Board of Directors

LtCol Jack O’Toole, USMC(Ret)
President

Jack O’Toole is a retired Marine Raider from Cape Elizabeth, Maine. He is an Eagle Scout and father of three. Jack is the founder of FreshAir Sensor, which develops and commercializes sensors. FreshAir’s first product is the only technology that can monitor for and specifically detect tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke. It is used widely in hotels and apartments. Jack lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with his wife Eileen.

Giles Kyzer
1st Vice President

The son of MGySgt and Mrs. James G. Kyser III USMC (retired), Giles is a 1981 graduate of the Marine Military Academy Preparatory School, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Marines.  Giles’ operational tours include command at the Platoon, Company and Battalion level and staff assignments as well with 2d Battalion 4^th Marines, 2d Battalion 8^th Marines, 2d ANGLICO, 2d Force Reconnaissance Company, the Special Operations Command, Europe, and 2d Battalion 2d Marines.  He participated in combat operations throughout the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa and served on the Marine Staff, where he managed policy for all reconnaissance and special operations capabilities within the Marine Corps, and was the architect of the Marine Corps’ first permanent contribution to the US Special Operations Command (Marine Special Operations Detachment One) which served as the foundation for today’s Raiders.  Colonel Kyser’s non-operational tours include assignment to Marine Barracks Washington, D.C. where he served as Platoon Commander, Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, as the Senior Military Advisor and Chief of Staff for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict and Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy.  After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2009, Colonel Kyser served, and continues to serve in various businesses to include his current role as the Vice President for Goldbelt Security, an Alaskan Native Corporation focused on rapid acquisitions for Federal customers.

Wade Priddy
Secretary

Wade Priddy, USMC (Ret) was commissioned through the Officer Candidates Course in 1991 and retired in 2012. An artillery officer by MOS, he had a non-traditional career path, including spending the majority of the latter half of his career in irregular warfare-related assignments. Wade was a plank owner and part of Marine Corps SOCOM Detachment One for its entire life cycle, joining in March 2003 as the Fires Officer and later serving as the Operations Officer until the Det was disestablished in March 2006. He served two tours with ANGLICO, including command of 2d ANGLICO from 2008 to 2010. He led a Border Transition Team, deploying to the Iraq-Jordan and Iraq-Iran borders in 2006-7, and the COMISAF Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Regional Command-South as part of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands (AFPAK Hands) Program in 2011-12. Upon return from Afghanistan, Wade was assigned to the Special Operations Directorate at Plans, Policies and Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps. After retiring he rejoined the CAAT as contractor, serving as the Senior Counterinsurgency Advisor in Regional Command-North and as the Senior Strategic Advisor at ISAF HQ in Kabul. He returned to Afghanistan in 2016-17 as a Senior Mentor to the Afghan Ministry of Defense’s Intelligence Directorate. Wade earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Vanderbilt University and a masters degree in finance from Texas A&M, where he taught in the NROTC program prior to joining Det 1. He currently works as leadership and human performance consultant, primarily in the energy sector, and calls Chattanooga, TN home.

Sigrid Klock McAllister
Treasurer

Sigrid Klock McAllister is an Honorary Life member of the MRA and the daughter of Edward J. Klock, a WWII Navy Corpsman with 2nd Battalion, HQ. She began her Association affiliation by accompanying her father to Raider reunions. When he passed away in 2009, Sigrid began volunteering for the Association as a way to honor her father’s memory and his military service. She became a board member in 2015 and served as Secretary until 2016. She transitioned to the Treasurer position in 2017. Sigrid is originally from New Orleans but has lived in Atlanta for 30 years. She is a Microbiologist, who graduated from LSUMC, New Orleans. She retired from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, after completing 37 years of government service. Never one to be idle, she now works part-time at CDC as a Laboratory Quality Manager. When not working or volunteering, Sigrid enjoys traveling, photo restoration, and genealogy.

Neil Schuehle
Past President

Neil Schuehle spent over 33 years in military service from the rank of Private to Colonel. He held numerous command billets in the US Marine Corps, and has served as a principal advisor at executive service levels in special operations, counterterrorism, expeditionary operations and counterintelligence.

MajGen Mark Clark, USMC (Ret)

Mark “Droopy” Clark, MajGen USMC (ret’d) is a native of South Dakota and Minnesota. He is a 1980 graduate of South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commercial Economics. He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in June 1981 upon completion of Officer Candidate School.

In 1983, 2ndLT Clark was designated a naval aviator. As a CH-53E pilot stationed at Marine Corps Air Station New River, NC, he spent numerous assignments at various squadrons to include several Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) deployments. In 2007 he was designated an MV-22 Osprey pilot.

