Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation on The Military Hour

The GWOT Memorial Foundation leads the efforts to build the National GWOT Memorial in our nation’s capital to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served in support of our nation’s longest war, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 

Michael “Rod” Rodriguez is a retired Special Forces Green Beret with nine deployments, from his first in Somalia with 10th Mountain Division to his last in Afghanistan with 7th Special Forces Group. His last assignment as a Green Beret was as a Sniper Instructor at Fort Bragg, NC (Range 37). After 21 years of continuous service, he was medically retired for numerous injuries he received while in service to our great nation.

Rod is not only the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation, in November 2015 he was selected as a member for President George W. Bush’s Military Service Initiative Advisory Council with the role of advising and supporting the President and leadership of the Bush Institute on key Strategic and Programming priorities in support of Veterans and their families.

Brendan Dignan is a corporate lawyer with Baker Botts L.L.P. and represents the Global War on Terror Memorial Foundation as its pro bono counsel and serves as a brand ambassador for the Foundation. In addition to his work with the Foundation, Brendan advises public and private companies, including private equity funds and their portfolio companies, in mergers and acquisitions, joint venture transactions, corporate governance and securities law compliance.  In 2001, Brendan was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer in the U.S. Army and served in Germany with the First Infantry Division, deploying to Kosovo (2002) and Iraq (2004-2005) before leaving the Army as a Captain. He has a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Virginia. He and his wife, Emma, live in Washington, D.C.