Chairman Punaro is a retired Marine Corps major general who served as Commanding General of the 4th Marine Division (1997–2000) and Director of Reserve Affairs at Headquarters Marine Corps during the post-9/11 peak reserve mobilization periods. Following active duty service in Vietnam, he was mobilized three times: for Operation Desert Shield in the first Gulf War in 1990, to command Joint Task Force Provide Promise (Fwd) in Bosnia and Macedonia in 1993, and for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. He worked on Capitol Hill for 24 years for Senator Sam Nunn and served as his staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee for 14 years. In 1997, he chaired the Defense Reform Task Force for then Secretary of Defense William Cohen; in 2007, he was a member of the independent commission assessing the Iraqi security forces; he is a member of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’s Defense Business Board. He serves on the board of directors of the National Defense Industrial Association and the Atlantic Council. He is currently Executive Vice President of Science Applications International Corporation.

Commissioner Ball was Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration. He currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the Asia Foundation, an international NGO operating in 18 Asian countries. His service on active duty in the Navy in the early 1970s was followed by 10 years on the U.S. Senate staff for Senators Herman Talmadge and John Tower. In 1985 he became Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, and then served on the White House staff for two years as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs. He presently is managing director of the Loeffler Group, a government affairs practice in Washington, DC, and Texas.

Commissioner Brownlee was confirmed as the Under Secretary of the Army in November 2004 and served concurrently as the Acting Secretary of the Army from May 2003 to November 2004. He was appointed first by Senator Strom Thurmond and later by Senator John Warner to serve as the staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is a retired U.S. Army colonel and served two combat tours in Vietnam. He is currently President of Les Brownlee & Associates LLC.

Commissioner Dawson is President and CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council. His private-sector experience includes the private practice of law and tenure as senior vice president, law and public policy, of a Fortune 500 company. During the Reagan administration, he was Assistant to the President for Operations, and earlier in his career he served as staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He served on active duty as an ROTC-commissioned Army officer for three years.

Commissioner Lewis served more than 28 years with the federal government, including service with the Senate Armed Services Committee for Chairmen John Warner, Sam Nunn, and Scoop Jackson. Ms. Lewis began her federal career in 1975 with the Department of the Navy and has held positions in Naval Sea Systems Command, the Office of the Navy Comptroller, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She is currently a partner with Monfort-Lewis, LLC.

Commissioner Rowley is currently Senior Vice President for Business Development for Otay Group, Inc., and was formerly a military border infrastructure construction consultant for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He served 9 years of enlisted and more than 14 years of commissioned service with the Army National Guard. His last military assignment was with the California Army National Guard, where he served for 10 years on active duty for special work as an engineer project officer, company commander, and facilities support commander for the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force. He was responsible for support in the development, project management, and installation of all aspects of border infrastructure in support of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Commissioner Sherrard served as Chief of Air Force Reserve, Headquarters USAF, Washington, DC, and Commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Georgia, from 1998 to 2004. He is a retired lieutenant general with more than 38 years of commissioned service in the United States Air Force. As Chief of Air Force Reserve and Commander, Air Force Reserve Command, he was responsible for organizing, training, and equipping more than 79,000 military and civil service personnel required to support operations and combat readiness training for 36 flying wings, 14 detached groups, 13 Air Force Reserve installations, three Numbered Air Forces, and the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC). As Chief of Air Force Reserve, he directed and oversaw the mobilization of Air Force Reserve personnel in support of military operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. During his career, General Sherrard commanded an airlift group, two Air Force Reserve installations, two wings, and two Numbered Air Forces.