GI Pictures Board

Richard H. Breen, Jr., APR

Richard H. Breen, Jr. served 30 years on active duty with the United States Army retiring as a Colonel in the public affairs, broadcasting and signal corps career fields. Currently he develops strategic communications plans, writes articles for publications, conducts media training programs, coordinates special events and provides strategic counsel on community outreach and community relations programs.

Colonel Breen served in a wide variety of assignments throughout his Army career. He was the senior Army spokesperson on the grounds of the Pentagon for the first three weeks following the attack on September 11, 2001. As the Director of Public Affairs for the United States Army Military District of Washington headquartered at Fort Leslie J. McNair, DC, he had direct public affairs and media relations oversight of all activities involving his command. He was responsible for coordinating more than 3500 media stories with Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, The Old Guard, the 12th Aviation Battalion, the U.S. Army Band, the MDW Engineer Company and his commander MG James T. Jackson. He briefed all senior leaders upon arrival to the site and later conducted media training with the New York National Guard at ground zero in New York City. He also placed the U.S. Army Band on the Today Show for NBC's first outside broadcast in Rockefeller Center since the attack on our nation.

Colonel Breen's final job on active duty was the Commander of the United States Army Soldiers Media Center, Washington, DC; the largest communications enterprise in the Department of Defense during his command tour. He was the architect as well as the first commander of the organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The command consists of the overseas Army Broadcasting Networks throughout the world and the entire Army internal communications program.

Prior to the Soldiers Media Center, he was the Director of Community Relations, Marketing, Outreach and Media Training for the Army responsible for field offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Tampa, Florida. He had direct oversight of the Los Angeles public affairs office which serves as a liaison to the motion picture and television industry for products involving the United States Army. He was directly involved in the planning and coordination of the award ceremony of the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal presented to director Steven Spielberg for his accurate portrayal of combat in his film, Saving Private Ryan.

Rich commanded six times throughout his career from the captain to the colonel level. He is a graduate of the United States Army War College, the Command and General Staff College, the Public Affairs Training with Industry program at Fleishman-Hillard International Public Relations, Washington, DC and the Defense Information School. He has a BA degree in communications from the University of Scranton, PA, where he also serves on the University's Alumni Board of Directors, a MS degree from Central Michigan University in Management, a Master of Military Art and Science degree from the Command and General Staff College, and is a candidate for a MFA in Television Production from Loyola Marymount University, CA. Additionally he is accredited with the Public Relations Society of America. Col. Breen currently lives in Vicenza, Italy where he is involved with a number of volunteer organizations and independent consulting programs.

Retired U.S. Army Major Benjamin C. Frazier

Major Frazier served for 20 years in the U.S. Army as a Personnel Administration and Public Affairs Officer. His assignments include the 7th U.S Corps, 25th Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division, Cadet Command, U.S Southern Command, and the Office of the Chief, Public Affairs. His last six years in the Army were spent primarily in the Public Affairs arena. In 1994 he was selected to participate in the Training with Industry Program and spent a year working with Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta, Georgia. During the year Frazier spent with Turner he worked in various departments and networks to gain a comprehensive view of how to run a multifaceted media operation. His "hands on" training afforded him the opportunity to do everything from serving as the co-chairman of the public relations committee for the Annual Turner Broadcasting Trumpet Awards show, co-producing a one hour special for TBS, running camera cable for NBA playoff coverage on TNT, and covering news for CNN. He worked with CNN's Pentagon and White House correspondents and was instrumental in CNN's coverage of several military related news stories.

In 1995 he assumed command of the Southern Command Network (SCN) in Panama. As commander of the network he was responsible for running two, 24 hour "state of the art" television operations and three radio stations in Panama and Honduras that provided news and entertainment to U.S military and civilian personnel serving in Central America. As Network Commander he was instrumental in implementing several technical innovations. Under his guidance SCN was the first Armed Forces Network to install fully automated programming systems in its television operations. He introduced live news coverage via satellite enabling viewers to get real time information from the United States that impacted their lives in Central America. During his command the network was awarded an unprecedented ten Keith L. Ware Awards for excellence in broadcasting.

His next assignment took him to Los Angeles, California, where he served as the U.S. Army's liaison to the entertainment industry. During his assignment in Los Angeles he was involved in the production of over 60 television documentaries, 12 television dramas and four motion pictures which included Pearl Harbor and We Were Soldiers. Frazier was recognized by Skywalker Sound for helping the sound crew of the motion picture Saving Private Ryan win an Academy Award for sound. In 1998 he coordinated the filming of a one hour television drama featuring the cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Later that same year he worked with producers from the extremely popular television show Bay Watch to feature the U. S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights, in an episode. In 1999 he also worked to get the Golden Knights in the feature film, Cutaway.

After retiring from the Army, Frazier was hired by television producer Beth Sullivan (creator of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) to help produce Ponderosa for PAX television. Smitten by the excitement and challenge of the motion picture and television industry, he took up acting in 2004 and has appeared in several television commercials. He is currently the President of an aerospace manufacturing company.

Gary M. Bishop

In 1981 Gary began his government service as a Television Producer/Director at Fort Knox Television, Fort Knox, KY. In this capacity he produced film, video and interactive training materials for the United States Army Recruiting Command and the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, which gave him a strong understanding of the business processes required to enlist as soldier. After completing Long Term Training in 1987 he built PC based graphic systems, networked office and production facilities and developed and programmed applications to support Order/Entry, Inventory and Production Tracking and Cost Accounting. In 1995 he created his first web site and began to host image and audio files for download and an online tape catalog. In 1993 Gary served as part of the team that leveraged the Army's distributed simulation network/systems to develop the basis for digital battlefield technologies and processes. Much of this work is now coming to fruition as the Future Combat System, FCS.

