Four ECU alumni honored for distinguished military service
Four East Carolina University alumni were honored for their service to the country during the Distinguished Military Service Society (DMSS) ceremony at the Main Campus Student Center on Sept. 26.
Retired Air Force Col. Daniel Dant, Army Maj. Jessica Georgi, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jeremy Gore and retired Air Force Col. Rick Jones joined 83 other society members who have been inducted since the creation of the society in 2008.
Daniel Dant, ECU ’90. (ECU photo by Steven Mantilla).
Daniel Dant
Dant ’90 is a space and cyber professional. He founded Sphinx Space, a company that conducts studies on space electronic warfare, and serves as vice president of space strategy for KBR.
He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in political science from ECU. Dant also earned a master’s degree in airpower studies from Air University/Air Command and Staff College and a master’s in national security studies from the National Defense University.
Dant retired from the Air Force in 2016 as the director of strategy and programming in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Prior to that assignment, he served as wing commander of the 460th Space Wing at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado.
Dant has received more than 20 medals for distinguished service, including the Defense Superior Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
He and fellow DMSS member, retired Air Force Col. George R. Farfour ’89, established an alumni group for ROTC Detachment 600 and created an annual scholarship. Dant was a recipient of the detachment’s outstanding alumni award.
Jessica Georgi
Jessica Georgi, ECU ’20
Georgi ’20 earned her master’s degree in health informatics and information management from the College of Allied Health Sciences.
Prior to earning her degree at ECU, she joined the U.S. Army, where she currently serves as the director of the Health Information Management Division at the Fort Belvoir Hospital as well as deputy patient administration consultant to the Army Surgeon General. In 2021, she graduated from the the Command and General Staff Officers College and has served in specialized military roles nationally and internationally. She deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2012 to 2013.
Highlights of her decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the NATO Medal. She has earned three Foreign Service Badges (Germany, Norway, Netherlands) and the Expert Field Medical Badge, and is a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit.
Georgi is a member of the D.C. Metro Chapter of the ECU Alumni Association and supports ECU by connecting prospective students to health-related education options at ECU and serving as an advisor to the ECU chapter of the Student Health Information Management Association. She also mentors commissioned officers in the ECU ROTC program.
Jeremy Gore, ECU ’02
Jeremy Gore
Gore ’02 earned his bachelor’s degree in history from the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences before entering the U.S. Air Force where he served for 21 years as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) operator.
He has held numerous leadership positions within Air Force Global Strike Command and at the Pentagon. Gore was selected for the TOP HAND program — a premier development program for ICBM leaders — serving as an operations test manager and evaluator.
He earned a master’s degree in international relations from Troy University and completed senior leadership programs in the Air Command and Staff College as well as the Air War College.
In recognition of his distinguished service, Gore has received five Meritorious Service Medals, four Air Force Commendation Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal and four Nuclear Deterrence Operations Medals.
In 2024, Gore served as the DMSS keynote speaker. He was honored as an ECU 40 Under 40 awardee inn 2018. He remains active in the Pirate Club and as a member of the Air Force ROTC Cadet board.
Rick Jones
Rick Jones, ECU ’30
Jones ’79 completed 30 years of active service in 2007 as the chief of the Combat Aircraft Division, Directorate of Logistics, Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
He served as logistics squadron commander during deployments in Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. Jones was group commander at Kunsan Air Base in Korea when the group earned the base’s only excellent rating from the Pacific Air Forces inspector general during an evaluation.
Jones was the chairman of the multinational fighter program, overseeing a Secretary of Defense-chartered international panel that provided oversight, direction and funding guidance to six nations. Following active service, Jones served as a Defense Department contractor from 2008 to 2020.
He was commissioned through ROTC Detachment 600 and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing at ECU. Additionally, he holds degrees from the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College.
Jones retired as one of the Air Force’s most decorated logistics officers and is the only Air Force officer to receive both the U.S. Air Force Gen. Lew Allen Jr. Trophy as the top logistics field grade officer and the U.S. Air Force Gen. Leo Marquez Award as the top logistics company grade officer. Additionally, he has earned a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star Medal and an Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters for his service.
To learn more about the DMSS, visit the ECU Alumni Association.
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