2017 ROTC Hall of Fame Inductees
Col. (Ret.) Peter W. Bradley, Class of 1959
Peter W. Bradley, an economics major from the Bronx, N.Y., was commissioned an artillery second lieutenant through the Army ROTC program upon graduation from St. Bonaventure University in 1959. He graduated from the Air Defense Artillery School at Fort Bliss and was assigned to the 56th ADA Brigade, Fort Banks, Mass., where he served as a Nike Hercules battery missile fire control platoon leader and as a launcher platoon leader in Thule, Greenland, before being ordered to Fort Rucker for pilot training.
Earning his aviator’s wings, Bradley was assigned to IV US Corps in Birmingham, Ala., where his duties included serving as the corps commander’s pilot. He returned to Fort Sill for the Artillery Officer Career Course and received orders to a then-highly classified aviation unit, the 224th Aviation Battalion (RR), to be formed in the Republic of Vietnam. There, from 1966 to 1967, he flew missions to find, fix and electronically identify enemy transmitters and pass the information for targeting. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism when he completed a mission despite his aircraft being heavily damaged by enemy fire.
He reported to The Army Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs as an aviation staff officer, was promoted to major and given the task to allocate newly acquired U-21 aircraft maintenance and air crew training. The assignment required him to be trained in factory maintenance and to become a Beechcraft instructor pilot. Ordered back to Vietnam as the 1st Cavalry Division’s 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion executive officer, he eventually commanded Company C (Ghostriders) at the height of the Cambodian invasion in 1970. After being severely burned while rescuing a downed helicopter crew, he recovered in San Antonio, Texas, and was awarded the Soldiers Medal for heroism.
Bradley graduated from Command and General Staff College and served as executive officer of 4/1 ADA (Nike Hercules) and S-3 of the 23rd ADA Group. He coordinated the inactivation of two nuclear-capable air defense battalions and the 23rd ADA Group before being reassigned to Northeast Region Recruiting Command. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he became the first dedicated aviation assignments officer in the U.S. Army Military Personnel Center.
He commanded the 4/1 ADA Battalion (Chaparral Vulcan) in the III U.S. Corps at Fort Bliss, Texas, and then attended the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pa. During this time he completed the requirements for a master’s degree at Shippensburg State University. He became the inspector general of the 21st Support Command in Germany and, promoted to colonel, returned in 1981 to Fort Bliss, Texas, to serve as TRADOC systems manager for the Stinger missile system, as well as the Short Range ADA (Shorad) command & control system. Upon its successful fielding, he retired in 1985, having completed 26 years of continuous active duty.
For the next 16 years, he was responsible for several programs as a consultant with the Westinghouse and Northrop Grumman Corporation. He has served in numerous civic and community leadership positions as an elected alderman in Sonora, Texas, with the St. Ann Parish Council, as a board member for The Lions Eye Bank and the director of the Bronco Nation seven-on-seven football program.
Bradley’s military awards include the Legion of Merit (1 OLC), Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star (1 OLC), Air Medal with numeral 33 and Valor device; Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLCs), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLCs), Valorous Unit Award (1 OLC), Meritorious Unit Commendation (1 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (4 Bronze service stars), Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with palm (2nd award), Master Army Aviator Badge, Ancient Order of St. Barbara Medal and the Honorable Order of St. Michael Medal.
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Michael C. H. McDaniel, Class of 1979
Michael C.H. McDaniel graduated from St. Bonaventure with a bachelor's degree in history and earned his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1982. Having been an active participant in the Army ROTC program for two years as an undergraduate student, he applied for and received a direct commission from the Michigan National Guard as a Judge Advocate General Corps officer in November 1985.
He began his career as the staff judge advocate for the Camp Grayling Joint Training Center, then served as trial counsel and then staff judge advocate for the 46 Inf. Brigade, 38th Inf. Div., and as detachment commander (MI) 38th Inf. Div. He served as a military judge and then, upon promotion to colonel, as state judge advocate.
His civilian career as a trial attorney with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office began in January 1984. From 1998 to 2003 he was an assistant attorney general for litigation in the executive division of the Michigan Department of Attorney General. His duties included the review of all civil and criminal actions proposed to be initiated by the department in state or federal trial courts, and evaluation of all proposed settlements of every court case.
Appointed by the governor as Michigan’s first Homeland Security adviser in 2003, he served in that capacity until July 2009. This position required McDaniel to be the liaison between the governor’s office and all federal, state and local agencies for homeland security, with responsibility for developing statewide plans and policy on homeland security preparedness. During this assignment, he served concurrently as the assistant adjutant general for Homeland Security in the Michigan National Guard.
