouts. Her energetic style creates an environment where clients learn the Flawless Execution ModelSM, the pitfalls of channelized attention and task saturation, and depart motivated and focused. JackieO arms her clients with powerful tools they can immediately apply for accelerated results.

A 2000 veteran with Afterburner Inc., JackieO's international experience makes her highly sought after and requested by Fortune 100 companies. Mass Mutual, Pfizer, HSBC, State Farm, Jiffy Lube and Blue Cross Blue Shield accelerate their corporate success through JackieO's training. JackieO's flexibility and attention to detail make her a top choice for customizing complicated programs for Associations with a varied audience such as National Apartment Association, and Executive Women International. This fighter pilot Mom was recently featured in Aviation for Women magazine, on the cover of Contractor Magazine, and is also featured on the cover of Afterburner's book, "Flawless Execution". JackieO has spoken at Harvard Business School and is our only speaker to have closed for a U.S. President.

Terry "TD" Deitz

• F-14 A/D Instructor Pilot
• 3000 Hours Flight Time
• 342 Carrier Landings
• Retired Commander U.S. Navy Reserves
• Graduate U.S. Naval Academy
• Pilot for Major Airline
• Television Personality

Anthony "Roby" Roberson

Anthony J. "Roby" Roberson joined the Afterburner team in 2008. Roby has conducted Flawless Execution consulting to a host of diverse companies like USAA, Kwikset (Black and Decker), Smith and Nephew, Integrated Electrical Systems, Sea Ray Boats and Underwriters Laboratories. Roby's leadership and human capital development, strategic planning, organizational management and tactical execution strengths are tried, tested and proven. From developing leading edge tactics and training programs for the Department of Defense, to authoring academic curriculum for the largest training wing in the US Air Force and developing major theater engagement, action and combat plans for the nation, he is a first call on resources for any industry in need of breadth of talent and expertise.

Roby graduated from the US Air Force Academy with military distinction in 1989. While at the Academy, he led the Western Athletic Conference in all-purpose yardage in 1987 and 1988 as a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American athlete. Roby is the only player in Air Force Academy football history to be honored with all three of the team's top awards; Most Valuable Player Award, Brian Bullard Award (unselfishness, total team commitment, 110% effort) and the Mr Intensity Award in 1988. Following academy graduation, Roby completed 18 years of Air Force service as a highly decorated combat fighter pilot and lauded military strategic planner. During his career, Roby amassed over 2,200 flying hours, 101 combat missions and supported combat and contingency operations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He is one of the original architects of the Operation IRAQI FREEDOM air campaign effecting the rapid regime removal of Saddam Hussein. Roby is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force F-16 Reserve Training Unit, an honor graduate of the Joint Firepower Control Course, a graduate of the Air Force's Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (Top Gun), and the Advanced Command and Control Warriors Course. He spent his final years on active duty as an Assistant Football Coach and national recruiting scout for the Air Force Academy football Falcons, helping lead the team and staff to consecutive Armed Forces Bowl appearances in 2007 and 2008. Roby retired from active duty in May of 2009 in the middle of a combat zone, at Balad Air Base, Iraq, during a joint ceremony honoring America's Original Tuskegee Airmen and his personal service and sacrifice to our nation.

He holds a graduate degree in Aeronautical Science & has served as an adjunct instructor at the undergraduate & graduate levels for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Roby recently co-authored a book with several other accomplished leaders and the long time Air Force Academy Head Football Coach, Fisher DeBerry entitled The Power of Influence.

John "Hitman" Hilterman

• F/A-18 Fighter Pilot
• 4700 Hours Flight Time
• 507 Carrier Landings
• Flown Missions in Iraq, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Australia
• Advanced Tactics and Night Vision Goggle Instructor
• E-3A (AWACS) Pilot for U.S. Air Force Reserves

Scott "Hacksaw" Hall

Scott "Hacksaw" Hall is a United States Air Force Instructor Pilot. He has over 30 combat missions in the A-10 Warthog during Desert Storm, was an Instructor pilot in the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Falcon with 34 combat missions in Operation Deny Flight. Ensuring coalition safety over the skies of Northern and Southern Iraq. After 14 years of active duty flying he became a pilot for United Airlines and is currently in the Air Force Reserves as a Lt Col and recruits for the United States Air Force Academy. He has accumulated over 2500 hours of flight time.

Hacksaw has received numerous awards recognizing his unequalled ability with 4 Air Medals, 2 Aerial Achievement Medals, 2 Air Force commendation Medals, National Defense Service Medal and 2 Kuwait Liberation Medals. Hacksaw is a graduate of the United States Air Force Squadron Officers School and the United States Air Force Air War College.

