COL Danny R. McKnight
U.S. Army (Ret.)
Colonel McKnight brings his experience to others through his presentation that provides a better understanding of the unparalleled commitment and leadership required to be successful when executing operations in the most difficult and severe situations. Many key values associated with successful leadership will be highlighted and referenced throughout the presentation. The real world experiences associated with his involvement in the event of October 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, will be expounded on to relate the commitment and leadership necessary to achieve mission success.
Colonel Danny R. McKnight, U.S. Army, Retired, was born in Columbus, Georgia…moved to Rockledge, Florida in 1959…graduated from Cocoa High School in 1969 and Brevard Community College in 1971. He was a Distinguished Military Graduate from Florida State University in 1973, where he earned a BS Degree in Management. In 1985, Danny earned his Masters Degree in Higher Education from the University of Florida while assigned as an Assistant Professor of Military Science in the ROTC Department. Among his numerous military assignments were the following:
Executive Officer, 3rd Ranger Battalion, Fort Benning, GA
Executive Officer, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA
Battalion Commander, 4th Battalion 27th Infantry, Schofield Barracks, HI
Battalion Commander, 3rd Ranger Battalion, Fort Benning, GA
Student, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA
Chief of Staff, First U.S. Army, Fort Gillem, GA
His military career also included combat duty on two occasions – Panama 1989 and Somalia 1993 (basis for the Book and Movie “Black Hawk Down”). Colonel McKnight’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (2 awards), the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Master Parachutist Badge with Combat Star, and the Pathfinder Badge. After completing 28 and one-half years of service to our country, Colonel McKnight returned to his hometown in Florida. He has served in two Homeland Security related positions in Brevard County…as the Homeland Security Coordinator for the County’s Emergency Management Office, then as the Homeland Security Training Coordinator in the Criminal Justice Center at Brevard Community College. Colonel McKnight now focuses all his efforts on being a nationwide motivational speaker. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Rockledge, Florida.
Colonel McKnight brings his experience to others through his presentation that provides a better understanding of the unparalleled commitment and leadership required to be successful when executing operations in the most difficult and severe situations. Many key values associated with successful leadership will be highlighted and referenced throughout the presentation. The real world experiences associated with his involvement in the event of October 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, will be expounded on to relate the commitment and leadership necessary to achieve mission success.
Military Biography
COLONEL DANNY R. MCKNIGHT
U.S. Army (Retired)
Colonel Danny R. McKnight was a distinguished military graduate from Florida State University in 1973. He graduated with a B.S. in Management, then completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne and Ranger Schools.
Colonel McKnight was assigned to the Mountain Ranger Camp in March 1974 where he served as a Company Executive Officer and Instructor. Upon completion of the Infantry Officer Advance Course, he served in Korea as a Battalion Adjutant and was Aide-De-Camp to the Commanding General, 2d Infantry Division. Following this tour, COL McKnight returned to Fort Benning where he served as Aide-De-Camp for the same General Officer who was the Commanding General at Fort Benning. While at Fort Benning, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion 58th Infantry (Mech) where he commanded Company C for 22 months. Next, he was assigned as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of Florida ROTC Department. While at the university, COL McKnight earned his Masters Degree in Higher Education and Administration. He then attended Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Following this, COL McKnight returned to Fort Benning where he served as the Adjutant, 75th Ranger Regiment; S3, 3d Battalion, 14th Infantry; S5, 75th Ranger Regiment; Executive Officer, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment; and Executive Officer, 75th Ranger Regiment. He departed Fort Benning for Schofield Barracks, Hawaii where he commanded 4-27th Infantry for 19 months. Upon his return from Hawaii, he assumed command of 3d Ranger Battalion on 11 February 1993 where he commanded for 17 months. He then attended the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA. After graduation from the War College, he was assigned as the Senior Adviser at the 29th Infantry Division, Fort Belvoir, VA. He then assumed duties as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Training, First U.S. Army, Fort Gillem, GA for 2 ½ years. His final assignment was as the Chief of Staff, First U.S. Army, serving for 19 months before retiring on January 1, 2002.
Colonel McKnight’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit (2OLC), the Bronze Star Medal W/V Device, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal (5OLC), the Army Commendation Medal (1OLC), the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal w/Bronze Star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/Arrowhead and Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Ranger Tab, The Master Parachutist Badge w/Bronze Star and the Pathfinder Badge.
Colonel McKnight and his wife Linda reside in Rockledge, Florida.
Dr. Peter Tarlow
is an expert specializing in the impact of crime and terrorism on the tourism industry, event risk management, and in tourism and economic development. Tarlow earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Texas A&M University. He also holds degrees in history, in Spanish and Hebrew literatures, and in psychotherapy. Since 1990, Tarlow has been teaching courses on tourism, crime & terrorism to police forces and security and tourism professionals throughout the world.
