Lawrence Guzman Romo (born July 13, 1956) is an American civil servant and former United States Air Force officer. He served as director of the

Selective Service System The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that maintains information on U.S. Citizenship of the Unite ...

in the

Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

. He is a former National Commander of the American GI Forum, and served from August 2018 to August 2021. He is the current American GI Forum National Legislative Director and was appointed by Congressman Adam Smith to serve on the Base Naming Commission until October 2022.

Early life and education

Romo was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1978 and a Master of Education degree from

Northern Montana College Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

in 1983.

Military career

Romo served in various assignments for the United States Air Force, both on active duty and in the reserve. He served as a United States Air Force Academy admissions advisor in various positions, supporting the operation of the Minuteman Missile Weapon and Launch System, in training operations, and as an air transportation officer. Upon retiring from the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, Romo was the USAF Academy liaison officer director for

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

. He joined the United States Civil Service Commission in 1987, serving from 1987 until 1992 as an item manager for the Directorate of Special Weapons, and from 1992 through 1999, as the transition assistance program specialist at the Kelly Field Annex. He also served as the chairman of Bexar County Veterans Committee and a member of the American Legion, American GI Forum, Association of United States Army, and the

Military Officers Association of America The Military Officers Association of America is a professional association of United States military officers. It is a nonprofit organization that advocates for a strong national defense, but is politically nonpartisan. The association support ...

. He served as chairman of the San Antonio Commission for Children and Families for the City of San Antonio, Texas. Prior to being

director, he was the soldier and family assistance program manager for the

United States Army Recruiting Command The United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC) is responsible for manning both the United States Army and the Army Reserve. Recruiting operations are conducted throughout the United States, U.S. territories, and at U.S. military facilities in ...

Director of the Selective Service System

While director of the Selective Service System, Romo supervised the agency that registers all United States citizens and foreign nationals living in the United States who are male (except prisoners and mental hospital patients) and who are between 18 and 26 years of age. Romo's term as director ended with the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

, and he was replaced by Adam J. Copp, who served on an interim basis. President Donald Trump later selected former Member of the Washington State Senate, Don Benton, who took office in April 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romo, Lawrence 1956 births Living people People from San Antonio United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force officers Montana State University–Northern alumni American civil servants Obama administration personnel