John Cathcart

Award-winning author John Cathcart earned his USAF pilot wings in 1980 and served on active duty for 20 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Most of John’s AF flying was in two versions of the F-111.

After retiring, John flew with American Airlines, where he spent most of his career flying the 737 out of their Miami base. He retired from American in 2015 and now spends his days in retirement writing, catching up on all the honey-dos, and scaring (not catching) fish.

 John has volunteered with MWSA since 2009, serving as webmaster, reviewer, awards director, and at-large board member.

Valerie Ormond

Valerie Ormond retired after a 25-year career as a naval intelligence officer and founded her business, Veteran Writing Services, LLC. She provides companies professional writing and consulting services and writes and publishes books.

Valerie’s three novels, Believing In Horses; Believing In Horses, Too; and Believing In Horses Out West have won national and international awards including Gold Medals in the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA), first place in the National Federation of Press Women’s national communication contest, and Best Equine Fiction in the EQUUS Film and Arts Festival Literary Awards.

Her fiction and non-fiction stories and poems have been published in numerous books, and her articles have appeared in magazines, newspapers, and blogs. Valerie is MWSA’s Outreach Committee Chair; a member of the Programming Committee; an Awards Committee Senior Reviewer; the 2019 President’s Award recipient; a Finalist for both the Writer or the Year and the Founder’s Award; and a previous Board Member.

Hugh Simpson

Hugh is a retired LtCol USMCR and father of three.  He and his wife have a law firm and title insurance business for more than twenty years, as well as several other family and real estate entities. He recently published his first two books, Borderline Decision and Caribbean Cabal. 

Jim Tritten

Jim retired after a forty-four-year career with the Department of Defense, including duty as a carrier-based naval aviator. He holds advanced degrees from the University of Southern California and formerly served as a faculty member and National Security Affairs department chair at the Naval Postgraduate School. Dr. Tritten’s publications have won him seventy-two writing awards, including the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award from the Navy League of the U.S., the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Writer of the Year and the Parris Award from SouthWest Writers (SWW) – both of these in 2023. He has published thirteen books and over four hundred chapters, short stories, essays, articles, and government technical reports. Jim was a frequent speaker at many military, arms control, and international conferences and has seen his work translated into Russian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Ruth Crocker

Ruth W. Crocker is an author, editor, and playwright, and survived a career in healthcare management. Her essays have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Grace Magazine, O-Dark-Thirty, T.A.P.S. Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, anthologies, trade magazines, The Day newspaper, and elsewhere. Writing honors include a notable essay in Best American Essays, a Pushcart Prize nomination, and First Prize in the Saturday Evening Post’s “Tribute to the Troops” essay contest.  Her memoir, Those Who Remain: Remembrance and Reunion After War, received the Benjamin Franklin Award, a Silver Medal from the Military Writers Society of America, and was presented to President Obama at the White House in 2014. Her book, People of Yellowstone, received Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Award in 2017. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Presently, she is Managing Editor at Elm Grove Press and Interim Secretary for the MWSA board of directors. She is also a frequent speaker on the subjects of writing, editing, and memoir. She lives in Mystic, CT. Visit her website at: www.ruthwcrocker.com.

Annette Langlois Grunseth

Annette Langlois Grunseth, Green Bay, WI, is retired from a 40-year career in healthcare marketing and PR. Her book Combat and Campus: Writing Through War (Elm Grove Press) received a Gold Medal from MWSA in 2022. Her poetry book, Becoming Trans-Parent, One Family’s Journey of Gender Transition, (Finishing Line Press) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She received the Hal Gruetzmacher Poetry Prize in Wisconsin. Her work has been recognized by the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters (University of Wisconsin). She has been published in Amethyst Review, The Poetry Box, Poetry of Presence II, Silver Birch Press, and other journals. She finds inspiration for writing while biking trails or paddling her kayak. Learn more at www.annettegrunseth.com.

Rob Lofthouse

From Marine Corps Corporal to award-winning author: meet Rob Lofthouse! Rob went on to a successful international 40-year career in information technology retiring as a Vice President of Operations. But his story doesn't end there. Rob is an author of five biographies and historical books. He's a sought-after speaker, bestselling and award-winning author (including a prestigious 2022 MWSA Bronze Medal!). A South Dakota Fallen Hero’s Bridge Dedication was recently named after the war hero he wrote about in this book. He is a coach, editor, and book reviewer who empowers other writers. Rob's passion for service continues as a dedicated volunteer with several patriotic organizations in the Kansas City area (Vietnam Veteran’s Association Chapter 75 Treasurer; SAR Henry Leavenworth Chapter Treasurer; and General Chair of the George Washington Birthday Celebration.) He's also actively involved with the Military Writer's Society of America serving this past year as an Ambassador and The William “Rev. Bill” McDonald Scholarship Chair, and is a member of the Kansas Author's Club. Living between the rivers in Kansas City with his wife, Rob's story is one of dedication, leadership, and love for both history and helping others.

