New Corps Staff
Throughout this fall, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets welcomed five new staff members.
They include four Corps alumni plus a former staff member who returns to a new role.
Their energy and ideas have had an immediate impact on the activities happening on Upper Quad.
Cmdr. Nate Brown ’98
Though he’s been around for alumni-related events since the start of the semester, Cmdr. Nate Brown ’98, U.S. Navy (retired), officially joined the staff Dec. 1 as the alumni director.
Brown graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in leadership studies and history. He was a member of Golf Company his freshman and sophomore years, Foxtrot Company his junior year, and Echo Company his senior year.
Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the U.S. Navy and served on active duty for 23 years as a surface warfare officer.
Sea duty assignments included damage control assistant, USS Elrod (FFG 55); navigator, USS Gettysburg (CG 64); chief engineer, USS Porter (DDG 78); chief engineer, USS San Jacinto (CG 56); and executive officer, USS Ramage (DDG 61).
Ashore, Brown served as a Naval ROTC instructor at Virginia Military Institute, staff officer on the Chief of Naval Operations Staff at the Pentagon, operational planner at Naval Forces Central Command/Fifth Fleet, maritime planner at the Joint Enabling Capabilities Command, and maritime planner/training officer at Second Fleet.
Brown earned master’s degrees from Troy University and the U.S. Naval War College. He is a graduate of the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Advanced Warfare School.
Col. Robert Shelton ’96
Col. Robert Shelton ’96, U.S. Air Force (retired), joined the Corps staff in October as the deputy commandant for 3rd Battalion.
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Shelton earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Virginia Tech and was commissioned through Air Force ROTC Detachment 875.
After commissioning, he attended Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.
As a line officer, Shelton held various squadron-, group-, and wing-level positions and graduated from Air Mobility Command’s highly selective Phoenix Horizon leader development program.
As an aviator, he progressed to the level of evaluator pilot in the KC-135R/T and instructor pilot in the C-5A/B aircraft. He also earned designation as a joint qualified officer and served in myriad staff roles at the wing, major command, and combatant command levels.
Shelton commanded the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, embedded within the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Birmingham Alabama, Alabama Air National Guard. In his second command, he joined the legendary “Bloody Hundredth” as commander of the 100th Operations Group and 401st Air Expeditionary Group, 100th Air Refueling Wing, Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom.
He was a command pilot with over 2,900 flight hours in the KC-135R/T, C-5A/B, RC-135V, T-1A, T-37, and T-3 aircraft. He deployed extensively in support of operations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the Horn of Africa to include Operations Joint Forge, Allied Force, Northern and Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve, Freedom’s Sentinel, and Resolute Support.
He retired in 2021 with over 25 years of service.
He received a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2004 and a Master of Military Science in operational planning and strategy from the National Defense University, Joint Advanced Warfighting School.
Lt. Col. Carrie Cox VT’99
Lt. Col. Carrie A. Cox, U.S. Air Force Reserves, joined the staff in August as the deputy commandant for the Citizen-Leader Track.
She is the commander of the 916th Maintenance Squadron in the 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Prior to this assignment, she was the commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 607 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she was responsible for recruiting and overseeing the preparation and training of officer candidates through a comprehensive college program at Fayetteville State University and four cross-town universities.
Cox earned her commission and was a Distinguished Graduate (with Academic and Military Distinction) from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1998, earning a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering.
She has served in a variety of positions in aircraft maintenance, training, instruction, and recruiting in an active-duty capacity and as a reservist.
She previously served as an assistant professor of aerospace studies, operations officer, and recruiting officer at the Air Force ROTC Detachment 875 at Virginia Tech and before that was the Corps’ executive officer.
Prior to returning to active duty, Cox served as the liaison officer director for the state of Virginia, leading a geographically dispersed unit of 17 admission liaison officers responsible for over 640 schools.
She earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech in 1999.
Ken Mallory ’06
Ken Mallory ’06 joined the staff in August as the assistant director of the Citizen-Leader Track program. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with minors in history and leadership studies from Virginia Tech and went to on to receive his master’s degree in teaching from Christopher Newport University in 2008.
Mallory taught history and government to middle and high school students for 14 years in Newport News, Virginia, and in Blacksburg, Virginia. As part of those roles, he served as department chair, data and interventions lead, and coached multiple sports and academic teams. He also partnered with the Office of Teacher Preparation at Christopher Newport University to mentor teaching interns and train professional teachers to host student interns.
He is active in the community, having served as an elections official, community running ambassador, and first aid/CPR instructor for the Red Cross.
Capt. Jamie McGrath ’90
Though not new to the staff, Capt. Jamie McGrath ’90, U.S. Navy (retired), has a new role as the director of the Maj. Gen. W. Thomas Rice Center for Leader Development, the academic arm of the Corps.
He joined the commandant’s staff in 2019 as the deputy commandant for 3rd Battalion, and formally moved into the Rice Center director position in October.
McGrath graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in history and was commissioned through Naval ROTC. He holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College and a master’s degree in military history from Norwich University.
He is a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer who served in a variety of at-sea assignments aboard frigates, destroyers, cruisers, and aircraft carriers, participating in Operations Sharp Guard, Desert Fox, Southern Watch, Active Endeavour, Enduring Freedom, and New Dawn.
He served on the staff of commander, U.S. Seventh Fleet, and commanded Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Seven in Guam.
Ashore he taught chemistry, materials and radiological fundamentals at Naval Nuclear Power School.
After promotion to captain, he served as the liaison for commander, Naval Forces Europe, to commander, U.S. European Command, and on the Joint Staff J7.
McGrath’s final active-duty position was as a military professor at the Naval War College.