The chief of staff is responsible for coordinating the actions of the Institute’s primary staff officers and ensuring integration of all organizational and post operations, events, and issues. The chief serves as a key advisor and strategic partner to the superintendent and institute executives, facilitates and coordinates decision-making on major policy and initiatives, oversees implementation of the strategic plan, and ensures all departments are in alignment with organizational goals.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Travis Homiak ’95, former commanding officer of the Naval ROTC unit at Virginia Military Institute, has been named VMI’s new chief of staff, assuming the position most recently held by Col. John Young. Col. Homiak will begin his tenure as chief of staff on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.

As a VMI cadet, Homiak double majored in international studies and German, and was a member of the swim team. He earned the Lemuel MacKennie Long Jarman Award, and the First Jackson-Hope Medal, for highest attainment in scholarship. Upon graduation, he commissioned into the Marine Corps where he served for over 30 years.

Originally a ground intelligence officer, Homiak served as a scout sniper platoon commander before entering the reconnaissance and special operations community. He was the first ground intelligence officer to serve as a reconnaissance platoon commander in the 1st Marine Division and served at every level of command up to the regimental level. He was commanding officer of the Marine Raider Training Center at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Homiak was deployed multiple times including leading 3d Reconnaissance Battalion in combat in the upper Sangin River Valley of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; serving as a reconnaissance battalion operations officer in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation Phantom Fury/Al Fajr; and leading a U.S./U.K. special forces team that trained Yemen’s national counterterrorism force.

Homiak holds two Master of Arts degrees from the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia, and a third from the National War College in Washington, D.C. He holds a doctorate in war studies from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Prior to his retirement in the summer of 2024, Homiak oversaw the 50th anniversary of the VMI NROTC unit.