SVCMOAA Officers

The Silicon Valley Chapter (SVC) of MOAA has a team consisting of many retired Military Officers who perform all of the duties required to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the SVC Chapter By Laws and address any required day to day actions. Presented below, are photos and bios of each of these SVC Officers and SVC Directors.

Officers

Ray enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1980, moved to the California Army National Guard in 1986, and was commissioned 2LT in August 1987.  He served in increasingly responsible aviation line and staff positions with 49th helicopter transport company, a helicopter battalion, and the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB).  He commanded an aviation company and served as the Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) Installation and Airfield Commander for the Los Alamitos Army Airfield.  From there he moved to the XO position with the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) and later was assigned as State Aviation Officer (SAO) branch chief for California. While in this role in 2010 he deployed to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn (OND). Upon completion of active-duty COL Watts assumed responsibility for the J5 Strategic Plans directorate in Sacramento involving support for Ukraine and Nigeria. He retired from the California Army National Guard in 2017 as Brigade Commander, 223rd Regional Training Institute, Camp San Luis Obispo with responsibilities related to the state’s Officer Candidate School (OCS) and other organizations and units. Upon retirement he served as President of United Veterans Council (UVC) of Santa Clara County. Currently he is employed by Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a priority engaged sales account manager.  He lives with his wife and three children in San Jose.

Born in Los Angeles CA. Attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA.  Entered flight training Feb 1955. Completed two Med Cruises (Cold War days) in the late 50s.  Participated in weapons development at VX5 in the early sixties.  Served as Aide/Flag LT. to COMOPTEVFOR.  Deployed to the Med and participated in the events surrounding the shooting up of the USS Liberty.  Transferred to the TAR program and completed my career as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve Center, Treasure Island.

Lieutenant Commander Gulyas is a native of Springfield, Virginia. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Oklahoma and a Graduate Certificate of Geospatial Information Science from University of Maryland. He was commissioned through Reserve Officer Training Corps in May 2011. He was designated a Naval Aviator in August 2013. He flew over 100 hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He attained over 540 total hours in the E-2C Hawkeye and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye during his operational assignment.

Ashore, Lieutenant Commander Gulyas served in the US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Joint Force Headquarters, Washington D.C. His duties were in support of FEMA and HHS response to COVID-19. After transitioning into the Reserves, he was assigned to the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) Reserve Program in January 2021. Currently, he was recalled to active duty for two years, assigned to Reserve Talent Acquisition Group Southwest.

Lieutenant Commander Gulyas has been awarded the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Editor: Bio abbreviated.

Ray concluded a 35-year career in the United States Air Force in 2021. Shortly after graduating from Harbor High School in Santa Cruz, California in 1985, Ray enlisted in the Air Force and was trained as a Vietnamese linguist at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. He then served tours in the Philippines and Hawaii before receiving his commission in 1993 through Officer Training School. Ray commanded the United States Air Force Honor Guard in Washington DC from 2009 to 2011. Ray entered training to become a foreign area officer in 2011. He then served in diplomatic posts as the Air Attaché to Vietnam from 2013 to 2016, and the Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché to Australia from 2017 to 2020. His other assignments have included Northern California, Japan, Germany, two tours in Qatar and three in the Pentagon. He also deployed to combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ray completed his academic degrees while on active duty. These included a Bachelor of Science (Occupational Education) from Wayland Baptist University in 1992 while serving in Hawaii, and a Master of Science (Information Resource Management) from Central Michigan University in 2000 while serving in Washington DC. Ray and his wife, Richelyn, live in Atherton.

Born in Long Beach, CA, attended the University of Southern California and its ROTC program, and later in the 1970s attended the University of Michigan where he earned the Ph.D degree, becoming a clinical psychologist and business planning and organizational development consultant.  He was stationed on active duty with the Air Force at Pope Air Force Base, Fayetteville, North Carolina, adjacent to the Army’s Fort Bragg and later the ANG 129the Rescue Wing at Moffett Field. He is Roman Catholic and not an ordained minister.  He has served as a quasi-chaplain with the Knights Templar organization and even today continues to play the trumpet.

