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Health & Fitness

Ashburn Local Named to Young Marines Board of Directors

William J. Walker deputy assistant administrator and special agent with the DEA has been named to the board of the Young Marines, a national non-profit youth education and service program.

The members of the board of directors of the Young Marines, a national non-profit youth education and service program for boys and girls, announce a new board member - William J. Walker, of Ashburn, deputy assistant administrator and special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the United States Department of Justice.

“Mr. Walker’s expertise will be exceptionally beneficial to our organization,” said Gerry Reis, chair of the board of directors of the Young Marines. “His vast experience with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is very much in sync with the Young Marines’ focus on youth drug demand reduction.”

Walker joins Young Marines board members: Gerry Reis, Mike Kessler, William Barnes, Robert Borka, Jack Closson, Dina Dillon, Loren Funk, Louis Johnson, Gary Weisbaum, William Smith, Gene Overstreet, Joe Venable and Mike Tracy

“I am honored to be joining the Young Marines board of directors,” Walker said, “and as I prepare for retirement from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after 30 years of service, I anxiously look forward to contributing my time, energy and experience to the noble mission of positively impacting America's future by providing quality youth development programs for boys and girls.

“Given the risk factors facing our teens today and the serious consequences of illicit drug abuse and addiction, I am especially excited about this tremendous opportunity to continue to serve the nation and assist our chairman, CEO and my fellow board members in ‘Strengthening the lives of America's youth’.”

Walker was appointed a DEA special agent in 1983 at the Chicago Field Division. He held investigative and staff assignments as well as supervisory, management and senior executive positions in New York; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Washington D.C. His government service has taken him to more than 30 countries.

He has served in two diplomatic assignments, the first in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America and the second in 2011 with NATO International Security Assistance Force and with the American Embassy, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Walker was selected to serve as deputy director of the National Intelligence Coordination Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He led a group of senior national intelligence service officers and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of an IC mission support activity that provided decision advantage to U.S. senior policy makers.

He returned to the DEA and assumed his current position where he leads a diverse team of senior DEA intelligence managers who leverage national level resources to produce and disseminate strategic assessments on high priority drug threats to the United States.

Walker is a Colonel, Military Intelligence, U.S. Army National Guard and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Inter-American Defense College and the Joint and Combined War-Fighting School.

He received a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts and sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago and a master of science degree in criminal justice and corrections from Chicago State University. In addition, he holds a master of science degree in strategic intelligence from the National Defense Intelligence College and a master of arts degree in international service from American University.

He also completed the national and international security program for senior executives at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the national security studies program at George Washington University and the homeland defense and security program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

Walker is married, is active in several community organizations and law enforcement groups, and is a life member of the Alpha Phi Alpha public service fraternity.

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 300 units with 10,000 youth and 3,000 adult volunteers in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Germany, Japan and affiliates in a host of other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at http://www.youngmarines.com.

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