Learn Leadership from the Best Leaders

LTC Martin Stokes

Professor of Military Science

LTC Stokes is a native of Falls City, Nebraska.  He received his commission in May 1989 upon graduation from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in History and Economics.

LTC Stokes’ assignments include Group Property Book Officer for the 528th United States Army Artillery Group, Cakmakli, Turkey; Troop Executive Officer and GSE Platoon Leader, Maintenance Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment; Supply Officer, 24th Corps Support Group; Battalion S-4, 3d Forward Support Battalion (FSB), 3rd Infantry Division; A CO Commander, 3rd FSB, 3ID.  He served in this last assignment during the deployment to Kuwait for Desert Thunder from February - June 1998.  Following company command he was an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Colorado State University where he earned a Masters of Art degree in History. 

LTC Stokes’ next duty station was Fort Hood, Texas and assigned to the 4th Infantry Division.  He served as the General Supply Officer and the Operations Chief in the Division Materiel Management Center.  During this time he deployed to Kosovo where he served as the Deputy Chief, Multinational Support Cell.  Upon his return he was assigned as the Executive Officer, 404th Aviation Support Battalion and deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003.  In Iraq he was assigned as the Division Support Command S-3.  Upon redeployment from Iraq, he transferred to the Operations Group, National Training Center, serving on the Brigade Logistics Team (Goldminers) as the Echelon Above Brigade and Battalion Executive Officer trainer, and served three months as Operations Group Executive Officer. On 30 August 2006, LTC Stokes took command of the Echelons Above Brigade Support Battalion, Support Brigade at Fort Irwin.  LTC Stokes became the Professor of Military Science at UC – Santa Barbara in September, 2007.

LTC Stokes’ military education includes Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Turkish Language Course, Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, Combined Arms Services Staff School, and Command and General Staff College. 

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (w/1 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (w/4 OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (w/2 Bronze Star), Kosovo Service Medal, NATO Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary & Service Medals, and Army Superior Unit Award. 

LTC Stokes and his wife Chris have been married for fifteen years and they have two children, Emily (10) and Nathan (8).

MAJ Michael J. Salvo

Enrollment and Scholarship Officer

Informs prospects of the benefits of Army ROTC program.

Major Michael J. Salvo was born in Wilkes-barre, PA.  He enlisted in the Army in 1990 as a Counterintelligence Officer.  With his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics he attended Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia in 1995. Upon his graduation, he was designated a Distinguished Military Graduate and was commis­sioned as a Second Lieutenant.

His military education includes the Military Intelligence Counterintelligence course, the Field Artillery Basic (honor graduate) and Advanced Courses (honor graduate), the Combined Arms and Staff Service School, and the Airborne Course.

Major Michael J. Salvo has held a wide variety of command and staff assignments.  His previous assignments include service with the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment in Germany (1st Infantry Division) where he served as a Division Artillery Assistant Operations Officer in Iraq, Battery Commander in Kosovo, Battalion Maintenance Officer and Battalion Fire Support Officer with 1-18 Infantry Battalion in Germany.  His tour of duty as a lieutenant was spent with the  4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment in Germany (1st Armored Division) where he served as a Battalion Assistant Operations Officer, Platoon Leader, Company Fire Support Officer with 1-6 Infantry Battalion in Germany and served as a Assistant Battalion Fire Support Officer in Bosnia. 

His awards and decorations include: the Meritori­ous Service Medal; the Army Commendation Medal (3 OLC); the Army Achievement Medal (4 OLC); the National Defense Service Medal (2); the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; NCO Professional Development Ribbon; NATO Medal; Overseas Service Ribbon (2); Kosovo Medal; Global War on Terrorism, and the Parachute Badge.

He lives with his wife, Nathalie, in Buellton, California.

