New leaders elected at Reserve Organization of America’s annual meeting

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, October 11, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Oct. 6, a new group of leaders was sworn in during the Reserve Organization of America’s annual meeting at its Minute Man Memorial Headquarters building on Capitol Hill, including the association’s president-elect.

“I am honored and humbled to serve as the eighty-fourth national president of ROA, and more importantly, to advocate for those who have volunteered to serve in the reserve components of our uniformed services, their families, and their employers,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Peggy Wilmoth, on her election to lead the 102-year-old organization.

“I look forward to partnering with ROA members and key stakeholders as we charge forward in ensuring ROA’s relevance in its second century of service to the nation.”

Wilmoth, a life member of ROA, will officially assume the presidency at the 2025 annual meeting, scheduled Oct. 17-19. She retired from the Army in May 2017 after a distinguished 35½-year career, culminating as deputy surgeon general of the Army Reserve. She holds a doctorate in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

Dr. Wilmoth is a professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has served as executive vice dean and associate dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Nursing. She was also the 2023-2024 distinguished nurse scholar-in-residence at the National Academy of Medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Additionally, she is an alum of the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship and has published over 60 works in print and electronic media.

Gen. Wilmoth’s concurrent career in the U.S. Army Reserve included commanding various units and serving as the first nurse commanding general of a medical brigade responsible for wartime readiness of all USAR medical assets in the southeastern U.S., including Puerto Rico. Her follow-on assignment was in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, where she led efforts to transform the Military Health System’s research processes and promote changes in CENTCOM deployment policy.

As a major general, Wilmoth served in the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General as the deputy surgeon general for the USAR. She was the first nurse to hold this position in the Army Reserve’s 104-year history.

Appointed by the Secretary of the Army, she served two terms on the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee, which advises the Army on mobilization.

Gen. Wilmoth’s accolades include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Expert Field Medical Badge. She also holds the ‘9A’ Proficiency Designator in Medical-Surgical Nursing awarded by the U.S Army Surgeon General.

In her roles within ROA, President-Elect Wilmoth has served as vice president, Army Section, Department of Missouri; member of the Department of North Carolina’s executive committee; member of the Army National Executive Committee and the Family Support Committee; national health services officer; chair, Health Services Committee/Health Affairs Committee; chair, Organizational Structure and Policy Review Committee; chair, Army Junior Officer Selection Board; and member, Strategic Planning Committee.

Also elected to national office during the annual meeting were Col. Monti G. Zimmerman, USA (Ret.), Army Vice President; retired Master Sgt. Kevin C. Hollinger, ARNG, Army Executive Committeeman; retired Cmdr. John N. Leonard, USCGR, Naval Services Executive Committeeman; and Maj. Jonathan Sih, USAFR, Air Force Executive Committeeman.

“I am eager and excited to collaborate with General Wilmoth as we navigate the first decade of our second century,” said ROA’s current president, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Layne Wroblewski. “Her experience and vision will uphold our proud traditions of advocacy, education, and engagement. I congratulate her and the association’s newly elected leaders on their desire to serve ROA!”

Matthew Schwartzman
Reserve Organization of America
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