After leaving the active flying community in 2001, Hacksaw brought his wealth of instructional experience to the Afterburner team and immediately made a significant impact. An expert at teaching and applying the Flawless Execution model, he quickly became one of Afterburner’s dynamic speakers and breakout facilitators.

Hacksaw has not only excelled in the world of combat aviation but also in the business arena. He is the owner of a recruiting firm, and an owner of a Massage Envy Franchise in San Diego.

Julie "Jewels" Hudson

• A-10 Fighter Pilot
• 2500 Hours Flight Time
• Former Marketing Rep for Major Airline
• MBA from George Washington University
• Pilot for Major Airline

Greg "Stubby" Stubs

• F-14, F/A-18 Fighter Pilot
• F-16N, A-4, F-5 Adversary Instructor Pilot
• 2800 Hours Flight Time
• 335 Carrier Landings
• Graduate of U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" School
• 35 Missions in Iraq
• Pilot for Major Airline

Reginald "Jekyll" Hyde

Jekyll is an F-16 Fighter Pilot with over sixteen years of leadership experience as a U.S. Air Force officer. He is also a pilot for a major commercial airline and a successful entrepreneur and business consultant. Jekyll has flown combat missions all over the world including extensive experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Starting his career as an Active Duty USAF instructor pilot, Jekyll continues as a member of the Alabama Air National Guard.

Jekyll is a Distinguished Graduate from Tuskegee University and a Tuskegee Airman. He holds a bachelor's degree in Biology and Chemistry and is completing a master's degree in Airfield Operations management. He is a graduate of two U.S. Air Force professional military training schools. Jekyll joined Afterburner in 2000 and has delivered his leadership experience to such companies as Hilton, Ford, IBM, Home Depot, GM, Minolta, Century 21, and Terminix, helping to develop their senior leadership teams through Afterburner's presentation and high-level coaching programs.

Mark "Prada" McGinnis

Navy SEALS are the elite of the Special Operations Forces - the most highly trained and dedicated forces in the global special operations community - undertaking the toughest physical and mental training in preparation for dangerous missions into enemy territory. Commander Mark N McGinnis will take you through the process of attaining this elite status - including the aptly-named "Hell Week" when soldiers are pushed to the physical, mental and emotional limits, often on less than four hours sleep.

Mark successfully completed this training, and went on to lead more than 400 SEAL operators through real world operations and training evolutions with zero mishaps. He has completed numerous deployments and operations throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, North East Asia, the Pacific Rim countries, Iraq and Afghanistan. He truly understands the term "leadership in challenging times" and how to translate his training and experiences to his civilian career.

Born in Monroe, North Carolina, in 1969 Commander Mark N McGinnis attended the United States Naval Academy. After graduating from USNA in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science degree, he served in the U.S. Marines as a Quality Assurance Officer. Three years later, Mark felt duty-bound to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL, and in 1996 became one of only four Marine Officers in history to be awarded an inter-service transfer to the U.S. Navy Seals.

As a Lieutenant Junior Grade, Mark served as Class Leader for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training Class 212 and after graduation was assigned to SEAL Team FIVE in San Diego, California (1996-2000). At ST-5, Mark served in a variety of positions, leading his team through numerous deployments throughout North East Asia and the Pacific. After his successful tour of duty at ST-5, he was selected to serve at SEAL Team FOUR in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2000-2002) where he completed numerous deployments and operations in support of counter narcotics and counter drug initiatives throughout the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America.

In May 2002, Lieutenant McGinnis separated from active duty and embarked on a career as a Biosurgical Sales Specialist for Genzyme Biosurgery. Meanwhile, while serving in the reserves, Mark received the rank of Lieutenant Commander at Supervisor Diving and Salvage. Two years later, Mark put his civilian career on hold when he was once again asked to serve his country.

LCDR McGinnis was assigned to the Special Operations Command Center in Tampa Florida (2004-2006) where he completed numerous deployments in support of Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. During his career as a SEAL officer, Mark has earned the reputation of "Top Operator" and proudly led more than 400 SEAL operators through numerous real world and training evolutions with zero mishaps. In May of 2009, Mark received the rank of Commander.

After completing his tour of duty at SOCCENT, Commander McGinnis re-joined Genzyme Biosurgery where he was soon after promoted to the position of Regional Sales Director.

Mark continues to proudly serve in the U.S. Naval Reserves and lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Patty and his children, Reagan and Kellan.

