Vital Statistics |
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| Age: | 40 |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Children: | 3 |
| Weight: | 205 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Hair: | Brown |
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Religion: | Christian |
| Hodgkin's: | 28 years |
| Occurrences: | 3 |
Personal HistoryI was born in 1967 in a small town in the mountains of Tennessee. I grew up in North Carolina. My father is a Christian Church minister. I have two brothers, one older (Mark) and one younger (Stephen). Both are also ministers. I have one sister (Sheri) who has a business in music education. Along with our three children, my wife, Julia and I live on a farm in Warren County, Ohio.
Professional History
In 1987, I signed the paperwork to join the U.S. Navy. I came home and told my mother, "Mom, I joined the Navy. I ship out in 3 days." I told my fiancee the same thing. Three days later, I was in San Diego, California for Basic Recruit Training.
I attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA through 1988 and studied Persian Farsi, spoken in Iran and as a dialect in Afghanistan. Language Studies included 8 hours of classroom instruction each day and about 4 hours of dialogue and memorization each night. After target specific language studies, I went to the National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland as my permanent duty station. I was granted a Top Secret, Special Compartmented Information security clearance.
I spent 4 tours in the Persian Gulf. The first three, were in support of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during Operation Earnest Will, countering the Iranian threat to close the Strait. I was recalled from leave on the last of my 4 tours. Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. I was recalled to the region and was in Bahrain in early August 1990. I was among the first 10,000 to respond to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait with an Army of 750,000. I was aboard the USS Independence on the day she entered the Persian Gulf, the first US Aircraft Carrier to do so since 1974. While there I met General "Stormin'" Norman Schwarzkopf.
For the first few weeks of the buildup in 1990, I was the sole linguist assigned to the three aircraft battle groups that were on station in support of Desert Shield.
While aboard the USS Mobile Bay, commanded by Captain Stephen R. Woodall (the Greatest Captain since Captain Stephen Decatur commanded the sailing frigate United States) we were anti-surface warfare commander and secondary anti-air warfare commander during Desert Storm. In the first weeks of the war, aircraft under our control destroyed 60 Iraqi vessels. Never trust an Iraqi warship with a white flag. As soon as you show them mercy, they lower the flag and try to run. It became our policy to disable warships prior to accepting their surrender. While aboard the Mobile Bay, we underwent a missile attack from Iraqi Mirages. Saudi F-15's intercepted the Mirages and destroyed them, causing the missiles to fall into the sea before they reached any of our ships in the Northern Persian Gulf.
I was recalled to the National Security Agency prior to the completion of the War. En route during my return, I experienced an air raid alarm as a result of an Iraqi Scud Missile attack. I put on antiquated chemical warfare equipment and lay on my rack for 2 hours listening to the sirens and to the click of the diaphragm in the chemical warfare helmet with every breath.
After I returned from Desert Shield/Desert Storm, I served as an assistant to Congressman Bob McEwen in the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. That was great fun, and I could travel anywhere in the capital complex with my identification badge.
I returned to civilian life and went to college. I had obtained my first bachelors degree while I was in the Navy. It was from the University of the State of New York and was in Literature and Persian Farsi. I earned my second bachelors degree from the University of Cincinnati in Accounting and graduated Summa Cum Laude. I then went to Emory University School of Law and in 1996 graduated with my Doctor of Laws. Also in 1996, I got married, moved back to Ohio and started my own law practice.
My law practice now has 8 attorneys in two locations, Mason and West Chester, Ohio. We are successful and growing. We diligently try to give our clients very personal representation.
Julia and I have 3 children; Elizabeth and Matthew are twins and are 3 years old at the time of this writing. Sophia is 1 year old.
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