From August 2009 to January 2011, McDaniel was the deputy assistant secretary for homeland defense strategy, force planning and mission assurance at the Department of Defense. He advised the secretary of Defense, undersecretary of Defense for policy, and assistant secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and America’s Security Affairs on all homeland defense-related strategies (Quadrennial Defense Review, Homeland Defense & Civil Support strategies, the Mission Assurance strategy, and domestic counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics strategies, among other efforts).
McDaniel graduated from the U.S. Army War College and earned a Master of Strategic Studies degree in 2005. He also earned a Master of Arts in security studies (Homeland Security) from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2007. He was promoted to brigadier general in 2007 and his final military assignment was as assistant adjutant general for Army Future Missions, Michigan National Guard, from January 2011 until October 2012. He retired in December 2012.
Professionally active, McDaniel served as a member of the National Governors Association’s Homeland Security Advisors Council, where he was elected to the Executive Committee in 2006 and 2008. He was named by the Office of Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security, as chair of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council in 2007. He joined the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School as a full-time constitutional law professor in 2011 and was promoted to associate dean in 2016.
Brig. Gen. McDaniel’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon (with 2 device) and the Michigan Distinguished Service Medal (Fifth Award).
Col. (Ret.) Margret (Emborsky) Merino, Class of 1990
Margret (Emborsky) Merino earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the St. Bonaventure University Army ROTC program in 1990.
A Distinguished Military Graduate who completed Airborne School as a cadet, she earned her doctor of medicine through the Army Health Professions Scholarship program in 1994 at New York Medical College. She began a career-spanning association with Walter Reed Army Medical Center by completing her internship, residency, and fellowship training in pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology there from 1994-2000.
As an Army Medical Corps officer, Merino served in numerous key and developmental positions through clinical assignments and academic postings. After serving from 2000 to 2004 as staff pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Walter Reed, she became chief of pediatric hematology-oncology service at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2007, she deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, as the brigade surgeon of the 1st Cavalry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team during Operation Iraqi Freedom and oversaw the treatment of more than 5,000 U.S. soldiers. Guiding the work of 10 providers and general medical officers, she also supported the local Iraqi community with medical expertise.
Merino returned to Walter Reed and, from January 2008 through September 2013, served as the chief of pediatric hematology-oncology service, director of the fellowship training program and chief of pediatric sub-specialty services. She completed a second combat tour as a pediatrician with TF-31 MED in 2014 in Afghanistan at Kabul International Airport NATO Hospital, where she provided medical care to local national pediatric patients as well as injured and ill NATO forces.
Her final assignment as an officer was as chief of the Department of Pediatrics at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Supervising a staff of more than 60 physicians and 250 clinical support staff, she also oversaw clinical research and provided care to a personal caseload of pediatric patients. She was promoted to colonel in 2012 and retired in 2016, having served as the first female chief of pediatrics at Walter Reed. She is married to Rolando Merino and has four children, Rolando, Timothy, Isabella and William.
Merino is currently a medical officer in the Division of Hematology Products, Office of Hematology and Oncology, with the Food and Drug Administration. She provides scientific and regulatory guidance to industry and academic sponsors through all phases of drug development. She also is a faculty member of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. A clinical associate professor of pediatrics, she has been a member of the university since September 2000.
Her military awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (1 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (1 OLC), Army Achievement Medal (2 OLC), National Defense Service Medal with Service Star, Iraq Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, and the Parachutist Badge.
Dr. Merino is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatrics and in pediatric hematology-oncology. She has been a licensed physician in Maryland since 1996, has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented extensively on leukemia, chemotherapy, and other cancer and childhood health-related topics. She also holds the Army Medical Department’s “A” proficiency designator for clinical excellence, is an inductee of the Army Medical Department’s Order of Military Medical Merit and a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Capt. Marvin W. Stocker, Class of 1965
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marvin W. Stocker graduated from Amherst High School in Snyder, N.Y., and enrolled as an Army ROTC cadet at St. Bonaventure University in 1961. He was active in many activities as a student and upon graduation in 1965, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate.
Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps, he was ordered to active duty within 30days of his commissioning and completed the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course at Fort Lee, Va. He was assigned to the Army Support Group, attached to the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Wash. Selected for additional schooling, he graduated from the Chemical, Biological & Radiological (CBR) Warfare Course at Fort McClellan, Ala. In May 1966, he deployed with his unit to the Republic of Vietnam, embarking in Vung Tau.
