Rook
& Knight is a new company, but its owner, Ray K. Ragan has a long and
proven track record, both in military and civilian service. Ray's
first success came in winning the Adobe Site of the Day award for his web work.
Ray was later recognized by Forbes for his web work as well.
Ray volunteered and enlisted for military service after
establishing himself as a an expert in leveraging the web as a
communication platform in Phoenix, Ariz. He was selected for
Officer Candidate School, where he graduated and accepted his
commission in the Arizona Army National Guard.
As an officer, Ray served on Operation Jump Start in a Joint
environment with Customs and Border Protection in Arizona. The
National Guard awarded Ray the Army Commendation Medal for his
development of a web application that presented a unified and
common operating picture. Thanks to Ray's vision, Taskforce Arizona
became the model for the other States participating in the
operation. The information system allowed all the Joint Sections to
easily and effectively share information, while allowing
headquarters to accurately report current and future force to
National Guard Bureau and Customs and Border Protection in
Washington, D.C.
Recommendation
Letter from Ray's commander, Lt. Col. Mark Camacho.
Ray later became a Public Affairs
Officer and deployed again, this time to Iraq. While deployed to
Iraq, Ray developed from scratch an information system and Media
Operation Center that allowed the Command to centrally receive
information from all the subordinate units and distribute
information back to the United States. Ray earned the Bronze Star
Medal for his development of the system and his many contributions
against an armed enemy.
While deployed, Ray was injured by disease that left him
paralyzed in the face and robbed his hearing in the left ear.
Despite the insistance of the doctors, Ray requested to stay in
Iraq to finish his mission. Ray finished the mission and returned
home.
Recommendation
Letter from Ray's supervisor, Maj. Paul Hayes.
