Unique challenges facing military family members

“One of those challenges is that military spouses have a very difficult time in keeping and maintaining a career,” Dr. J.D. Crouch II, president and CEO of ...

By signing a proclamation each year, the president declares November Military Family Month. The month serves as a way to show gratitude to the nation’s military service members and their families for their sacrifices. “During Military Family Month, we pay tribute to and thank our military families for their service to our country, and we recognize the extraordinary ways in which they give of themselves for us all,” President Obama said in this year’s proclamation.

This month’s In Focus series will highlight efforts by those connected to the military community to bring awareness and solutions to the challenges military families face.


 

GUEST BIOGRAPHY

Dr. J.D. Crouch II PhotoDr. J.D. Crouch II
President and Chief Executive Officer
USO

Dr. J.D. Crouch II was elected by the USO Board of Governors to become the 23rd President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Service Organizations (USO), effective July 28, 2014.

For more than 70 years, the USO has always been by the side of our troops and their families — serving them throughout their service, from the moment they join, through their deployments and as they transition back to their communities.  The USO is a private, nonprofit organization that relies on generous Americans to help us comfort, support and connect troops and their families with programs and services at over 160 USO locations worldwide.  Founded in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt to integrate the efforts of multiple agencies supporting U.S. troops in World War II, today the USO operates more than 160 locations worldwide, providing an array of services supporting troops and their families.

Dr. Crouch was Chief Executive Officer of QinetiQ North America until May 2014, when he exited following the successful divestiture of QNA by the parent company. He was President of the Technology Solutions Group of QinetiQ North America from November 2009 to March 2013. He assumed this role from the position of QinetiQ’s Executive Vice President for Strategic Development. QinetiQ is a global company offering services and products spanning many areas of business, aerospace, defense and security.

He was Assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor until June 2007. He was a senior advisor to the President on national security matters and chaired the sub-cabinet Deputies Committee. He also served on several government advisory boards, currently including the Defense Policy Board and the NSA Advisory Board. He also serves on the Board of Directors of INSA and the Executive Committee of AFCEA.

Dr. Crouch served in President George W. Bush’s first term as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy.  He was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on policy for missile defense, nuclear forces, NATO, Europe, Russia, the Central Asian Republics, the Caucuses and the Balkans, technology security policy, counter-proliferation, and arms control.

As U.S. Ambassador to Romania in 2004-2005, Dr. Crouch managed this complex relationship at the time of Romanian military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and the negotiation of a U.S. military presence in Romania. He was extensively involved in developing new and promoting existing U.S. business opportunities in Eastern Europe.

From 1993 to 2001, and late 2003 to 2004, Dr. Crouch was Associate Professor of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

He co-founded and was Chief Marketing Officer of PalmGear.com, the Internet’s leading source of Palm OS App Store from 1995-2001.

From 1990 to 1992, Dr. Crouch was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy in President George H.W. Bush’s Administration.  From 1986 to 1990, he was the Military Legislative Assistant to Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyoming) and served as the Senator’s staff designee on the Senate Armed Services Committee. From 1984 to 1986, he served in the Reagan Administration as a special assistant to the Assistant Director for Strategic Programs in the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and was an advisor to the U.S. Delegation on Nuclear and Space Arms Talks with the former Soviet Union.

Dr. Crouch has twice been awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. He received the Alumni Merit Award from the University of Southern California in 2006 and Military Merit Grand Cross with White Ribbon, from the Kingdom of Spain in 2003. He was the Missouri Deputy Sheriff of the Year for 2000.

Dr. Crouch served pro bono for nine years as a reserve deputy sheriff in southwest Missouri, and as a member of a multi-county Special Response Team. Dr. Crouch also served as an adult leader to a Scout Venture Crew and as a Boy Scouts of America Assistant Scoutmaster.

Dr. Crouch holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California.  He and his wife, Kristin, live in McLean, Virginia. They have two children, Lara and Jake.

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