Robert McLean

Lieutenant Colonel Robert McLean (USMC Ret.) was commissioned as a Marine Corps Officer upon graduation from Syracuse University in 1972. During his career, he participated in combat support operations against communist forces in Southeast Asia, while serving as a member of VMFA-232, a Marine F-4 Phantom Squadron, in Thailand in 1973.

Lieutenant Colonel McLean has served as a Staff Officer at Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, as well as in both the First and Third Marine Divisions and the First Marine Aircraft Wing.

From 1976-1979, Lieutenant Colonel McLean was the Officer in Charge of the Marine Corps Officer Selection Office in Syracuse, and served as a media spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, during the multinational peacekeeping operations from 1983-84.

Later in his career, Lieutenant Colonel McLean was Director of Public Affairs at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, and Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia; he handled the White House Press Corps during visits by the President of the United States before retiring from the Marine Corps in October of 1993 with 23 years of service.

Since his retirement from the military, Lieutenant Colonel McLean has served as the Director of Communications for Crouse Hospital, as well as the Director of Communications for the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce.

In 2008, Lieutenant Colonel McLean became the Director of the Onondaga County Veterans Service Agency, and in August 2012, he was appointed to the position of Public Affairs Officer at the Syracuse VA Medical Center.