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THE ROCKS, Inc.


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About Us

The ROCKS Mission To strengthen the United States Armed and Uniformed Services Officer Corps and Senior Government Civilians by serving as a world class organization that provides and promotes mentorship, leader development, coaching, scholarship, networking, and professional development to maximize and leverage talent across the leadership spectrum.

Our Core Competencies

-- Mentorship and Professional Development
-- Leadership Outreach and ROTC Enhancement
-- Scholarship
-- Community Involvement/Outreach
-- Networking

The ROCKS Vision

To be the premiere mentoring and networking organization to strengthen the US Armed.



Become a Member

The ROCKS, Inc., provides mentorship, scholarship, and leadership outreach to ROTC Cadets, active duty or reserve component commissioned officers, and active duty or reserve component warrant officers and Department of Defense (DoD) Civilians. The organization is also dedicated to assisting and incorporating retired or former active duty and reserve component commissioned or warrant officers and DoD civilians in supporting our mission and activities.The ROCKS, Inc., provides mentorship, scholarship, and leadership outreach to ROTC Cadets, active duty or reserve component commissioned officers, and active duty or reserve component warrant officers and Department of Defense (DoD) Civilians. The organization is also dedicated to assisting and incorporating retired or former active duty and reserve component commissioned or warrant officers and DoD civilians in supporting our mission and activities.


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Friends and Partners


Meet the Chairman

Brigadier General (Retired) Lawrence Gillespie
General Gillespie contributed over 40 years of progressive and demanding leadership in the military and later in the aerospace and security industry in support of national security.
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His significant experience in the security and intelligence arena and vast knowledge in the conceptualization and organization of strategic programs, include the development and imple-mentation of international aviation programs in South America and Europe. He specialized in the development of physical and electronic security plans government facilities.
His military service includes two combat tours in Vietnam and command at the company, battalion and brigade levels. General Gillespie’s last military assignment was as the Assistant Deputy Com-manding General for the United States Army Material Command.
General Gillespie is a proven leader that successfully designed business development procedures, management training and aircraft operations planning. His extensive business experience includes working with the governments of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the former East Germany. In his civilian experience General Gillespie worked as: an Aviation Consultant in the South American Air Transport Association, Hughes Aircraft Company, Raytheon, NCI and Hampton Uni-versity. His expertise includes infrared radar detection, biometrics, and information security.
General Gillespie worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration, served on several US delegations to the International Civil Aviation Organization, and founded the Aero-Science Center at Hampton University. He also supported the Homeland Security Agency - serving as a Liaison with both the Senate and House of Representatives. General Gillespie also served in a White House appointment to the Defense Intelligence Agency Advisory Board during the Obama Administration.

More importantly, throughout his career, General Gillespie has served in the role of a lifelong mentor. He served as a mentor to junior officers as a Company, Battalion and Brigade Commander; served as a Senior Mentor within the ROCKS INC; and again as a civilian senior leader in corporate sector.





NATIONAL ROCKS 2025 SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:
On behalf of Retired Brigadier General (BG) Lawrence Gillespie, Chairman of The National Board of the ROCKS, Inc., we would like to announce the opportunity for you to consider nominating your cadets for The ROCKS, Inc. 2024 – 2025 Scholarships.
 
The ROCKS, Inc. is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) comprised of ROTC and Military Academy Cadets, active duty, reserve component, commissioned officers and active duty or reserve component warrant officers and Department of Defense GS12 and above civilians. The organization was formed to provide mentorship, professional development and social interaction to strengthen the officer corps. In addition to the R.C. Cartwright Scholarship Fund, the "Leadership Outreach" program provides the opportunity for teams consisting of ROCK members to visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to provide professional career development guidance to ROTC students.