LTC Elious Zenon

Assistant Professor of Military Science

LTC Zenon was born in Colorado Springs, CO.  Completed the U.S. Air Force ROTC program at the University of Colorado and graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts in American History.  He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as a Dental Specialist for 16 months.  He then transferred to the U.S. Army through the Army ROTC program at Colorado State University in Pueblo, Colorado and was commissioned as Second lieutenant in 1977. 

His military education includes the Air Defense Officers Basic course, the Short Range Air Defense Officer (SHORAD) course, the Air Defense Officers Advance Course,  the Army Rotary Wing Aviation course, the CH-47 Aircraft transition course, the Aviation Logistics Course, the CH-47D Maintenance Test Pilot course,  Force Modernization Structure Course and  the Command, Staff and General Course.   He served as a Dental Specialist in the Air Force at Bergstrom AFB, TX.  His tour of duty as a lieutenant was spent with the 7th Infantry Division, 1/151st ADA Battalion where he was a Redeye platoon leader at Ft. Ord, CA.   Other tours of duty included Ft. Rucker, AL, where he was a Flight Instruments platform instructor; he also served as an Executive Officer and Personnel Officer at the 6th Bde, 222d Aviation Battalion, in Ft. Wainwright, AK; he was a Medium Lift Aviation Battalion Executive Officer at Ft. Meade, MD; He served as the Army Aviation Inspection Chief and full time Army Reserve Aviation Officer at Ft. McPherson, GA.   In April 1999 he retired from active duty at Ft. Monroe, VA.  He then worked as a military analyst in the Space and Information Superiority Directorate of the Army Training Command (TRADOC).

His awards and decorations include:  The Meritorious Service Medal (2 OLC); The Army Commendation Medal (3 OLC); The National Defense Service Medal; Overseas Service ribbon; the Senior Aviation Badge and the Parachute Badge. 

He lives with his wife, Jacqueline, in Oxnard, California.

MSG James Thorpe

Senior Military Instructor of Military Science

MSG James L. Thorpe was born in Ipswich, England.  He enlisted in the Army in March 1989.  He completed Basic Training at Fort Dix, NJ and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Biss, TX as 14S MANPADS crew member (Avender).  His assignments include 5-5 ADA, Camp Casey, Korea; 2-3 ADA, Fort Riley, KS; 5-5 ADA, Camp Casey, Korea; 4-3 ADA, Fort Riley, KS; the Noncommissioned Officers Academy (BNCOC), Fort Bliss, TX; 3-62 ADA, Fort Drum, NY; 1-44 ADA, Fort Hood, TX; 1-44 ADA, Fort Bliss, TX. He is now assigned to the (ROTC) program at Santa Barbara,CA.                                                                                                   

MSG Thorpe has held numerous leadership positions to include, stinger MANPADS gunner, stinger MANPADS Team Chief, stinger MANPADS Squad Leader, Avenger Squad Leader, Stinger Avenger Platoon Sergeant, Small Group Leader (BNCOC), and 1SG.

His military awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (2OLC); the Army Commendation Medal (2-OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (4OLC), the Army Good Conduct Medal (4Awd), the National Defense Service Medal, The Southwest Asia Service Medal, the NCO Professional Development Ribbon (w/num3), the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon (2), the Kuwait Liberation Medal) Saudi), and Liberation of Kuwait Medal (Kuwait).

He is a member of both the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara and the prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. MSG Thorpe was recognized as the Fort Bliss NCO of the Year and the Tradoc NCO of the Year, Fiscal Year 2003. MSG Thorpe was also recognized as the Instructor of the Year at the United States Army Noncommissioned Officers Academy Fiscal year 2003.

His military education includes; 14S Advanced Individual Training, Primary Leadership Development Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Course, First Sergeant Course, Rail Load Course, Air Load Planners Course, Nuclear Biological Chemical Course, Observer~ Controller Course, Combat Life Saver Course, Armor Course, Instructor Training Course, Small Group Instructor Course, The Master Fitness Course, and the Master Gunner Course (Avenger).

