Dave Powell is a retired Army Colonel with 28 years of experience at increasing levels of responsibility and authority from Platoon-level to Department of the Army, including support to Presidential Commissions. He served in the Army from Vietnam to Iraq eras. He has extensive background in the application of management techniques, re-engineering/efficiencies processes, resource management, government contracts, operations research and systems analysis (ORSA), logistics systems (field to theater and industrial base), acquisition, and installation/facility management. He holds extensive knowledge in the Department of Defense (DOD) and Army (DA) Planning, Programming, Budget Management, and Execution System (PPBES), National/DOD/DA/AMC Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), major ORSA studies for 3/4 star-level decisions, Army Industrial Base, and development of the first major CORPS simulations with logistics incorporated. He received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) and three Legion of Merits (LM).
He has 19 years of civilian experience, including working as Vice President of Operations of a major corporation, as well as COO, CFO, and Director of Operations at numerous smaller companies. His responsibilities included overall management, project management, subject matter expert, consultations for general office and Secretariat-level DOD officials. Areas of support included major acquisition and development projects (ex: Hybrid-Electric heavy trucks, mobile critical part manufacturing), BRAC implementation, analytical studies, major command downsizing, retrograde/recapitulation of major combat equipment from Iraq/Afghanistan, NASA Space Station support, strategic planning, budget management, and support to non-profit organizations. He also volunteers for several local organizations who serve veterans and/or animals.
His desire to support veterans stems from his own service history of taking care of his people, as well as from his immediate family history. His dad was a career Army enlisted officer who served during WWII in China behind enemy lines and G-4 (Logistics Office) for the 1st Infantry in Vietnam. His uncle was enlisted in WWII, served in D-Day and Battle of the Bulge. His other uncle was a career enlisted soldier during WWII in the Philippines, was in the Baton Death March, and was a Prisoner of War in the Philippines and Japan. His son served in Desert Storm with the 101st ABD. Many of these relatives suffered from PTS without treatment or support, although family dogs played a big role in their resiliency. These family members served their country for a combined 92 years.
His education includes various advanced degrees and certifications in Business, Industrial Engineering, International Studies, and Public Administration.