Operating from bases near Vung Tau, Can To, Soc Trang and My Tho in the Mekong Delta, Stocker coordinated logistics operations in support of several 4th Infantry Division base camps. He spent three months travelling in helicopters until the mission was complete. In September, because of escalating Army casualties, he was selected to assist in establishing a theater personal effects depot at Camp Red Ball, near Tan San Nhut airbase. In December, he became the commander of the depot until he departed Vietnam in May 1967. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service.
Stocker was honorably discharged from active duty and assigned to the USAR Control Group in June 1967. He moved to Rochester, N.Y., continued to serve as an Army Reserve officer in the 98th Training Division under 1952 St. Bonaventure graduate Col. Norbert Rappl and, having been promoted to captain and completing his service commitment, was reassigned the USAR Control Group in June 1970.
For 37 years, he was employed by General Electric Co. in Rochester, N.Y., Cleveland, Ohio and Baltimore, Md., and was promoted through several marketing and sales management positions with the company before retiring as national account sales manager in 2003. He received numerous sales awards.
Stocker has given countless volunteer hours to his alma mater. He has been a member of the National Alumni Association Board since 2003, serving as president from 2007 to 2009. He was also the co-chair of the Annual Bonaventure Fund in 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2007; served as president of the Baltimore alumni chapter for 10 years; and regularly chaired his class reunion committee.
Stocker was named Alumnus of the Year in 2005 and was awarded the 150th Anniversary Medal in 2008. He has been a member of the Devereux Giving Society for more than two decades, a Bona Backer since the program’s inception, and a member of the Seraphim Society. He joined the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees in 2010. He is also on the Board of Mt. Irenaeus, serving five years as Mountain Fund Chairman.
In addition to his significant service to his alma mater, Stocker represented Mount St. Mary’s University as a member of The Independent College Fund of Maryland and was a member of the Mount Saint Mary’s Bicentennial Commission, where he represented athletics and was chair of the parents annual fund and the President's Council. He and his wife, Donna, were awarded the Mount Saint Mary’s Bicentennial Medal in 2008 and, at Commencement in 2013, each received honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees.
An active member of the American Legion in Ellicott City, Md., Stocker’s military awards include, in addition to the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 Device, the Vietnam Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
2016 ROTC Hall of Fame Inductees
Lt. Col. (Ret.) James P. Coyle, Class of 1951
James P. Coyle was born in Staten Island, N.Y., on Sept. 2, 1929. He enrolled at St. Bonaventure College, participated in the Army ROTC program during his freshman year, and earned a bachelor of science in biology in 1951.
He was drafted as a private into the United States Army in 1951 and completed Basic Training at Fort Dix, N.J. In September 1952, he was ordered to active duty from the United States Army Reserve and commissioned as a second lieutenant in what became the Air Defense Artillery branch through the Officer Candidate School at Fort Bliss, Texas. From 1953 until 1954, he served for the first time in combat as an anti-aircraft officer during the Korean War.
Upon his return to the United States, Coyle completed basic schooling in counterintelligence, whereupon he was assigned to his first intelligence posting in Albany, N.Y., in 1954. After attending the Polygraph School at Fort Gordon, Ga., he was assigned to counterintelligence operations duty in LaRochelle, France, from 1958 until 1961.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he served on temporary duty with the United States Continental Command while a member of the staff and faculty of the U. S. Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, Md. He attended language school before being assigned in 1966 the U.S. Military Mission, Asuncion, Paraguay.
He completed the Counterinsurgency & Special Warfare Course at the U.S. Army Special Warfare School and in 1967, was assigned as a lieutenant colonel and Assistant Chief of Staff, G2 and Chief, Counterintelligence and Security Divisions, United States Army Support, Thailand.
During the period of one year, he contributed significantly to the establishment of a reliable intelligence organization and was recognized for immeasurably improving the posture of the United States forces in this country during that time. His final military assignment was as executive officer, Directorate of Intelligence Collection at the Defense Intelligence Agency, a position he held from 1968 until he retired on Aug. 31, 1971.
Coyle began a 20-year second career with the state of Maryland in 1971 that included assignments with the Maryland Port Authority and the Department of Transportation. He retired in 1991 after serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation Administration. During this time, he also served as chairman of the Program Committee of the Maryland Chapter, International Personnel Management Association and was recognized as a biographee by the Marquis Who’s Who Publication.
