Cmdr. Chip Barber served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for twenty-four years.  Operational tours included Patrol Squadrons in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters where he flew over 3,500 hours in the P3 Orion aircraft and earned designation as a Patrol Plane Mission Commander.  He was emergency-deployed for the Yom Kipper War and saw duty as Detachment Officer-in-Charge in numerous locations including Midway Island, Kwajalein, Diego Garcia, and Malaysia.  He was commissioning crew Navigator in USS Peleliu (LHA-5) in which he transited the Panama Canal and crossed the equator.

Shore duty assignments included two tours at the U.S. Naval Academy and one as Executive Officer at the University of Virginia NROTC Unit. At the Naval Academy, as a junior officer, he was course coordinator for the Celestial Navigation Course and Head Varsity Offshore Sailing Coach.  In the latter position, he was coach aboard a 56-foot sloop that won First-in-Fleet in the Transatlantic Race and First-in-Class in the infamous 1979 Fastnet Race in which five boats sank, and nineteen were killed during a severe storm. His twilight tour was as Director of Naval Academy Sailing where his intercollegiate teams won back-to-back National Championships.  He personally coached the First-in-Fleet winner of the 1992 Newport to Bermuda Sailboat Race over more than 180 top professional and amateur crews.

He earned a Naval Specialty in Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare and a Proven Sub-specialty in Education and Training Management.

After retiring from the Navy, Cmdr. Barber founded several successful yachting and security-oriented consultancies. 

His education includes a bachelor's degree in economics from Franklin and Marshall College, a master's degree from George Washington University, and an education specialist degree from the University of Virginia.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) William F. Bither served Army ROTC at Virginia Military Institute twice. During his first assignment to VMI, he was the Military Science IV Branch Chief/Detachment Operations Officer from 1996-1999 and during his second tour served as the Military Science I Branch Chief/Detachment Executive Officer from 2001-2005. He recently accepted the VMI position as the Director of Corps Marksmanship and NCAA Rifle Coach.

He graduated from North Georgia College in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Education from James Madison University and is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

In January 1984, His first troop assignment was as a rifle platoon leader in the 2nd Infantry Division, South Korea. In January 1985, he returned stateside and served as a Mortar Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Assistant S4 in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Lewis, Washington. From May 1985 until May 1989, he performed duties as an Operations Officer and commanded a Motorized Rifle Company in 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Washington. Then, from July 1990 until August 1991, he attended Special Forces Assessment and Selection followed by the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Bragg, N.C.

In 1991, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither reported to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Germany and served as a Special Forces Detachment Commander from 1991-1994. In August 1994, he was reassigned to Fort Bragg and assumed command of a Special Forces Company in the 3rd Special Forces Group. In 2001, following his initial assignment to VMI, he returned to Ft Bragg as a member of the 18th Airborne Corps, Special Operations Coordination Element.

In April 2005, he was reassigned to Combined Forces Command, South Korea as the Division Chief for Ulchi Focus Lens Exercise Branch. From 2006-2008, he attended the Joint Forces Staff College and was assigned as the Special Operations Plans Officer, Joint Forces Command, Suffolk, Virginia and Army Liaison Officer to I MEF (Marine Expeditionary Force), Fallujah, Iraq.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (5th Award), Army Commendation Medal (6th Award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award), Iraq Campaign Medal (2nd Award) and the Korean Defense Service Medal. He is also authorized to wear the Master Parachutist Badge, Ranger and Special Forces tabs.

Following his retirement from active duty in 2009, he worked as a military analyst/trainer for two major defense contracting corporations in the Hampton Roads area for over two years.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bither is married to the former Cynthia J. Harris of Covington, Georgia. They have three children: Lisa (27), Will (21) and Josh (19).

Donaldson is originally from Cardenden in Fife, a small mining village in Scotland. When he was growing up, each local mine, or colliery, had its own pipes and drums corps, providing a spirit of community and kinship. The corps were supported by the miners who each contributed one penny of each week’s wages. Both Donaldson’s father and grandfather were miners. His father, himself a renowned bagpiper and teacher, taught Donaldson to play.