As a Platoon Commander for 2d Brigade Platoon, 2d Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company Captain Clark was tasked with primary support to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and involved training support with SOF and the British Royal Marines.

As a Brigadier General, he was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in the Pentagon as the Director of Plans, Strategy and International Engagement. During this period he served as a member of the Inter-American Defense Board.
His assignments with special operations range from the tactical level to the strategic level. His first assignment as a Captain/Major was as a MH-53J PAVELOW pilot with the 20th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fl. Later he was assigned to Theater Special Operations Command (Central), Combined Special Operations Task Force South in Afghanistan and later to Combined Forces Special Operations Command Central in Qatar. As a Colonel he was assigned to the Campaign Support Group/Center for Special Operations which was newly established by US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to take the DOD lead for the global war on terrorism. BGEN Clark was later assigned as the first Marine J3 at USSOCOM, with an extended assignment as the Chief of Staff and acting Deputy Commander. His most recent assignment with special operations was as the commander for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

Assignments included deployments and operations in Southwest Asia (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm); Bosnia; Haiti; Afghanistan.

As a pilot he was qualified in the CH-53E; MH-53J PAVELOW, and the MV-22 Osprey.
His command assignments include Platoon Commander 2D Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company; Commanding Officer Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 461; Commanding Officer Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 204; Commanding General Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.

His military education includes Aviation Safety, Aircraft Maintenance, two Master’s in Military Studies, Seminar XXI Strategic Studies, and Doctorate in Public Service.

GySgt Oscar Contreras USMC (Ret)

Oscar Contreras, USMC (Ret.), served in the Marine Corps from 1999 to 2019. He enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Field Radio Operator and served in the conventional Marine Corps until 2006. In 2006 he had the honor and privilege of being a plank owner with MARSOC. Oscar served 9 years at 1st Marine Raider Battalion until serving his final four years in the Marine Corps at Marine Raider Training Center. Upon his retirement in 2019, Oscar joined ABSI Aerospace & Defense and now is employed back at his old battalion, 1st Marine Raider Battalion, as a Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Instructor & Evaluator.

MSgt John Dailey USMC (Ret)

John Dailey, USMC (Ret.), served in the US Marine Corps from 1987 to 2008, retiring as a Master Sergeant.  During his career he served in a variety of infantry and reconnaissance units including 3rd and 5th Marine Regiments, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, and 1st Special Operations Training Group. He was selected to serve as a Team Leader for Detachment One and was then tasked with assisting in the stand-up of the MARSOC Schoolhouse.  He is currently the Training and Education Branch Director for the Marine Raider Training Center. He became editor of The Raider Patch in 2016.

Colonel Jon Darren Duke USMC

Colonel Jon Darren Duke currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Operations Division for the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps for Plans, Policies and Operations at Headquarters, Marine Corps in Washington, DC.

A career intelligence and special operations officer, he has served in numerous Marine Corps and Joint command and staff billets both at home and abroad. His operational assignments as a junior officer include serving as an intelligence officer for 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines and the 4th Marine Regiment, and as a platoon commander, executive officer and diving officer for 3d Reconnaissance Company and deployed to Thailand, Korea, and northern Japan for training and exercises. He later served in Africa and the Middle East as the intelligence operations officer for the Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa and as the senior intelligence analyst for al-Anbar Province during the Second Battle of Fallujah.

An early member of Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Colonel Duke commanded 3rd Marine Raider Battalion from 2010-2012, fielding Marine Special Operations teams that operated in five separate theaters around the globe. From 2014 to 2015, he commanded Special Operations Command Forward – Central Africa, leading the American effort to enable central Africa partners to defeat the Lord’s Resistance Army, an insurgent movement that kidnapped and employed child soldiers. Following this deployment, he commanded the Marine Raider Support Group where he led MARSOC’s intelligence, communications, logistics, fires and multi-purpose canine Marine in support of Marine Raider operations in the Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

Colonel Duke is also a Middle East foreign area officer (FAO) and has conducted extensive language and regional studies in North Africa and the Middle East. From 2006-2009, he served as the Marine Corps attaché in the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. During his tenure, he witnessed multiple military operations in and around the Gaza Strip, as well as the Second Lebanon War. Following the latter, he was seconded to the Secretary of State’s Peace Process Roadmap Monitoring Team, conducting frequent fact-finding and reconnaissance missions in the West Bank in support of US efforts to support Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Colonel Duke is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Defense Language Institute. He is also a former National Intelligence Fellow at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

LtCol Ben Pappas USMC (Ret)

Ben Pappas is the founder and CEO of Ben Pappas Leadership and Life Coaching. His experience spans commanding precision raids in combat, promoting foreign relations in Europe and Asia, teaching graduate level leadership courses, and even leadership on the football field.