In 1996, Tarlow became Hoover Dam's consultant for tourism development and security. In 1998, Tarlow's role at the Bureau of Reclamation expanded. He was asked to develop a tourism security program for all Bureau of Reclamation properties and visitor centers. In 1999, the US Customs service asked Tarlow to work with its agents in the area of customer service, cultural awareness, and custom's impact on the tourism and visitor industry. In 2000 Tarlow, due to interagency cooperation on the part of the Bureau of Reclamation, helped to prepare security and FBI agents for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games. In 2003, Tarlow was asked to take on special assignments dealing with iconic security for the US National Park Service.
Tarlow also lectures for Homeland Security. In that capacity, he has lectured to both urban and rural tourism areas across the United States. Tarlow lectures at major universities around the world. He also lectures on the topic of prisons as breeding grounds for terrorism for the United States Bureau of Prisons and for the Department of Justice's counter terrorism groups.
Tarlow has worked with US government and international agencies such as the US Park Service at the Statue of Liberty, The Smithsonian's Institution's Office of Protection Services, Philadelphia's Independence Hall and Liberty Bell and New York's Empire State Building. He has also worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the United Nation's WTO (World Tourism Organization), the Center for Disease Control ( Atlanta, Triangle Series). Tarlow speaks throughout North and Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. Some of the topics about which he speaks are: the sociology of terrorism, its impact on tourism security and risk management, the US government's role in post terrorism recovery, and how communities and businesses must face a major paradigm shift in the way they do business. Tarlow has trained numerous police departments throughout the world in TOPS (Tourism Oriented Policing Skills) and offers certification in this area.
Tarlow is a member of the Distance Learning Faculty of "The George Washington University" in Washington, DC. He is also an adjunct faculty member of Colorado State University and the
Justice Institute of British Columbia ( Vancouver, Canada). Tarlow is also an honorary professor at the Universidad de Especialidades Turisticas ( Quito, Ecuador), of the Universidad de la Policia Federal ( Buenos Aires, Argentina), and on the EDIT faculty at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, (O'ahu). Tarlow lectures on security issues, life safety issues, and event risk management at numerous other universities around the world including universities in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East.
Tarlow is a well-know author in the field of tourism security. He is a contributing author in the first major book on tourism security book Tourism, Crime and International Security Issues (John Wiley & Sons) and has published numerous academic and applied research articles regarding issues of security including articles published in The Futurist, the Journal of Travel Research and Security Management. In 1999 Tarlow co-edited "War, Terrorism, and Tourism." a special edition of the Journal of Travel Research. In 2002 Tarlow published Event Risk Management and Safety (John Wiley & Sons). The Chinese language edition of Event Risk Management and Safety will be published in 2005 (I am not sure this occurred). Tarlow also writes and speaks for major organizations such as the Organization of US State Dams, and The International Association of Event Managers. He has recently completed two new major works, one on "dark tourism" appeared in "Niche Tourism" (Elsever University Press) and one on theories of terrorism. Tarlow also writes and publishes "Tourism Tidbits," an electronic newsletter on tourism and travel. Thousands of tourism and travel professionals around the world read "Tourism Tidbits" in its English, Spanish, Turkish, and Croatian language editions. Tarlow is also a regular contributor to the joint electronic tourism newsletter, ETRA, published jointly by Texas A&M University and the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Tarlow's fluency in many languages enables him to speak throughout the world ( United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and the Eastern Pacific). Tarlow also lectures on current and future trends in the tourism industry, rural tourism economic development, the gaming industry, issues of crime and terrorism, the role of police departments in urban economic development, and international trade. Tarlow has done extensive research on the impact of school calendars on the tourism industries, on tourism crime, and on terrorism. Tarlow is also well known in the area of rural tourism having lectured on this subject in numerous states throughout the United States. Tarlow publishes extensively in these areas and writes numerous professional reports for US governmental agencies and for businesses throughout the world.
Tarlow has appeared on National televised programs such as Dateline: NBC and on CNBC. Tarlow organizes conferences around the world dealing with visitor safety and security issues and with the economic importance of tourism and tourism marketing. He also works with numerous cities, states, and foreign governments to improve their tourism products and to train their tourism security professionals.
Tarlow is a founder and president of Tourism & More Inc. (T&M). He currently is the executive director of the Texas Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA). Tarlow is a member of the International Editorial Boards of "Turizam" published in Zagreb, Croatia, "Anatolia: International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research," published in Turkey, "Turismo: Viso e Ao" published in Brazil, and "Estudios y Perspectivas en Turismo," published in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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