Dan Clare, Chief Communications & Outreach Officer
Dan Clare, a Marine Corps veteran of the Persian Gulf era and an Air Force veteran of the war in Iraq, was appointed chief communications and outreach officer for the more than 1 million-member DAV in August 2019.
Clare first joined DAV’s professional staff in November 2004 as senior communications specialist in the National Communications Department at the organization’s national headquarters.
In his position, Clare oversees DAV’s Voluntary Services, Employment and Communications Departments. Prior to his appointment, Clare served as the national communications director. He is responsible for improving outreach support and DAV’s ability to serve and empower members and leaders in the field.
Clare enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1994. Following his formal military education at the Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, he was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, California, where he served as a journalist and later as a broadcaster at American Forces Network, Okinawa, Japan. He was named the Marine Feature Broadcaster of the Year in 1997.
He joined the California Air National Guard in 2001, and supported the airlift of Federal Emergency Management Agency teams to McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, on Sept. 11, 2001. Clare transferred to the Ohio Air National Guard in 2005. He was called to active duty for Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed to Balad Air Base in September 2007. During his deployment he directed news production and helped manage media relations for the Air Force in Iraq. Additionally, he wrote for DAV’s website while acting as the organization’s liaison for the Air Force Theater Hospital.
Clare was named the Air National Guard Print Journalist of the Year for 2007 for coverage of the hospital and combat in Iraq. He transferred to the Kentucky Air National Guard in June 2008.
Clare’s awards include the Air Force Commendation Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
He is a member of DAV Chapter 19 in Erlanger, Kentucky.