He completed a master’s degree, cum laude, in History and Philosophy at Loyola College in 1963 and post-master’s work in education at the American University in 1970. His academic papers include a thesis on the Evolution of the Brazilian Military Academy, a Review of Modern Lie Detection Technique, Development of the Brazilian Army Staff College and a History of British Guiana.
Coyle’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Army Commendation Medal (1 OLC), Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Korean Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal (1 OLC), Vietnam Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.
Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, Class of 1989
Patrick D. Frank graduated from Cuba Central School in 1985 and accepted an Army ROTC Scholarship to attend St. Bonaventure University, graduating in 1989 with a bachelor of arts in Finance and a commission as an Infantry second lieutenant.
His career as a professional military officer is replete with outstanding performance in positions of increasing responsibility in some of the Army’s highest performing organizations, beginning with his first assignment in Germany as a platoon leader in the 3rd Infantry Division, with combat service during Operation Desert Storm, from 1990 to 1993.
After attending the Officer Advanced Course, he was assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y., where between 1993 and 1999, he served as a battalion S-3 and commanded three companies (C Company, 1-22 Infantry, HHC, 10th Mountain Division and Observer/Controller Company, 1st Battalion, 174th Infantry Brigade.) He also deployed to Haiti during Operation Uphold Democracy.
He completed the College of Naval Command and Staff and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., as the Deputy G-3, and as a battalion S-3 and brigade S-3 between 2000 and 2004, including combat service during the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Frank was selected as Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of the Army and served in that capacity from 2004 to 2005 before being assigned to command the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry “Black Lions,” 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, which he deployed as a part of the surge during Operation Iraqi Freedom-V.
He continued his service with the Big Red One as its G-3 officer before returning to the 10th Mountain Division, where he commanded the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team “Spartans,” from 2010 to 2012, including deployment in the surge of forces to Kandahar, Afghanistan, for Operation Enduring Freedom XII-XIII.
After a one-year tour in the Pentagon as Executive Officer to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, he returned to Afghanistan to serve as the Executive Officer to the Commander International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) /Operation Resolute Support from 2014 to 2015. On Sept. 8, 2015, he assumed duties as the Deputy Commanding General (Support) for the 1st Infantry Division. He was promoted to brigadier general on Dec. 4, 2015.
He holds a master’s in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, a master’s in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College and a master’s in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
His awards include the Legion of Merit (1 OLC), the Bronze Star (2 OLC), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLC), Army Commendation (2 OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal (1 Service Star), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (1 Service Star), Afghanistan Campaign Medal (3 Service Stars), Iraq Campaign Medal (1 Service Star), Global War on Terrorism-Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism–Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medals (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), NATO-ISAF Medal (Afghanistan), the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Ranger Tab, Air Assault Badge, Airborne Badge, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
Col. Jeffrey H. Hice, Class of 1996
Born in Wakefield, Mass., Jeffrey N. Hice enlisted in the Army in 1986 as an Armor Vehicle Crewmember. Following his enlisted service he graduated from Houghton College with a bachelor of arts in history in 1990.
A Distinguished Military Graduate of the Seneca Battalion Army ROTC program at St. Bonaventure University, he was commissioned as an Air Defense Artillery second lieutenant and completed the branch basic course, the Airborne course and Ranger School before serving in Germany as a platoon leader in the 3rd Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and other company grade billets.
Honorably released at the expiration of his service obligation in 1993, he served in the 11th Special Forces Group (U.S. Army Reserve) before transferring to the Infantry branch and joining the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry (Pennsylvania Army National Guard), where he led several platoons.
He returned to St. Bonaventure University as a student in 1995 and earned a master of arts in History in 1996 before he was ordered to active duty for counterdrug operational support while commanding Company C, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry. He remained on active duty in the counterdrug program and served with the 2nd Brigade and the 28th Infantry Division (Pennsylvania Army National Guard).
In 2000, he completed the Infantry Captains Career Course, and was assessed onto active duty as an Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) officer. Hice’s assignments in the area of defense support to civil authorities began with the 3rd Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.
He completed over 2,000 hours of specialized training courses, including Emergency Assessment and Detection, Technical Escort and Dynamics of International Terrorism. He was selected to command the 34th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (Virginia Army National Guard), Fort Pickett, Va., in June 2005.
During his service on the WMD Civil Support Team, he deployed 78 times for homeland defense missions including the 2001 anthrax letters and threats on New York City. Additionally, between 2005 and 2008, he deployed to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and Tel Aviv, Israel, to build partner capacity for WMD incident response.
