Bob Mitchell, a native of Buchanan, New York, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on May 24, 1981 and completed basic training in Paris Island, South Carolina.  Upon graduation, Bob was ordered to the Second Radio Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  Bob deployed to Beirut, Lebanon in 1983 where he served with the 24^th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) and earned his eligibility for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

During Bob’s military service he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

Bob joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1997 as a member of Post 9594, Unitas Memorial Post in Ravena, New York. Bob later transferred to Post 358 in Ballston Spa, NY where he became a Life Member in 2015.  Bob has served in many capacities in the organization to include District 3 "All American" Commander (2019-2020), District 3 Hudson Mohawk Counties Council Commander (2020-2021), State Inspector (2018-2020) and State Chief of Staff (2020-2021).  Bob is currently serving as our State Adjutant.

Bob retired as a Deputy U.S. Marshal after serving more than 31 years with the nation’s oldest Federal Law Enforcement Agency.  Bob earned many accolades working as a Deputy U.S. Marshal including the U.S. Marshals Service Director’s Award for his lead in training Colombian Police Officers in Bogota, Colombia in the method of Dignitary Security.  Additionally, Bob was honored to receive the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for his Exceptional Service.   

Bob has been married to his wife Carol for 30 years and they have two children, Miranda and Jonathan. Bob is committed to the mission of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and stands firmly behind our motto that "No one Does More for Veterans”.