This page contains a brief description of the responsibilities various leadership positions have and short profiles of each leader.  You will find the top two tiers of leadership—Lt. Col. and Major—on this page.  The Captain’s can be found on page 2.

Lieutenant Colonel

The Lt. Colonel’s Responsibilities

The ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer, who holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, will maintain responsibility for overall vision and direction of the program and ministry. He will also focus on broadening the reach of ALERT Cadet to assist more fathers to win and keep the hearts of their 8 to 17-year-old sons.

ALERT Cadet Commanding Officer – Lt. Colonel Roger Farr

Roger and his wife Sue have been married for 30 years and have homeschooled their three children: Peter (23), Brian (22) and Katherine (20). Accepting Christ as Savior while in their early teens, both Roger and Sue did not make a Lordship decision for Christ until University. Since that time they have been trained by Christian Business Men’s Committee, The Navigators, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Precept Ministries, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. Roger and Sue have led small groups and workshops on financial freedom, discipleship, building a strong marriage, and raising children, all according to biblical principles. They have been involved with the Character First! program, which teaches biblically-based character to public school children and businessmen. Lt. Col. Farr accepted the responsibility to lead the ALERT Cadet program in August of 2002. He and his two sons have been involved with the program since 1998. His sons have completed training with the ALERT program. The Farr family lives at the International ALERT Academy in Big Sandy, Texas.

Majors

The Major’s Responsibilities

ALERT Cadet Regional Leaders, who hold the rank of Major, will focus on broadening the impact of ALERT Cadet on fathers and sons. They will spearhead work to improve the program, personally share the vision with various community groups and churches, plan and execute regional service projects and camps, and work to strengthen existing units and leadership. Regions will typically be large areas of states (in the US), a large country, or a large group of smaller countries.

Southeast US Leader – Major Gary Reckner

Gary and his wife Kathy have been married for 30 years. They have eleven children. Bryce, their oldest son (25) has completed ALERT Cadet and ALERT Paramedic training, Tyler (19) has completed ALERT Cadet and is currently enrolled in ALERT Phase 2 ERT, while their other sons Timothy (17), Emery (12) and Wesley (8) continue in the Cadet program. Gary and his sons have been active in the Cadet program since 1998 when Gary accepted the position of 2nd Lieutenant for 2nd Florida. He accepted the duties and responsibilities of Captain for the SE Region in 2006, and then Major for the SE Region in January of 2010.

The Reckners have home schooled their children from the beginning of their formal education using the ATI program. They have been involved with the Character First! Education program, teaching biblically-based character to public and private school children. Gary has been active in The Navigators, Child Evangelism Fellowship, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles. He is employed with the US Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service and has recently relocated with them from Florida to Sebree in Western Kentucky. The Reckners enjoy Civil War re-enacting, being out-of-doors and living a rural life with many animals, to train the children and teach life lessons.

Northeast US Leader – Major Bill Waddell

Bill and his wife Sharon have been married for 26 years and have homeschooled their five children: Gabe (25), Holly (22), David (19), Daniel (15) and Heidi (13). Bill accepted Christ as Savior in 1980 while in the Navy deployed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Since that time Bill has been involved with and trained by Officers Christian Fellowship, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, and local church programs. Bill is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, Salve Regina University and the US Naval War College, and is a retired Naval Aviator.  He is now the director of Cyber Space Operations and the Command and Control Group at the US Army War College, which involves teaching and leading in areas related to information technology and military application. Bill and his sons started their experience in ALERT Cadet in 2002 leading the PA 1st “B” Unit, and accepted the position of Northeast Regional Coordinator in 2006. The Waddell family resides in Carlisle, PA, and is active in church and community programs.

South Central US Leader – Major Randy McDonald

Randy and his wife, Gayle, have been married for 21 years and have six children: James (16), Laura (14), John (12), Lisa (10), Joel (7) and Leah, born in December 2007.

The McDonalds have been involved in ALERT Cadet program since 2001 and helped found the Texas 6th Bravo unit in 2005. Randy served as the first unit leader of the Texas 6th Bravo and became State Coordinator for Texas in 2007. He desires to assist ALERT Cadet leaders in their quest to build active and thriving units. Randy is an attorney in private practice and also serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves – Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

The McDonalds home-school their children and reside in the east Texas community of Ben Wheeler, near Tyler.

Austral Asia Leader – Major Sreedhar Subramaniam

Sreedhar and his wife, Lee-Yen, have been married for over 18 years. They have four children, Sharmaine, Sherman, Shawn and Shane. Both Sreedhar and Lee-Yen accepted Christ in Malaysia in their respective high school Christian fellowships.

Sreedhar is a management consultant specializing in strategy, process and information technology work. He is also a Character First! consultant and serves on the board of directors for a number of companies in Malaysia. Sreedhar and his two older sons have been involved in the ALERT Cadet program since 2004. The Sreedhar family resides both in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia and Dunedin, New Zealand.