ABOUT RONNIE
Ronnie was born in 1989 in Virginia and has lived in Virginia nearly his whole life, not including his military service. Ronnie went to high school in Bealeton, VA at Liberty High School, enrolling early on in the school's US Army JROTC program. Ronnie spent his time at Liberty High School playing football, lacrosse, and performing in the school's jazz and full ensemble bands as first-chair trumpet, whilst also learning a deep respect for our fallen Veterans. As one of the few High School's in the area certified to do so, Ronnie was a part of the funeral team providing full military honors to United States Veterans, even himself playing 'Taps' for more than 40 Veteran Funerals. Ronnie graduated from Liberty high school in 2007 and subsequently joined the Army, much to the 'disappointment' of his heavily weighted US Navy family.
US Army
Training & Experience
Ronnie joined the United States Army Reserve as an All-Source Intelligence Analyst right out of high school, graduating top of his class from US Army Intelligence School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Ronnie's first assignment would eventually take him to Afghanistan in 2013 with the 55th Sustainment Brigade as the sole enlisted member of the unit's J-5 (Future Plans) section. In his role, he managed the entirety of the campaign plan for transitioning logistics from the United States back to the Afghan National Government. Ronnie's secondary duty was as a driver, driving a stick-shift up-armored Toyota 4Runner from his base at Camp Eggers to partner-force (Afghan) locations around Kabul, Afghanistan.
AFGHANISTAN... AGAIN
Ronnie competed for and was selected for an assignment to a Special Operations Joint Task Force in 2015, which would lead to a second deployment to various locations in Afghanistan in 2016. Ronnie's assignment was as an Information Operations Planner and Military Deception (MILDEC) Planner, attached directly to special operations forces. Ronnie's mission-set evolved into becoming the Information Operations Chief for two separate targeting lines, performing Information Operations directly enabling the kill and/or capture of some of both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban's top regional commanders, including providing direct support to combating ISIS-K's emergence in Nangarhar. Ronnie holds this deployment as the pinnacle of his military career, having exposed him to the tip of the spear of our armed forces. During this time, Ronnie directly supported illustrious units such as US Navy Development Group (DEVGRU), US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, Australia's SASR, and others, performing layered information warfare to directly enable mission success. Ronnie's efforts on this deployment earned a nomination as a junior NCO for the Bronze Star, which was later downgraded to the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (D-MSM). Ronnie would stay-on as an Information Operations trainer through 2018.
MILITARY AWARDS
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (D-MSM)
3 US Army Commendation Medals
4 Army Achievement Medals
Army Reserve Component Achievement Medals (ARCAM, Multiple)
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Nato-ISAF Medal
PERSONAL and CIVILIAN LIFE
As a US Army Reservist, Ronnie's civilian career has progressed alongside his military career. After returning from US Army Intelligence School, Ronnie would find himself progressing through corporate defense contracting in the Intelligence field with civilian and government agencies such as DHS, NSA, NRO, and US Cybercommand, until eventually settling-in as a Project and Program Manager. Ronnie has-since departed defense contracting full-time to pursue his dream of informing, entertaining, and enabling, whilst still being a consultant for his defense contracting company. Ronnie's certifications list includes Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH).
Ronnie is married to his wife of over a decade, Amanda, and has three daughters. Ronnie is also an avid shooting sports competitor, fitness advocate, and live streamer on YouTube. Ronnie began live-streaming as a hobby in 2018 for charity, and now hosts a thrice-weekly military-oriented news show to thousands of concurrent viewers on the platform Funker530. When not streaming and discussing current events with Funker530, Ronnie personally connects with his close-knit following on YouTube at RonnieFit. Ronnie, along with the team at Funker530, share the mission in telling the stories of US and Allied Nation Veterans and other public service professionals from around the world by reviewing real-life footage from on-the-ground. Ronnie and the Funker530 team continue to use their international platform, their newly launched iOS and Android app, and their substantial following to not only inform the world of what combat truly looks like, but also leave the world better than they found it. In 2022 alone, Ronnie and the Funker530 team have raised more than $100,000 for Veteran and Humanitarian charitable aid. Ronnie also uses his personal platform to enable Veterans by building or buying custom gaming PC's for charity using the funds raised while live. To-date, he and his community have raised more than $60,000 to put a "break" into the hands of 24 Veterans.
