New Corps Staff

CHARLES LILLY

Master Sgt. Charles L. Lilly II is the senior enlisted advisor for 3rd Battalion.

A native of Pulaski, Virginia, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2002 and was assigned to VFA-106, serving as as a flight equipment technician and collateral duty inspector. He later transferred to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12 in Iwakuni, Japan where he earned his collateral duty quality assurance representative designation and his quality assurance safety observer designation. He also represented his unit at the Weapons and Tactics Instruction (WTI) class in Yuma, Arizona.

Lilly was then assigned to HMM-774 in July 2007, serving as the collateral duty quality assurance representative and the quality assurance safety observer.

From July 2010 until March 2014, Lilly served as the ALSS division chief for VMM-266 as the collateral duty quality assurance representative and quality assurance safety observer. While there, Lilly participated in two deployments with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. In 2012, he attended the Aviation Maintenance Control course, earning the secondary Marine occupation specialty of aviation maintenance control safe for flight. Lilly supported the WTI class in Yuma as a V-22 maintenance controller.

In March 2014, Lilly began recruiting duty in Richmond, Virginia until 2015 when he was selected to be the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of recruiting in Petersburg, Virginia.

Upon completion of recruiting duty in July 2017, Lilly was assigned to HMH461 as the ALSS division chief and was later selected as the enlisted aviation production manager in Quantico, Virginia.

Lilly retired from the Marine Corps in July 2023 after 21 years of honorable service. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with two gold stars.

He married his wife, Lindsay, in 2009. They have three children, Mackena, Emerson, and Lincoln. 

SARAH FLEENOR

Sarah Fleenor is the Associate Director for the Citizen-Leader Track, also known as VPI Battalion.

Fleenor is a 2009 graduate of Hollins University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in international political systems. She also has a master's degree in diplomacy and international commerce from Norwich University, as well as a master's degree in education from Emory & Henry College.

She began teaching middle and high school government in Newport News, Virginia in 2016, serving as student council advisor, a mentor to new educators, and a curriculum writer for Newport News Public Schools. Fleenor has also been involved with the VA Civics nonprofit as a trainer and mentor teacher for the "We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution" curriculum program.

Originally from Abingdon, Virginia, Fleenor has been married to her husband, Justin, since 2016. She enjoys traveling, reading, doing various crafts, going to concerts in the summer, and skiing in the winter.