James Rosone

James Rosone's military career began in 1996 with the Wisconsin Army National Guard, evolving to the U.S. Air Force as a Linguist Debriefer after 9/11. During his 556-day Iraq deployment, he conducted over 2,200 hours of high-value target interrogations, earning recognition for his counterterrorism efforts and the lives he saved through his efforts. Post-military, James worked as a contractor in Iraq with DynCorp and Triple Canopy on the WPPS contract with the State Department before leaving Iraq to take a new role with US CENTCOM. James was then recruited to work on a SOCOM task order, positioning him at the US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, as the Command's newly appointed Identity Operations Manager. In this role, James worked to establish the Global Identity Intelligence program, a critical program in identifying and preventing KSTs and extremist persons from entering the US and Allied Nations.

Academically, James holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin, an MBA from Saint Leo University, and an MSc from the University of Oxford. His academic experiences include internships with Congressman Paul Ryan and Governor of Wisconsin Scott McCallum. 

In 2015, struggling with PTSD after leaving the intelligence world behind, James discovered writing therapy. This coping mechanism transformed into a new career, and in 2017, he became a full-time author with his wife Miranda. Collaborating with his wife, James has co-authored 34 books, selling over a million copies worldwide. Their works were often inspired by James's military and wartime experience coupled with his extensive foreign travel. They have given him and his wife an expansive breadth of experience to draw upon in their storytelling. Their works have been translated into multiple languages, from German and French to Hindi and Japanese. The couple consistently ranks among Amazon's Top-100 Kindle Unlimited authors in the Thriller and Science Fiction genres they write. James and Miranda now advocate writing therapy to help others overcome trauma and PTSD. They mentor aspiring veteran authors, continuing their service through the power of the pen.

Bill McDonald

Bill was born in 1946 in San Francisco California. He is an author, award-winning poet, artist, actor, international motivational speaker, former radio show host, advisor and consultant to films and documentaries, interfaith minister, advocate for veterans, yoga meditation teacher, decorated Vietnam War veteran, member of several non-profit organizations for PTSD veterans and suicide prevention, and he is spiritual advisor and confidant to many from all walks of life.

He is the founder of the American Authors Association (AAA). He is a member of American Legion Post 233, The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #500, Amvets, The Military Order of The Purple Heart, and he works with other veteran organizations as a chaplain when needed.

During the Vietnam War he was a crew-chief/door-gunner on a UH-1 Huey Helicopter with the famed Tomahawks: The 128th Assault Helicopter Company. His tour of duty was from October 1966 to October 1967. He was awarded many ribbons and medals including: The Distinguished Flying Cross, The Bronze Star Medal, The Purple Heart Medal, and 14 Air Medals. He was wounded when his helicopter was shot down in April of 1967. He was also blown up by a rocket and injured in July of 1967

His autobiography, A Spiritual Warrior’s Journey, first published in 2003, tells of his life experiences not only in the war but also his formative years and the decades after he got back from the war. His next two books were poetry and prose. Sacred Eye: Poetry in Search of the Divine won him a $25,000 publisher’s prize as the best poetry book of 2004. His book of war poetry, Purple Hearts: Poetry of the Vietnam War, won public acclaims and honors as well.

Bob Doerr

Award-winning author Bob Doerr grew up in a military family, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and had a career of his own in the Air Force.

Bob specialized in criminal investigations and counterintelligence, gaining significant insight to the worlds of crime, espionage, and terrorism. His work brought him into close coordination with the security agencies of many countries and filled his mind with the fascinating plots and characters found in his books today.

His education credits include a Masters in International Relations from Creighton University. A full time author with ten published books, Bob was selected by the Military Writers Society of America as its Author of the Year for 2013. The Eric Hoffer Awards awarded No One Else to Kill its 2013 first runner up to the grand prize for commercial fiction. Two of his other books were finalists for the Eric Hoffer Award in earlier contests. Loose Ends Kill won the 2011 Silver Medal for Fiction/Mystery by Military Writers Society of America. Another Colorado Kill received the same Silver Medal in 2012 and the Silver Medal for general fiction at the Branson Stars and Flags national book contest in 2012. Bob released an international thriller titled The Attack in May 2014, and more recently, Caffeine Can Kill, his sixth book in the Jim West mystery series. Bob has also written two novellas for middle grade readers in the Enchanted Coin series: The Enchanted Coin and The Rescue of Vincent. Bob lives in Garden Ridge, Texas, with Leigh, his wife of 42 years, and Cinco, their ornery cat.