Rob is a co-founder of Operation Encore, an active-duty Air Force officer (Colonel), and an F-16 pilot currently serving as a Group Commander at Shaw AFB, South Carolina. He has served his country in the skies of Iraq, Korea, Europe, and various locations throughout the United States. Rob is also a talented musician, a producer on Operation Encore’s first two albums, and lead music director on many of our shows and events. When not flying for the Air Force or working on Operation Encore, Rob enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.

Erik Brine is a co-founder of Operation Encore, an Air Force Reserve Colonel a former C-21, C-17, and C-5 pilot, and now a strategic advisor at the Pentagon. He has served his country in numerous capacities, including over the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan, in the halls of Congress, at the State Department and the White House. In his civilian capacity he is the Executive Director of the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology. For Operation Encore, Erik leads the organizational design, marketing, partnerships and fundraising efforts. Erik lives in Jamestown, RI with his wife and four children.

Tom is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, having spent 22 years in the Air Force with assignments around the world, including combat time in both the A-10 and F-16. He appears on the first two Operation Encore albums as both studio musician and songwriter, and helped produce both. His song “In Tent City,” was inspired by his flying in the Gulf War. Tom acts as our onstage music director, performing as “wingman” for many of our artists’ live shows, playing guitar and singing harmonies. He currently lives in Phoenix and Las Vegas, where he is a pilot for Southwest Airlines

Guy is an Operation Encore board member and retired corporate executive with over 35 years in the commercial real estate development and investment business, most recently as CEO of Prologis Private Capital. He serves on a number of for profit and non-profit boards, launched a series of singer/songwriter compilations for Notes4Hope (a breast cancer charity) and founded Buckeye Road Music. Guy spends much of his Operation Encore time producing our shows and events, helping our artists record their music and working on donor development. He lives in Belvedere, CA with his wife and has two adult children.

A retired Air Force Officer and pilot, Daryl earned a computer science degree from the US Air Force Academy and a Masters degree in computer information systems from St. Mary's University. Daryl served in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has flown C-21s, C-17s, and MQ-1s around the world. Daryl manages all of our internal and external communications, video production, social media and online songwriting workshops. He now works for a data analytics company and is helping the Air Force build next-generation autonomous aircraft. He resides in the Dayton, Ohio area with his wife and three children.

Jake Dukes serves as Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at Zac Brown’s non-profit Camp Southern Ground, where he brings his business and ministry backgrounds to help set strategies and develop a strong leadership culture. Jake has been the lead in working with Operation Encore to create the Warrior Song program, the only music industry boot camp designed exclusively for active duty, veteran and military spouse singer/songwriters pursuing professional music careers. Jake is also an author, speaker, wellness coach and songwriter. He lives near Atlanta, GA with his wife Jackie and four daughters.