The Honorable Al Cornella is a businessman from Rapid City, South Dakota.  U.S. Senator Thomas Daschle (D-South Dakota) appointed him to the Commission.

He served in the U.S. Navy, including service in Vietnam in 1966-67. He has also served on various local, state and federal boards and commissions dealing with military issues, environmental regulation and economic development. Mr. Cornella has been involved with the base closing process since 1991. In 1995, he served as a commissioner on the United States Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC).

He presently serves on the Academic Advisory Board of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the State of South Dakota Board of Military Affairs, the South Dakota State Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and is the development chairman of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.

Since 2000, he has served as South Dakota State Chairman of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense.

General Lew Curtis was appointed to the Commission by U.S. Senator Bill Frist (R-Tennessee). He retired from the Air Force after 35 years in command and staff positions primarily affecting the areas of aircraft maintenance, logistics management, and acquisition.  In addition to other positions General Curtis held the position of the Air Force’s designated acquisition commander for all Air Force jet engines. 

While the Commander of the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, General Curtis managed the acquisition and logistics functions of approximately 15,000 military and civilian personnel supporting logistical aircraft and the inventory of jet engines for transport and fighter aircraft.

His acquisition background included Air Force programs and selected NASA efforts and he led the development of the integrated weapon systems program which set the standard for today’s materiel management processes. 

General Curtis has been a consultant with GIG Concepts, Inc. since 1995.  He provides experience and advice to various Defense contractors in support of their business development, competitive assessments, and strategic planning.  In addition to his business acumen, he served six years as a member of the Texas Military Planning Commission.

ANTHONY (Tony) A. LESS, Commissioner
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret.)
Clifton, VA

Vice Admiral Tony Less was appointed to the Commission by U.S. Senator Bill Frist (R-Tennessee).  He retired as Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy in 1994.  After his retirement, Admiral Less became the President of the Naval Association a non-profit organization and for seven years was the Vice-President for Government Programs with Command Aerospace for there Bloomfield, CT and DC offices. 

Admiral Tony Less is the Senior Vice President for Naval Sector Programs at Burdeshaw Associates, Ltd., a position he has held since 2003.  Burdeshaw is an association of retired senior military officers, government civilians, and corporate executives whose experience assists clients in matching their technology and capabilities with U.S. and foreign military and other governmental requirements.

KEITH MARTIN, Commissioner
Brigadier General, PA ARNG (Ret.)
Shavertown, Pennsylvania

General Keith Martin as appointed to the Commission by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California). He has enjoyed a 34-year career in military service as a commissioned officer in the Active Army, Army Reserve and Pennsylvania Army National Guard.  He saw combat duty in Southeast Asia and served in various overseas assignments to include Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

In February 2003, he was appointed Director of Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by Governor Edward Rendell.  For 30 years prior to that, he was a news reporter and anchor in Pennsylvania, Florida and New York.

H. G. (Pete) TAYLOR, Commissioner
Lieutenant General, USA (Ret.)
Belton, Texas

General Pete Taylor was appointed to the Commission by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-California). He retired from the U.S. Army in 1993 after more than 33 years of active service, which included staff and command positions at every level from platoon through Commander General of III Corps and Ft. Hood, Texas.

General Taylor served the Army in various levels of responsibility including Commander of the 24^th Infantry Division and Ft. Stewart, Georgia,, and Commander of the National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, CA.

Upon retiring from the Army, General Taylor became Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Heights State Bank, Harker Heights, Texas, where he served until 2002. He has also provided consulting services in leadership, training and management to defense-oriented corporations.

General Taylor has been active in community affairs, including scouting, Rotary, United Way and as a member of the Killeen Independent School Board of Trustees.

He served four years as chairman of the Texas Strategic Military Planning Commission and is chairman of the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance, a three-county central Texas defense advocacy group.

He was born in Tennessee and is a graduate of Middle Tennessee University.  He also holds a Master’s degree from Kansas State University.

Dr. James A. Thomson was appointed to the Commission by U.S. Senator Thomas Daschle (D-South Dakota).  Since August 1989, he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the RAND Corporation, a non-profit, non-partisan institution that seeks to improve public policy through research and analysis.  He joined RAND in 1981 and has served there as director of the research program in national security, foreign policy, defense policy and arms control.

From 1977 to 1981, Dr. Thomson was a member of the National Security Council staff, where he was primarily responsible for defense and arms control matters related to Europe. From 1974 to 1977, he was an analyst in the office of the Secretary of Defense.

PATRICIA J. WALKER, Executive Director
Alexandria, Virginia

Ms. Patricia Walker is the Executive Director of the Overseas Basing Commission. She is responsible for policy, guidance and direction of the Commission staff and provides Commissioners counsel on appropriate actions for their consideration and deliberation. She concurrently holds the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (Materiel and Facilities).

She co-authored a report entitled Putting Quality at the Top of the Agenda.  She was a contract negotiator for all overseas military fuel requirements in the Defense Fuel Supply Center and established the first Foreign Military Sales program in Central America; as an Acquisition professional she served on the Defense Acquisition Regulatory Council;  she transitioned to the Military installations arena as the  Deputy Director to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security;  Assistant Director for Analysis and Investment for the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Industrial Affairs and Installations;  Co-Chair of the Privatization and Outsourcing Integrated Policy Team; and participated on the DoD Quality of Life Task Force.  In 1988 and 1991, Ms. Walker served on the Secretary of Defense senior staff responsible for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) analyses and recommendations.