As an Infantry and Special Operations Officer, Ben’s operational tours include tours in 1st Battalion, 7th Marines; 1st Battalion, 4th Marines; 11th MEU, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, and culminated with command of 2d Marine Special Operations Battalion, which became 2d Marine Raider Battalion, near the end of his tour.

His overseas assignments included a regional tour as a Foreign Area Officer in the US Embassy in Manila, Republic of the Philippines, and as the Marine Attaché to Italy.

Ben also served as the Officer In Charge of the Basic Reconnaissance Course, where he helped create and then commanded the Reconnaissance Training Company (RTC) in Camp Pendleton.

He also performed duties as Military Faculty and Leadership Department Head at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College in Quantico.

Ben is graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a distinguished graduate of the National War College in Washington, DC, where he earned a Master of Science in National Security Strategy. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He is also a distinguished graduate of the Defense Language Institute and is proficient in French, Italian, and Tagalog.

John S. Eads IV
Chaplain

John Eads grew up in New Mexico, and attended New Mexico Military Institute for high school and junior college. He was commissioned in the United States Army. John later earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from New Mexico State University, and a Masters in Hospital Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

From 1998 through 2007, he served as Chief Executive Officer in two different hospitals for the Infirmary Health System. In 2005, he was awarded the Distinguished Early Career Healthcare Executive award for the state of Alabama.

From 1997 to 2001, John and his wife, Dolores, served with Prison Fellowship Ministries and conducted in-prison seminars in prisons throughout Alabama.

In 2001, John and his wife founded Light of the Village, a Christian Ministry located inside Alabama’s most violent neighborhood. The Light of the Village offers a five day a week presence inside the Alabama Village and surrounding communities. It serves children, teenagers, and adults.

Louie Marsh
Communications Committee Advisor

Louie Marsh is the son of Dan Marsh, who was a 4^th Battalion Raider during WW2. He helped his Dad create the first website devoted strictly to the Raiders (usmcraiders.com) and has served on the Board of Directors as well as was the Chaplain of the Association for quite a few years.

Louie is the Senior Pastor of Christ’s Church on the River in Parker AZ and hope to keep on preaching till the Lord calls him home. He travels to Myanmar and other countries to teach about once a year, does two short form radio shows and has a monthly column on parkerliveonline.com. He also has his own podcast called Disciple Up, available at discipleup.org.

Bill EuDaly
Public Affairs

Bill EuDaly is an educator and performer in film, television, and theatre. He also serves as a consultant and speaker for the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

He is proud to be an honorary member of the Raider Association as the son of Raider Sgt. Edwin M. EuDaly.

Bill and his wife Mary, a retired audiologist, live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jenny Ruffini (Hon)
Membership Committee

Jenny Ruffini has been a member of the Marine Raider Association since 2003 and a member of the board for a several years. Her grandfather, Elden Ireland, was a WWII Maine Raider who was a member of the 1^st Marine Raider Battalion. Jenny has been a Marine wife for over 20 years and recently became a Marine mom. She is dedicated to preserving the heritage and continuing the legacy of the Marine Raiders.

ROBERT A. (BOB) BUERLEIN

I graduated from the Univ. of Va., but much of my adult life has revolved around my respect for military history – so fate was at work when Raider Rudy Rosenquist contacted me about my query to the Raider Association for more info, for an article I was writing about the Raiders, back in 1980. From that point on, Rudy and I master-minded and executed numerous Raider commemorative weapons projects – both knives and firearms; then we founded the Marine Raider Museum; that was followed by our Raider book, “Our Kind of War” – and the beat goes on with the Raider knives. In 2017 I designed the Raiders Monument on the Guadalcanal. I’ve attended all but 3 Raider Reunions since just before I was elected an Honorary Raider in 1983.

My main endeavor today is Historical Associates, which preserves military history through our various weapons programs.

Judy and I live in Richmond, Va. and have 3 grown sons. No. 1 made Major of Marines in Amtracs and is Production Manager with a residential building company; No. 2 is a lawyer in Atlanta; No. 3 is an M.D. at the University of Va. Hospital.

COLONEL ROBERT J. COATES

A native New Yorker, Colonel Coates was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1977 upon graduation from the University of South Carolina.

