Meet The Team
The team at Intrepid Leadership group is made up of military veterans and special operators ready to train your Corporate Executives, Military Officers, Senior/Junior Enlisted, Athletic Teams and High Performing Teenagers
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Colonel (Retired) Kurt Buller
Intrepid CEO & President
As the founder of Intrepid Leadership Group, Colonel (retired) Buller is dedicated to optimizing individual and team performance to help others meet their full potential personally and professionally.
Kurt served 23 years in Air Force Special Operations as a Special Tactics Officer where he held multiple commands including the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, 24th Special Tactics Squadron and the 720th Special Tactics Group and led combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, Combat Search and Rescue missions in Bosnia, Peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Counter-Drug missions in Colombia.
Kurt is a master parachutist, combat SCUBA diver, and graduated the Army’s Ranger School earning the Merrill’s Maurader’s Leadership Award for the top officer graduate.
Kurt earned his Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College and served as a Senior Fellow in the Irregular Warfare Department of the US Navy Post-Graduate School. He is a Gallup-Certified Clifton Strengths Coach and regularly conducts individual and team coaching. He resides in Louisville, KY with his wife and two sons. -
Dr. Eric Buller
Executive Associate
Dr. Eric Buller currently serves as an adjunct professor with Saint Thomas University's School of Ethical Leadership and was previously the Director of the Harry T. Wilks Leadership Institute at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and served 20 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. Dr. Buller earned a Master of Educational Leadership from the College of William and Mary and the Doctorate of Education in Higher Education Administration from the University of Kansas. His research interests are in “Grit” (a measure of persistence), learning styles, leadership development and strengths-based leadership.
Dr. Buller is also a Gallup-Certified Clifton Strengths Coach and conducts individual and team coaching as well as strengths-based workshops for students, faculty and staff, community leaders and corporate leaders. In that capacity, he also advises the Miami University Athletic Department on student-athlete leadership development and works directly with several intercollegiate athletic teams. He resides in Oxford, OH with his wife and two daughters. -
Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Charlie McHarney
Executive Associate
Chief (retired) McHarney is a member of Intrepid Leadership’s cadre of former senior military leaders and is also the Director of Leadership and Character Development for the O'Neal School in Pinehurst, N.C.
Charlie served 26 years in the United States Air Force as a Combat Controller where he held key leadership positions at the flight, squadron and group levels. During a four-year tour at the Combat Control School, Charlie served as the Operations Superintendent as well as the Commandant and graduated nearly 400 Battlefield Airman during that timeframe. Charlie served three years as the 21st Special Tactics Squadron Superintendent and culminated his career as the 724th Special Tactics Group Superintendent. He has executed numerous tactical combat deployments to Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan and also served as the 21st Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron Superintendent during a 2013 deployment to Afghanistan.
Charlie earned a Bachelor of Science from Norwich University in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis. He is a Gallup-Certified Clifton Strengths Coach and regularly conducts seminars in both the public and private sector. He resides in Pinehurst, North Carolina with his wife and three daughters. -
Colonel (Retired) Vinnie Savino
Executive Associate
Colonel (retired) Savino is a member of Intrepid Leadership’s cadre of former senior military officers.
Vinnie served 25 years in the United States Air Force as a Special Tactics Officer, Combat Rescue Officer and Air Liaison Officer where he held multiple command and staff assignments including commanding the 38th Rescue Squadron, 1st Air Support Operations Group and 368th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group, Baghdad Iraq. Vinnie also served as the Air Liaison Officer to Multinational Corps Iraq. He has led combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, non-combat evacuation operations in Africa and Combat Search and Rescue Missions in Bosnia.
Vinnie is a Master Freefall and Static Line parachutist with over 1800 jumps. He was a member of US Special Operations Command’s Parachute Demonstration Team and is a US Army Special Forces Combat Diver. Vinnie was the first non-aviator to command all Combat Search and Rescue Forces in combat.
Vinnie earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy, a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota and is a graduate of the Air Force’s Air War College. Vinnie spent the last 5 years as a senior defense analyst in the middle east and is a certified professional career coach regularly helping senior officer’s transition from the military. He resides in San Vito dei Normanni, Italy with his wife. -
Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Mike Atkins
Executive Associate
Chief Master Sergeant (retired) Mike Atkins is a member of Intrepid’s Leadership Cadre and is also the Deputy Director of Aviation Programs at Gauss Management Research and Engineering in South Ogden, UT.
Mikes served 25 years in the United States Air Force as a Pararescueman where he held key leadership positions at the flight, squadron, and Major Command level. During his service, Mike executed combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait and served as a squadron superintendent and Headquarter Functional Manager. He is a master parachutist and jumpmaster, combat SCUBA diver, and graduate of the Air Force’s Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy.
Mike earned a Master of Science from Trident University in Homeland Security. He is a Gallup-certified Clifton Strengths coach and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. He resides in Tucson, AZ with his wife and two children.