Committee Chairs

Directors

Born in Chicago, and raised in Indianapolis. Heavily involved in the Boy Scouts of America through elementary school, high school and college. Attended Purdue University – Electrical Engineering. Enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1957 and served in either Active or Reserves for over 35+ years, in Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence billets. Last Active-Duty assignment was at HQ Marine Corps Intel – Washington, DC. While in the Reserves, he worked in Industry at HP Federal (Public Sector), serving the US Intel Community for 30 years. Retired from USMC in 1995 and Industry in 2012. Alumni of the San Francisco FBI Citizens Academy. Currently serving as a board member on a number of government related boards, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Reserve Organization of America (ROA) and the Association for Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO). He and his wife Karen have lived in the Almaden Area for over 46 years.

Born and raised in Contra Costa County of the San Francisco Bay Area. BA University of the Pacific and MBA San Jose State University. Received a direct commission as 2LT in the US Army Medical Service Corps in October 1968. Service assignments included the AMEDD Medical Field Service School at Ft. Sam Houston, TX: Division Medical Supply Officer (DMSO), S-4 and Company B Commander, 47 th Medical Battalion, 1 st Armored Division, Ft. Hood, TX; Chief of the Supply and Services Division and Head of the Services Branch , 5 th Field Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand; Surgeon’s Office, US Army Europe, Frankfort, West Germany; Adjutant, S-3 and S-4 of the 347 th General Hospital, Sunnyvale, CA; G-3 and G-4 of the 2 nd Hospital Center, Hamilton AFB, CA; Surgeon’s Office, US Army Forces Command, Ft McPherson, GA; Logistics Division of the US Army Surgeon General’s Office, Washington, D.C.; and Surgeon’s Office, US Army Pacific, Honolulu, HI. Combat assignments included Thailand and Vietnam (1070 – 1972) and Operation Desert Storm / Desert Shield (1990 – 1991). Civilian career included various sales, marketing, program management, international business and contracts positions with Amdahl Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Sun Microsystems, Adobe, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Space Systems Loral and Maxar Technologies. Current resident of Los Altos, CA.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. BA, San Jose State College/Army ROTC program; MBA, Stanford; Air War College; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; 2 years of active duty, 4 th and 5 th Infantry Divisions armor platoon leader. Had assignments for 10 years in the California Army National Guard and 18 years in Army Reserve. Served as corporate human resources director; educator. He and his wife, Elaine, live in Sunnyvale.

Graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering, completed the teaching credential program at Santa Clara University and returned to San Jose State to earn a Master’s Degree in Education Administration and Supervision.  He served as Health Services Administrator with the 349th Medical Squadron at Travis Air Force Base and later joined the Air National Guard with the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field and continued to serve by joining the California Military Reserve (CMR) program.

Commissioned in the Air Force through the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2003. He has a Master of Counseling degree from Liberty University is a graduate of the Air Command and Staff and Air War College programs. During his 18 years of commissioned service, he has achieved Command Pilot rating with over 2,800 hours in the T-34C, T-44A, C-130E/H3, MC-130W, and AC-130W and has flown multiple combat missions in South America, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Lt Col Sullivan has held a multitude of leadership positions which include expeditionary squadron commander, evaluator pilot, squadron Director of Staff, squadron flight commander, chief of group training assistant Operations Officer responsibilities, and headquarters deputy division chief, having served at Cannon AFB, NM, Hurlburt Field, FL. And Little Rock AFB, AR. Still on active duty he serves as Commander, Detachment 045, Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Air Education and Training Command, San Jose State University. Awards include Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars and Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars. He and his spouse, Heather, live in San Jose.

Ricky graduated from the University of Maryland. He majored in Aerospace Engineering and was a member of the basketball team. He was a Distinguished Military Graduate, and became a Strategic Air Command Flightline Maintenance Office for B-52’s and KC-135s. Following a tour at U-Tapao Royal Thai Airfield he served in the Air Force Systems Command at Sunnyvale Air Force Station. He worked in Command Generation and as an Operations Director for the now declassified HEXAGON intelligence satellite. At 60-feet long, it flew at 100 miles and took photos of  denied areas. Exposed film was ejected and caught via parachute by aircraft. After leaving the military, he was a  marketing manager at Ford Aerospace, Intel and Sun Microsystems. He is speaker on cruise ships and locally.

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