After graduating from high school, Donaldson served his apprenticeship at Inveran House, a bagpipe maker at Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. “I commuted 45 miles one-way every day by train to Edinburgh from my hometown. I left home at 6 a.m. and didn’t get back until 7 p.m.,” said Donaldson. 

At a young age Donaldson played with the world-famous Dysart and Dundonald Pipe Band, winning every major championship in the pipe band world. Later, he enlisted in the Scots Guards, whose primary duty is to guard the British monarch, and served with the regiment all over the world. He passed his pipe majors course at the Army School of Piping at Edinburgh Castle in 1982. He soldiered in the Falklands War and served tours of duty in Northern Ireland during the height of the unrest. Later, he was posted to the Army School of Piping as an instructor for three years. He was subsequently promoted to pipe sergeant in 1993, then to the pipe major, the leading musician in a bagpipe band, in 1995. “I played many times for her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, at Balmoral Castle and in her birthday parades, called the Trooping of the Colour. I had opportunities to dance with her and with Princess Diana as well,” reminisced Donaldson.

In 1998, Donaldson became pipe major at the Army training regiment in Glencourse, Scotland.  He served out his 22-year military career teaching at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Donaldson became one of the most renowned pipers in the British Army. He has earned many awards in multiple competitions including the Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal, the most coveted award in piping; the Bratach Gorm, the highest prize given by the Scottish Piping Society of London; and the Donald MacDonald Quaich.  He has been invited numerous times to the famous Glenfiddich Piping Championships at Blair Castle in Pirthshire, Scotland.

After a successful military career, Donaldson returned to his trade as a bagpipe craftsman. He purchased the company where he apprenticed and changed its name to Inveran Bagpipe Makers. “To me, the name Inveran House sounded like a hotel,” he quipped.

In 2012, he was offered a position teaching at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, where he taught for seven years.  He taught at Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri for two years before accepting the position of director of the pipes and drums at VMI. 

Col. Kevin Faust graduated from Virginia Military Institute with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in International Studies. A member of the class of 1996, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Air Force.

After completion of the Air Force’s Intelligence Course, Col. Faust was assigned to the 609 Air Intelligence Squadron (AIS). From April 1997 to April 1998, he served as the Deputy Chief of Air Defense Analysis. He continued to serve in the 609 AIS from April 1998 to April 2000 as the Chief of Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collection Management. In April of 2000, Col. Faust was assigned to the Defense HUMINT Service (DHS), and served as a strategic debriefer for three years. Following this assignment, Col. Faust wrapped up his Air Force service with a one year assignment in Seoul, South Korea. He was assigned as a targeting officer with Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR).

Col. Faust is a graduate of the Air Force Intelligence School, the Intelligence Collections Managers Course, the Defense Strategic Debriefer’s Course, and Squadron Officer’s School. He received a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 2004.

Returning to VMI in the fall of 2005, Col. Faust served as the Assistant Commandant for Personnel and Logistics for six years, the Assistant Commandant for Cadet Government for ten years, and is now serving as the Deputy Commandant.

Col. Faust’s awards and decorations include the Joint Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Korea Defense Service Medal and the NATO medal. Major Faust’s overseas duty included deployments to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Prior to returning to VMI, Col. Faust spent one year teaching Middle School in Rockbridge County, Virginia.

Col. Faust is married to the former Allie Skukan of Chicago, Illinois. They have two adult children.

Lt. Col. Matthew Halligan, who leads the Regimental Band, the Commanders Jazz Band, the Institute Brass Ensemble, the Herald Trumpets and Drummers, and the Cadet Buglers, holds a doctorate degree in music performance from George Mason University, and has extensive experience in directing marching bands in high schools and colleges.  

He comes to VMI directly from Missouri Western State University in Saint Joseph, where he served as director of athletic bands and director of the percussion studio for two years. Prior to that, he worked at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland for three years, where he directed the Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, and oversaw all instrumental music ensembles, including the pep band, the jazz band, the pipes and drums band, and the Naval Academy Orchestra. In addition, he coordinated football halftime performances, and performed with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. Before working at the USNA, he was an adjunct faculty member for multiple colleges and universities including Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria and Annandale, Virginia; Stevenson University in Stevenson, Maryland; and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He also worked with the marching bands at the University of Maryland in College Park, and Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky.  

Read more in the news release announcing Lt. Col. Halligan's arrival.