General Peter W. Chiarelli

Presenting the IAVA 2008 Civilian Service Award to Arnold Fisher is General Peter W. Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. General Chiarelli became the 32nd Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army on August 4th, 2008. In his previous assignment, he was the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense from March 2007 to August 2008. He hails from Seattle, Washington and is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Seattle University. General Chiarelli was commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor in September 1972. Throughout his career he has served in Army units in the United States, Germany and Belgium. He has commanded at every level from platoon to corps.

His principal staff assignments have been as the Operations Officer, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas; Executive Assistant and later Executive Officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Commander United States European Command at SHAPE Headquarters, Mons, Belgium; as the Director of Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, at Headquarters, Department of the Army.

He commanded a motorized infantry battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington; an armor brigade at Fort Lewis, Washington; served as the Assistant Division Commander for Support in the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas; commanded the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas and in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom II; and commanded Multi-National Corps-Iraq.

General Chiarelli holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from Seattle University, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington, and a Masters of Arts in National Security and Strategy from Salve Regina University.

Milo Ventimiglia

IAVA is proud to have actor Milo Ventimiglia present the IAVA 2008 Veterans Leadership Award. Nurturing an impressive body of work that encompasses film and television, Milo has positioned himself as one of Hollywood’s most promising talents as his career continues to evolve with exciting and challenging projects.

Milo can be seen starring in the highest rated new show of the 2006 - 2007 television season, NBC’s new drama “Heroes,” about a group of seemingly everyday people who discover they have super powers.  The show received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Series - Drama and also won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New Television Drama.  Milo quickly garnered attention when he joined the cast of the critically acclaimed television drama “Gilmore Girls,” also starred on Tom Fontana’s WB Series “The Bedford Diaries” and the critically acclaimed drama “American Dreams.”   His other television credits include a recurring character on David. E. Kelley’s drama “Boston Public” and guest starring roles on primetime series such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “C.S.I.,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Promiseland.”

Segueing effortlessly between the big and small screen, Milo’s passion for the art of acting keeps him drawn to both studio and independent features.  Milo wrapped the heist film “Armored” with Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne which is slated for release in early 2009.  He has also complete work on “The Chaos Theory,” “Game” with Gerard Butler and was recently seen in “Pathology” alongside Alyssa Milano. He also starred as Sylvester Stallone’s son in sixth installment of the Rocky series, “Rocky Balboa,” which proved to be a box office success. His other film credits include the Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson thriller “Cursed,” “Stay Alive,” “Dirty Deeds,” “Sheer Bliss” and “Massholes.” Additionally he starred in the short films “Nice Guys Finish Last” and “Must be the Music,” which debuted at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews.

Milo directed American Eagle Outfitters first original series, a comedy entitled “It’s a Mall World,” which was produced by his production company Divide Pictures.  The 12-episode series aired exclusively on ae.com and three-minute teasers of the show premiered on MTV during “Real World Sydney.”  American Eagle hired Milo and Divide Pictures again to direct and produce a claymation series called “Home for the Holidays” which aired throughout the 2007 holiday season.  Divide Pictures is currently launching a comic book titled REST with Devils Due publishing and BERSERKER with Top Cow.  Both comics will debut later this year. Milo currently resides in Los Angeles.  In July 2008 Milo visited the Middle East on a 10 day, three country USO tour and spent time meeting with the servicemen and women of the armed forces.

Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins first gained fame as lead singer for the band Black Flag in 1981. In 1986, he formed the Rollins Band, with which he has since been making records and touring the world. Rollins also owns a publishing company, 2-13-61, which releases books, CDs and DVDs by Rollins and others. Always outspoken, Rollins accepts dozens of speaking engagements each year, is known for bringing a raw energy to his talks and has won a Grammy Award for best spoken word record. As well as performing in several movies and television shows, Rollins hosts a weekly radio show "Harmony In My Head" on Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles. Most recently, Rollins appears in The Alibi with Steve Coogan and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and has a lead role in the Project Greenlight feature Feast. Meanwhile, the DVD from Henry's 2004 tour 'Shock and Awe' and his latest written works, Roomanitarian and Fanatic! have been released on the 2.13.61 imprint. Rollins regularly tours with the USO, and had traveled to Afghanistan, Siberia, South Korea, Iraq, Kuwait, Honduras and Qatar to entertain and meet US troops. Rollins kicked off his US spoken word 'RECOUNTDOWN' tour on September 18 to coincide with election season '08. For more of Rollins' adventures and exploits, check out www.henryrollins.com and www.21361.com