RED BANK–Protecting and serving his country for four years, Marine Corps veteran and resident Mark Otto was named executive director of the United War Veterans Council (UWVC).
The United War Veterans Council, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing the public to honor, support and serve America’s veterans through a wide range of activities and initiatives, according to a prepared statement from the organization.
“It is an honor and a challenge to work with the UWVC, a leading veterans service organization. Our mission is to act as ambassadors, connectors and supporters to veterans and veteran supporters,” Otto said in a prepared statement. “We always must remember where we came from. Each generation of veterans stands on the shoulders of the giants who came before them. Never again will one generation of veterans turn its back on another.”
UWVC Chair Doug McGowan announced that Otto would be the organization’s executive director and producer of the New York City Veterans Day Parade, according to a prepared statement on Dec. 12.
The organization produces the NYC Veterans Day Parade, the largest celebration of service in the nation. Since its inception, the UWVC has been a non-political, non-partisan organization with no agenda or purpose other than serving veterans. UWVC represents the mosaic of the veterans’ community, encompassing veterans of all eras and backgrounds, according to a prepared statement.
Otto will be responsible for day-to-day workings of the UWVC, such as coordinating and supporting for other Veterans’ Service Organizations such as the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Team Red, White and Blue and Operation Beachhead, and expanding on the UWVC Health and Wellness program, which he initiated in the last year, according to a prepared statement.
“Mark Otto brings his history, his leadership experience, his family, his network and, most importantly, his willingness and desire to step into the role of honoring and serving our veterans,” McGowan said in a prepared statement.
Otto also will coordinate a national network of Veterans Day commemorations by 2019, including for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I in 2018 and the 100th anniversary of the first Veterans Day Parade in 2019, which honored those who served in WWI, and other commemorations, such as Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day and Memorial Day, according to a prepared statement.
Otto has served for the last year as vice president of UWVC, reporting to President Dan McSweeney, who presided over the successful transition of UWVC leadership from Vietnam era veterans to a younger generation of veterans, according to a prepared statement.
McSweeney, who recently announced that he was stepping down as president, will remain on the board and lead the transfer of VetTank, UWVC’s veterans business incubator and co-working space, to the emerging NYC Center for Cybersecurity and Resilience, which will support veterans’ success in this expanding market, according to a prepared statement.
“It’s been an honor to lead the UWVC over the past three years,” McSweeney said in a prepared statement. “As we fine-tune our structure and programs to deliver greater value, I am glad to remain a stalwart supporter of the organization and will seek to create synergy with my other pursuits. I leave the day-to-day operation of UWVC in great hands with Mark Otto.”
As McSweeney steps down, the two positions have been combined into Otto’s full-time role as executive director.
“Dan McSweeney played a vital role in guiding the UWVC through a critical period in our organization and in raising our mission to the next level. We are very thankful for his impacts and are glad he will remain with UWVC and continue contributing to our growth and success at the strategic level while facilitating a greater role for veterans in the cyber arena,” McGowan said in a prepared statement.
Otto is the fifth veteran in his family to serve in war, including his father, who served three tours during the Vietnam War, where he met Mark Otto‘s mother, according to a prepared statement.
According to Otto, he served in the Marine Corps from 1988 to 1992.
“It definitely was following in the footsteps of my family — my dad did three tours in Vietnam, my uncle did two tours in Vietnam, my great-uncle and my grandfather both served in Europe during World War II. So where I sort of strayed off was that they were all in the army and I joined the Marine Corps,” Otto said.
As a Marine, Otto served on five-man ground intelligence gathering teams under the 2nd Surveillance Reconnaissance and Intelligence Group during the Panama Invasion and throughout Desert Shield/Desert Storm, according to a prepared statement.
Recognizing his efforts to increase coordination with other Veterans Service Organizations, the Veterans of Foreign Wars named Otto National Aide de Camp to Commander-in-Chief Keith E. Harman, according to a prepared statement.
Otto also conducted a 1,000-mile ruck march to generate support for The Headstrong Project, which addresses Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and veterans’ suicide in post-9/11 military veterans, according to a prepared statement.
While doing the ruck march in 2016, Otto said, “… I carried a 50-pound backpack much like the infantry style marches that people are doing in the military, and I did it to spread awareness for PTSD. The fact that we lose 22 veterans a day — 8,000 a year — to PTSD-related suicide … the number is just unbelievable. I mean, it is a staggering number and more needs to be done.”
Otto created the UWVC Health and Wellness Program, which offers a holistic, therapeutic approach to healing combat veterans dealing with the hidden wounds of war, according to a prepared statement.
In its first year under Otto’s direction, the UWVC Health and Wellness Program served hundreds of veterans through equine therapy with Serenity Stables, sailing outings with Sail Ahead, camping with the Sierra Club, art therapy with Ani Art Academies and ruck marches with GORUCK, according to a prepared statement.
“I love the idea that now I can, as the executive director, I can use my creativity and expand on the programs that are already existing. I already have plans to expand particularly this health and wellness program. My focus will remain helping veterans in need,” Otto said. “We are also looking to set up an educational portion of the United War Veterans Council as well, and I am also excited that we have the centennial of the end of World War I coming up that will be celebrated in both the 2018 and the 2019 Veterans Day Parade in New York City.”
For more information about the United War Veterans Council, visit www.uwvc.org/mission/.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].