Following command, Hice served in the Joint Force Headquarters at Fort Pickett before deploying to Afghanistan as Ground Forces Command Partnering Chief and Senior Military Advisor in Kabul with the 29th Infantry Division, from December 2010 through October 2011. He was assigned as the deputy commander, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 29th Infantry Division in Staunton, Virginia. He is currently the chief of staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Virginia Army National Guard.
Hice is a graduate of the Army War College and Command and General Staff College Pershing Award winner. His other military education includes the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the NATO Senior Reserve Officer Course, Advanced Joint Professional Military Education and the Army War College Senior Leader Seminar. His military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (4th award), Army Commendation Medal (4th award), Army Achievement Medal (7th Award), Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (2nd Award), National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign Stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Silver Hourglass and M Device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 2, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon with Numeral 2, NATO Afghanistan Service Medal, Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation with Gold Star and “O” Device, Order of St Maurice Centurion, several unit and state awards, Combat Action Badge, Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge and the Physical Fitness Excellence Badge.
Col. (Ret.) Gary W. Machina, Class of 1987
Gary W. Machina enlisted in the New York Army National Guard (NYARNG) in 1982 and completed Basic Training at Fort Knox, Ky. He enrolled at St. Bonaventure University as a Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) cadet the next year and was commissioned as an Aviation second lieutenant through the Army ROTC Early Commissioning Program in 1985, before graduating from St. Bonaventure with a bachelor of arts in Mass Communication in 1987.
He attended the Aviation Officer Basic and Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator Courses at Fort Rucker, Ala., earning his wings in 1990. Machina then served in several positions in Army aviation organizations before commanding Company A, 1st Battalion (Attack), 142nd Aviation Brigade in Latham, N.Y.
As an Army aviator, Machina earned pilot ratings on four different aircraft (UH-60, OH-58A, OH-6A and UH-1H.) After serving as the S-1 of the 3rd Battalion (Assault), 142nd Aviation Brigade, he became the operations officer of the NYARNG Counter-Drug Program in Scotia and was later the public affairs officer of the 42nd Infantry Division.
Machina’s role as a key advisor to the New York Army National Guard Adjutant General (TAG) began in 1998, when he joined the TAG’s Initiative Group as its S-3/Operations Officer. He served subsequently as the group’s deputy director and its director. While serving as commander of the 3/106th Regional Training Institute in 2001, Machina assumed command of Task Force “Ground Zero” in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.
He played a key role in the governor of New York’s assistance operations by coordinating the efforts of the New York Army National Guard in its support to civil authority missions during October and November of 2001.
He next served in a series of several significant staff assignments with the NYARNG, including Branch Chief of the Mobilization and Readiness Section, Deputy Director of Plans, Operations, Training and Readiness and Director of Plans, Operations, Training and Readiness. In June 2008, he assumed command of the 53rd Army Liaison Team in New York City.
In April 2009, Machina deployed to Iraq and was assigned as the Chief of the Combined Joint Multi-National Force–Iraq (MNFI) Aviation Division in Baghdad. In this capacity, he was responsible for all air assets and ensured the completion of intensive daily requirements across the theater. He returned to the United States in February 2010.
His final assignment was as the Director of the Joint Strategic Plans & Policy Branch, New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs. Colonel Machina retired from the New York Army National Guard, Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) Program in September 2011 after 29 years of service.
Machina is a graduate of several Aviation qualification courses, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School and the Command and General Staff Officer Course. He earned a master’s of Public Administration from Marist College in 1999.
His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Medal, National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.
Col., Chaplain (Ret.) Monsignor James E. Sanner, Class of 1955
Interested in both military service and the priesthood from a young age, James E. Sanner lived at St. Mark’s Seminary while attending Gannon University for two years before he enrolled at St. Bonaventure University.
He graduated with a bachelor of arts in Philosophy in 1955 and remained on campus as a student at Christ the King Seminary. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1959 at St. Peter Cathedral in Erie, Pa.
His first assignment was at St. Stephen’s Parish in Oil City, Pa., and he served in two more assignments before, with the United States involved in the Vietnam War, he volunteered for service as a chaplain. His diocese required further service of him, but by the summer of 1967, Monsignor Sanner had gained approval to be reassigned to the Archdiocese for the Military Services.
He reported to the Chaplain’s Officer Basic Course at Fort Hamilton, New York in September 1967 and upon graduation was assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 82d Airborne Division. He completed the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Ga., in January 1968 and returned to his unit at Fort Bragg on 2 February.
