Rob enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1994, attaining the rank of SSG, graduated Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned as a Combat Engineer 2nd Lieutenant. He has served in numerous Combat Arms leadership capacities during his 20 plus years of service, to include Team Leader, Squad Leader, Sapper Platoon Leader, Company Commander, and Team Chief with both conventional and unconventional Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Rob’s last deployment was 2011-2012, leading a SOF CA Team within the most kinetic region in Afghanistan, executing 169 dismounted combat patrols, conducting Counter Insurgency and Village Stability Operations along with Special Forces Operational Detachment- Alphas (SFOD-A), both Governmental Agencies and Non- governmental entities; additionally with support from conventional infantry elements in Zhari and Maiwand Districts, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. After his third catastrophic injury taking small arms fire and numerous exposures to IED blasts, he was Medevac’d in July 2012, and later medically retired as a result of those injuries in May of 2015.

For his service, Rob has been awarded over 23 citations including the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medals, and two Purple Heart Medals. His duty locations have been all over the Americas, Germany, Korea, the Middle East, and he has deployed to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Since retiring in 2015, Rob successfully competed in the 2015 and 2016 DOD Warrior Games for Team SOCOM and was very active volunteering for benevolent organizations, working hand in hand with Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Care Coalition, Fisher House, Home Base, President Bush Team 43, and various others. Rob has spoken nationwide to promote the challenges that SOF, the combat wounded, and their families face every day.

Rob has a BA from the University of Connecticut, an MBA from Columbia Southern, and recently graduated with a law degree from Stetson University College of Law, passing the Florida Bar Exam and being sworn in as a licensed attorney in 2019. Rob is a native New Englander and a lifetime “superfan” of the Boston Red Sox. Rob currently resides in the Tampa area and is supported by his wonderful wife Christina and four children.