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Lieutenant Colonel (Army Reserve) Ali Palmer
Executive Associate
Lieutenant Colonel (select) Ali Palmer is currently an engineer officer in the Army's (Reserve) Corps of Engineers and is the CEO of both LIFECON leadership consultancy and Royal Technology & Agriculture.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Ali has multiple combat deployments to the Balkans and Iraq before transitioning to the Army Reserves and earn a Master in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Senior Faculty for 5 years at the Center for Creative Leadership, Ali continues to serve while pursuing private and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Ali is a graduate of the Army's Ranger, Airborne and Air Assault Schools as well as a Distinguished graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College. He resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and two sons; a third son is an Army Infantry Officer in the Alabama National Guard.
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Colonel (Retired) Mark Roland
Senior Mentor
Mark was a B-1 and B-52 Navigator who retired from the Air Force in 2007 as the ROTC Detachment Commander at the University of Kentucky. Mark’s son, Matthew Roland, was a Special Tactics Officers and was killed in action in Afghanistan on 26 August 2015 and was awarded the Silver Star for heroism posthumously. Mark is a “Gold Star” father and explains the program to our teens. Our base camp is named in Matthew’s honor; we proudly call it “Forward Operating Base Roland”.
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Mr Paul Brister
Curriculum Advisor, Ethics Instructor
Paul is a 1998 graduate from the United States Air Force Academy and retired as a career Air Force Special Tactics Officer. Paul has multiple deployments to Afghanistan, South America, Iraq and Africa and has commanded a Special Tactics Squadron in combat. Paul earned a Doctorate in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School and is currently a Senior Operations Analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
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Captain Russ LeMay
Special Tactics Instructor
Russ is a Special Tactics Officer still serving in the Kentucky Air National Guard. He has multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and has earned two Bronze Stars with Valor. Capt. LeMay has served alongside Green Berets, Rangers, Navy Seals, Marine Raiders, and multiple foreign SOF teams. He is a Louisville native with over 19 years of service and is an expert in battlefield leadership.
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Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Aaron May
Special Tactics Instructor
Aaron retired as a Combat Controller in the Kentucky Air National Guard. He has multiple combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa and has earned five Bronze Stars, four with Valor. Aaron graduated from the University of Louisville and has been an instructor at our Combat Control School and is certified in tactics and small arms training.
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Senior Master Sergeant (Retired) Wes Brooks
Special Tactics Instructor
Wes is a retired Combat Controller and has deployed multiple times to both Afghanistan and Iraq and has earned the Bronze Star Medal. He was a tactics and small arms instructor at the Air Force’s Combat Control School and he retired from the Kentucky Air National Guard in 2014. His son attended our first course.
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Chuck Edwards
Special Tactics Instructor
Chuck is a medically retired Combat Controller and Purple Heart recipient who was shot five times while serving with an Army Special Forces team in Afghanistan. Despite doctors saying he would never regain the use of his left hand, Chuck crushed their expectations and is currently competing in world ju-jitsu tournaments as well as instructing Air Force Special Warfare candidates grinding through their training pipeline. He has multiple combat decorations including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor.
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Matt Virnau
Special Tactics Instructor
Matt was a combat controller and has multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq earning the Bronze Star Medal with Valor. Matt transitioned to Texas to raise his family while still instructing and mentoring Air Force Special Warfare candidates going through their training pipeline.
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Ben Self
Special Tactics Instructor
Ben separated from the Air Force after 12 years in Air Force Special Operations. Ben was a Special Tactics Officer and led multiple combat deployments where he guided air strikes in combat supporting U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEAL teams. He graduated Clemson University as a four-year ROTC cadet and has a Master of Operations Management from Embry-Riddle University.
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Master Sergeant Class Derek Wilson
University of Louisville, ROTC
Derek is a cavalryman in the Kentucky Army National Guard and is active with the Army’s ROTC and JROTC programs teaching cadets about the Army’s core values. He’s certified by the U.S. Army as a combatives instructor and is currently running the Army's regional Recruit Sustainment Program training and indoctrinating new soldiers through the completion of their initial pipeline.
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Rolando Haddad
Owner, Core Combat Sports
Rolando is a Krav Maga black belt, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, and successful MMA, grappling and kickboxing competitor. He has been teaching combat sports since 2001 and currently teaches beginning and advanced Krav Maga classes at Core Combat Sports as well as combatives to joint special operations units.
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Active Duty Operators
Special Operations Command
Intrepid is fortunate to have a close relationship with active duty special operations units that allow their members to take personal leave and volunteer their time to our camp because they believe in our mission and want to contribute.
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Intrepid Support Team
Intrepid has a small team of support personnel working behind the scenes to ensure all logistics and transportation needs are met. They are an indispensable part of the team and overall effort.