Dave "Avis" Halla

• F-16 International Training Instructor Pilot and Mission Commander
• 2600 Hours Flight Time
• M.S Instructional and Preformance Technology, Boise State University
• Chief Informational Officer Certificate, National Defense University
• Orchid Nusery Owner

Thomas "Biff" Cleary

• F/A-18, F-16 Fighter Pilot
• 3900 Hours Flight Time
• 395 Carrier Landings
• 36 Missions in Iraq and Bosnia
• U.S. Naval Academy Graduate
• Pilot for Major Airline

Mark "Calvin" Cline

• F-16 Instructor Pilot and Squadron Commander
• 3300 Hours Flight Time
• Air Campaign Planner for Operation Iraqi Freedom
• U.S Air Force Weapons School Instructor
• Operational Analyst

Bobbi "Flash" Doorenbos

• F-16 Fighter Pilot
• 1200 Hours Flight Time
• Flown Missions in Iraq
• Air Operations Officer and Exercise Planner for the Air National Guard Readiness Center

David "Fonzi" Campanella

• F-14 Weapons Systems Officer
• 800 Hours Flight Time
• Operation Southern Watch
• CPA, President of Investment Firm

Kevin "Grace" Kelly

• F-16 Instructor Pilot and Mission Commander
• 2500 Hours Flight Time
• Flown Missions in Iraq and Bosnia
• Real Estate Development and Diamond Wholesale Business

Jay "Hedz" Hedley

• A-10 Fighter Pilot
• 3000 Hours Flight Time
• 85 Missions in Afghanistan
• Harvard Business School Graduate
• Strategy Manager for a Leading Consulting Firm

Cheryl "Meff" Meffert

• T-37, AT-38, C-130 Pilot
• 1500 Hours Flying Time
• Flown Mission in Bosnia, Korea, Japan, and Columbia
• Kentucky Air National Guard
• Sales Manager for a Fortune 100 Company for 5 Years

Ernie "Rico" Bio

• F-16 Fighter Pilot
• 1200 Hours Flight Time
• 33 Missions in Iraq
• Worked for Major Pharmaceutical Company
• New Jersey Realtor
• F-16 Pilot with the Air National Guard

Terry "Slash" Hedley

• F-16 Fighter Pilot
• 2500 Hours Flight Time
• Winner of Multiple Top Gun Awards
• Flown Missions in Iraq and Korea
• Princeton University Graduate

Michele "Timber" Kilgore

• F-16 Fighter Pilot
• 2700 Hours Flight Time
• Flown Missions in Iraq
• New York National Guard
• U.S. Air Force Academy Graduate

Balky

• +8000 Hours Flight Time
• Canadian Top Gun Graduate
• Instructor F/A-18 US Navy
• Aircraft Carrier Qualified
• Best 2-Ship/Top Gun Runner Up - William Tell
• Airline Pilot

Bundy

• F/A 18 Hornet Instructor Pilot
• 6500 Hours Flight Time
• Carrier Pilot
• Corporate Flight Operations Consultant

Chappie

• USAF F-16 Instructor/Evaluator Pilot & Aggressor Mig-1
• 2600 Hours Flight Time
• USAF Thunderbird (Thunderbird #2 Left Wing, 2002-2005)
• White House Fellow, 2006 U.S. Air Force Academy Graduate
• M.A. Naval War College / M.S. Colorado Tech

Ron "Beav" Horton

Ron Horton, call sign “Beav”, is a 1982 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Program. Following an extremely distinguished career and four operational command tours, Ron retired from the U.S. Navy after 30 years of service. The pinnacles of Ron’s career were commanding a Logistics Group and Task Force, as a Rear Admiral, in Southeast Asia and being the 20th Commanding Officer of the Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65), responsible and accountable for all facets of safety and operations of her 5500 personnel embarked crew and eight nuclear reactors. Ron has also commanded an FA-18C “Hornet” Carrier Based Strike Fighter Squadron and an 18,000 Ton Amphibious Transport Ship.

As a Strike Fighter Squadron Commanding Officer, Ron led his squadron to winning the Navy’s Battle Efficiency Award for FA-18 squadrons, the Safety Excellence Award for Aviation Safety, and to being selected as the Navy’s FA-18 “Squadron of the Year”. Additionally, as Commanding Officer of USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65), Ron led that enormous team to winning SECNAV and CNO Environmental Excellence Awards, the prestigious ADM Flatley Memorial Safety Award signifying combined Ship/Air Wing Team Safety Excellence, the Navy’s Battle Efficiency Award for Aircraft Carriers, and the coveted Battenberg Cup signifying “Fleet Forces Ship of the Year”.

Ron has over 3700 flight hours and 750 Carrier Arrested Landings with 250 Night Carrier Landings in the A6E “Intruder” and FA-18C “Hornet”. He was a qualified instructor in every facet of tactical strike warfare and a qualified Carrier Air Wing Strike Leader.

Ron now shares his vast Executive Leadership and Risk Management experience in high risk operations with Afterburner clients as Afterburner’s EVP for Health, Safety, and Environmental Services.