As a company grade officer, served in the Operational Forces with Company F 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, Company A 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Company B 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, and the 1st Marines Regimental Enhanced Training Section (RETS). Assignments included: Rifle Platoon Commander, Weapons Platoon Commander, Rifle Company Executive Officer, Reconnaissance Platoon Commander, Officer in Charge of RETS, and Rifle Company Commander.

As a field grade officer, served as the Training Officer for the 1st Marine Division, Operations Officer for the 15th MEU(SOC) for deployment to the CENTCOM AOR for participation in OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH (OSW) and as Executive Officer/ Maritime Special Purpose Force Commander for a subsequent deployment to the CENTCOM AOR for participation in OSW, AC/S G-7, Commanding Officer, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company and as Officer in Charge of the Special Operations Training Group, I MEF. Colonel Coates was selected in 2003 to activate and serve as the first Commanding Officer for the Marine Corps’ first purpose built unit contribution to U.S. Special Operations Command, Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment (MCSOCOM Det) and in 2004, deployed to the IRAQI THEATER of OPERATIONS (ITO) for operations in OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM II (OIF II). In 2006 and upon deactivation of MCSOCOM Det, Col Coates was ordered to I MEF (FWD) for deployment to ITO (Al Anbar, Iraq) for participation in OIF 05-07 as the AC/S G-10 (Iraqi Security Forces-Al Anbar). Upon return from the ITO in 2007, Col Coates was assigned as the AC/S I MEF G-7, I MEF.

In the Supporting Establishment, served as the Officer in Charge of the Amphibious Reconnaissance School at Landing Force Training Command, Coronado, CA, as an infantry battalion advisor for combat and special operations in El Salvador, and with other U.S. Government Agencies involved in Counter Terrorism and Intelligence/Special Operations.
Colonel Coates is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.
Personal decorations include: Legion of Merit with Gold Star in lieu of 2nd award, Bronze Star Medal with Gold Star in lieu of 2nd award, Purple Heart Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three Gold Stars in lieu of 4th award, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon with Gold Star in lieu of 2nd award.
Colonel Coates retired after serving 32 plus years active duty and is currently is enjoying life with his wife, Maidy and his two sons as well serving as Vice President of the Marine Corps Law-Enforcement Foundation, Director on the Board of Directors for the Infinite Hero Foundation, Board Member on the U.S. Marine Corps Raider Foundation. In 2016, Colonel Coates was inducted into the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Commando Hall of Honor.

Gregg Ireland

Gregg E. Ireland is a Honorary Life member of the MRA and son of Elden D. Ireland who was a soldier in Edson’s Raiders in WWII.  Previously, Gregg served on the MRA board of directors.  He was a founding member of the US Marine Raider Foundation.  In 2016, Gregg retired after 45 years in the investment business with money-manager Capital Group/American Funds.  In retirement, he leads the board of directors of the Autism Science Foundation.  He is involved in developing new approaches to for creating jobs of individuals with developmental disabilities.  He is on the board of pioneering program, Extraordinary Ventures, Inc., in Chapel Hill, NC.  Gregg is married to Lori and has four children and three grandchildren.

Jim Johannes

Jim, whose Uncle was a 1st Raider KIA on Okinawa in 1945, is a lifetime Honorary Member of the Raider Association and served as Treasurer of the Association from 2004-2012 and as a Director of the Association from 2006-2015. He is a Finance Professor at UW-Madison where he also served as Director of the ROTC Program from 2011-18.

Raider Luke Knapp

Luke Knapp served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2006 to 2018 with 10 years in MARSOC as a Critical Skills Operator starting in 2008. His billets in MARSOC ranged from the operator communications expert, Element Leader, Instructor, Assistant Operations Chief, and Training Supervisor in 3d Marine Special Operations Battalion, the Marine Special Operations Schoolhouse (now the Marine Raider Training Center), and 3d Marine Raider Battalion. Luke is a graduate of numerous military schools and courses certifying him as an expert in close quarters battle, special reconnaissance, and irregular warfare. Upon leaving the Marine Corps in 2018, Luke worked overseas for a year before returning and assuming his current role with the Institute of Defense Analyses in Alexandria, VA as Manager, Facility Operations. He is a graduate of Norwich University (B.S.) and Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management (MBA). Luke currently lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.

LtCol Worth Parker USMC

Worth Parker is a Marine Raider raised in Athens, Georgia. He is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and graduate of the University of Colorado, the Florida State University College of Law and the Masters in Conflict Management and Resolution Program at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with his wife and daughter.

MGySgt Sid Voss (Ret)

BIO COMING SOON