MSG Thorpe is married to the former Monica Domingas of Laredo, TX. They two children; Michelle ~ 4 yrs, and Ian ~ 2 yrs.

SFC Jeremy Brown

Training NCO

SFC Brown entered the Army in January of 1989. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment following the completion of Basic, AIT, Airborne and the Ranger Indoctrination Program (RIP). He has spent the majority of his career in 2nd Ranger Battalion. He jumped into Panama as a rifleman during Operation Just Cause and he deployed twice to Afghanistan as the 2/75 Sniper Platoon Sergeant. SFC Brown also served as a Ranger Instructor at the 6th Ranger Training Battalion, a RIP instructor in the 75th Ranger Regiment and most recently as the NCOIC of the Modern Army Combatives Program in Ft. Benning Georgia.

SFC Browns military education includes, PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC, Airborne, Ranger, Sniper, Jumpmaster, the Special Operations Training Course, Revolutionary Warfare Course, Advance Land Navigation Course and the Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Course.

His awards include, Meritorious Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal (2 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman's Badge (x2), Master Parachutist Wings with bronze star, British Parachutist Wings and the Expert Infantryman's Badge.

SFC Brown currently resides in Ventura California. He is the father of one daughter and is an accomplished martial artist and grappler.

Mr. Eric Santiago

Battalion Human Resource Administration

Mr. Eric Santiago was born in Tamuning, Guam.  He was raised in the Historical Village of Umatac, Guam. 

After High School he enlisted in the Navy in 1989 and received an honorable discharge in 1992.  He began his career as a Government Service employee as a Sales Store Checker in Hanua, Germany Commissary then at Fort Polk, Louisiana Commissary. 

In September 2004 he accepted a temporary position for a Human Resource Assistant (HRA) position for the Adjutant General, Personnel Support Battalion at Ft. Polk.  The following year in May 2005 he accepted a permanent position at Fort Irwin, CA. 

September 2005 he transferred to the ROTC program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

Ms. Marycor Foster

Supply technician/Property Book Officer

Mrs. Marycor P. Foster is a Prior Service from the United States Army, Quartermaster Branch, arrived in 2005 as the ROTC’s Logistics Technician.

Mrs. Foster is originally from the Island of the Philippines.  She enlisted in the Army in 1996 as a Supply Specialist in Mission Viejo, California.  She attended Basic Combat Training in Fort Jackson, SC and Advance Individual Training in Fort Lee, VA. 

As a prior service, she served in numerous assignments including 864th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy), Fort Lewis WA; HHC I Corps, Fort Lewis WA; HHD102nd Military Intelligence Battalion in South Korea; 175th Adjutant General Postal Company Fort Lewis, WA; 22nd Personnel Services Battalion, Fort Lewis WA; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Bagram and Kandahar Afghanistan; and her last duty station with the 1st Personnel Group in Fort Lewis WA were she served as the Group S-4 NCOIC.   She also served in the National Guard at Fairbanks, Alaska.

Mrs. Foster enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband and two children.

Patrick Coffield

Business Officer

UCSB Administration

Mr. Coffield was born in Nagoya Japan on Feb. 7, 1951 while his father, a career Air Force officer, was serving in the Korean War. He graduated from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc CA in 1969. and received a BA in History and English Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1976. He also attended the German Wine Academy in Eberbach Germany in 1981.

He volunteered for the US Army in 1971 and served 2 years with Field Artillery and the Adjutant General Corps at Fort Carson, Co. He received an Honorable Discharge in 1973 with the National Defense ribbon.

Before coming to the Department of Military Science in 1999, he had successful careers in the wine industry, real estate management and teaching with the Santa Barbara School District.

He currently is on the Board of Directors for the Pierre Claeyssens Veteran Museum and is also a member of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and The Navy League.

He lives with his wife Sharon at their home in Santa Barbara and is an avid sailor, scuba diver, wine connoisseur and military historian.

Mr. Chris Reimel

UCSB Human Resource Assistant