The 3rd Brigade deployed to Vietnam nine days later, and Sanner found himself as a new Army chaplain ministering to paratroopers in combat near Hue Phubi. After eight months, he moved with the brigade to Saigon (now Ho Chi Min City), where he finished his one-year tour of duty.
Upon returning to the United States, he was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, and after a year and a half, returned to Vietnam, where he served as a chaplain with the 4th Infantry Division in the Central Highlands at Ahn Khe and Cam Rohn Bay, from July 1970 until July 1971.
He was assigned to Walter Reed Medical Center and completed a year of clinical pastoral education before accepting an assignment to Fort Knox, Ky., where, between 1972 and 1975, he provided support to the presidential clemency program at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and ministered to 50,000 Vietnamese and 900 Cambodian refugees at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa.
He graduated from the Chaplains Officer Advanced Course and earned a master’s in Guidance and Counseling from Long Island University before being assigned as the Catholic chaplain at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany from 1976 until 1980. Promoted to major, he joined the 3rd Brigade, 9th Infantry Division as its brigade chaplain and was later named Catholic Post Chaplain of Fort Lewis, Washington.
In 1983, Monsignor Sanner returned to Germany, where he served as the Chaplain Personnel Officer for VII Corps in Stuttgart and later in Ansbach as the Division Chaplain of the 1st Armored Division. He was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1986, and was the installation chaplain of Fort Dix, N.J., from 1986 until 1990 before being assigned for three years as the USARMYJAPAN and IX Corps Chaplain at Camp Zama, Japan.
His final assignment was as at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he was the installation chaplain for five years, and then the post Catholic chaplain before retiring on Aug. 1, 2002, after almost 35 years of active service.
Monsignor Sanner continues to serve the Fort Sam Houston community as a contract priest to provide Catholic services. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device and three oak leaf clusters, Meritorious Service Medal (four oak leaf clusters), Air Medal with Numeral 2, Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), National Defense Service Medal with Service Star, Vietnam Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Parachute Badge, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and four Overseas Service Bars.
Lt. Col. John R. Santini, Class of 1986
Upon graduating Archbishop Stepinac High School in 1982, John Santini enrolled at St. Bonaventure University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Management in 1986. Having participated in the Army ROTC program, he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Infantry.
He graduated the Infantry Officer Basic, Ranger and Bradley Fighting Vehicle Commander Courses at Fort Benning, Ga., before being assigned in 1987 as a platoon leader and later executive officer and assistant operations officer in the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany.
Santini graduated from the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in December 1990 and joined the 101st Airborne Division as a battalion adjutant in January 1991. He immediately deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm where he took part in the largest combat air assault in history on Feb. 24, 1991.
He remained with the Screaming Eagles to command an anti-tank company before accepting a position as Assistant Professor of Military Science in the Syracuse University and SUNY Oswego Army ROTC programs. He served next with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., as a team evaluator for the Army National Guard’s 27th Infantry Brigade before leaving active duty in December 1996 to pursue a civilian career.
From 1997 to 2003, Santini served in the Individual Ready Reserve. During this time he earned several certifications in information technology, and following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, he transitioned to the Active Guard and Reserve program in 2003.
In this second chapter of his active duty career, he began a significant affiliation with the Army’s nascent Information Operations functional area. Serving initially as the Operations Manager and later Deputy of the North Central Information Operations Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., he was subsequently assigned to the 1st Information Operations Command (Land) at Ft. Belvoir, Va., in October 2005 as the Chief of the Army Reserve Element.
He later served as the command’s Executive Officer before being appointed to the Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3/5/7 Cyberspace and Information Operations office at the Pentagon in 2010.
Santini’s knowledge of cyberspace and information operations placed him in a series of increasingly sensitive positions. He deployed to Haiti in support of the U.S. ambassador’s Rewards for Information program and was credited as a contributor to that nation’s peaceful national elections. He also deployed to Afghanistan in support of a special mission unit, where his innovative approach to information operations led to joint special operations forces interdiction of several high-value targets.
He was integral in the writing of Information Operations doctrine and development of the Army’s Cyberspace Operations career field. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in May 2014, but continues to contribute to this highly specialized field as a Senior Information Operations Planner for the 1st Information Operations Command.
Santini’s education includes a master of science in Management from the State University of New York at Oswego, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Army Command and General Staff College, and numerous cyberspace and information operations courses.
His military awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (4th award), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (3rd award), Army Achievement Medal (4th award), National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medals (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, Valorous Unit Award and Army Superior Unit Award.