In late 1995 the United States Army Recruiting Command recognized the potential of the Internet as a way to expand their Advertising, Marketing and brand presence and hired Gary to serve as the webmaster for GoArmy.com. GoArmy.com has been recognized as a leader in the Government and was one of the first sites to integrate search capabilities and streaming video. Working directly for the CIO, US Army Recruiting, he was given the responsibility for all web applications and technologies as the CTO. In this role he was responsible for evaluating and provisioning short and long-range technology solutions that support the Commands business goals and objectives. Working with network engineers he established the infrastructure to support video conferencing capabilities to support 200 locations. He also oversaw projects to provide common directory services for access and authentication, enterprise content management, portals and collaborative environments. He was also the lead in implementing ERP, CRM, SCM and ERM applications to maximize customer value and enhance the Army's service and support offerings.

In 2003 Gary transferred to the USAAC Strategic Outreach Directorate to become the Chief of the Advertising and Media Division, AMD. The AMD is responsible for managing and coordinating the production of traditional advertising products, media placement and GoArmy.com. To manage the Army creative assets, Gary initiated the creation of a Marketing Resource Management system to enable workflow based control over requirements definition, creative development, materials placement, execution and response tracking and reporting.

In 2004 year Gary was selected as the Deputy Director, Strategic Communications, Marketing and Outreach, in that capacity he was responsible for strategic planning and the execution of a wide variety of advertising and marketing communications activities; TV, Radio, Print, DRTV, PR, Direct Mail and Digital initiatives. He was also responsible for oversight of the Army events platform; NASCAR, NHRA, AFL, PRCA, PBR and other platforms such as the All-American Bowl, Army Aviation Heritage and numerous local events. Key to these successful tactics was GoArmy.com, which has continued to be on the leading edge of emerging technologies and has anticipated trends such as Web 2.0 and social networking.

 

NEHST Studios Team

Larry Meistrich, CEO Nehst Studios

Larry's father, Army Captain Alfred Nardelli, served in Vietnam and earned the Bronze Star.

In 1990, at the age of 24, Larry Meistrich, with just $7,000, founded The Shooting Gallery (TSG). In his triple role as Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Executive Officer of TSG, Meistrich was hands-on producer and an integral part of the production of roughly 100 films, commercials and music videos including the Academy Award-winning Sling Blade and the Academy Award nominated You Can Count on Me. Meistrich made industry history when Thornton's Sling Blade was purchased by Miramax for a price that broke all previous sale records in independent film.

Meistrich's other well-known films include Cannes winner Henry Fool, Clive Owen's breakout film Croupier, and Belly. His pictures have won the gamut of international awards including the Academy's Oscar and include Golden Globes, SAG Award, DGA Award, Top Five category awards at Cannes, Sundance, Berlin. Actors and directors Meistrich has produced include Al Pacino, Laurence Fishburne, Spike Lee and Billy Bob Thornton.

Meistrich was also the founder and CEO of Film Movement, a groundbreaking DVD-of-the-month club that releases films in theaters and on DVD at the same time. By creating a new distribution model, Meistrich provided audiences everywhere access to award-winning films that usually only play in select markets like Los Angeles and New York. He received the 1998 Crain's Small Business Award and the 1999 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in New York. He received "The Maverick Award" at the 10th Annual Choltrudis Society Awards in Boston. He currently serves on the board of the New York Production Council. He graduated Johns Hopkins University with a B.A.

Jeff Silverstein, President, Access and Development, Nehst Studios

Jeff's father, Dr. Abraham Silverstein, served in WWII as a sergeant in the Army Air Corps. He trained photographic personnel supporting air reconnaissance missions, and was stationed in Greenland where he did cryptography for European operations.

Access and Development is the Nehst division that runs the GI Pictures initiative. Jeff Silverstein co-founded and was CEO of the seminal interactive design firm Fusion Media, one of the pioneers in using videodiscs and CD-ROMs for marketing, learning and transactional public exhibits. Over more than a decade he produced and wrote award-winning programs for clients such as Sony, AT&T, IBM and Citibank. He has been designing, writing and managing multimedia, film and video since 1980, when he was recruited for IBM's original videodisc venture with Universal Pictures, Discovision.

Silverstein was co-Publisher and Managing Editor for Sub Aqua, the acclaimed underwater explorers magazine, interacting with experts ranging from Titanic discoverer Bob Ballard to Jaws author Peter Benchley. As a creative partner in Roundtable Design he co-developed environments for museums and public spaces and consulted on marketing, strategic planning and product design. He also managed Con Edison's Television Center and produced and directed video and training throughout one of the largest power utilities in the world.

Jeff participated in Harvard Law School's Negotiation Program, the Stanford Publishing Program, and the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. He earned a Masters in Mass Communication from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School. He is a screenwriter and supervises all Nehst development projects.

Cary Abbott, USMC – ret.

Cary Abbott entered the Marine Corps in November 1983 as a Private. He retired in May of 2004 as a Master Sergeant. During his 20 years of service he continually sought opportunities to stay involved in media and entertainment that interested him in school. He would MC unit Christmas parties, provide voice work for local radio, shoot video for training, write newsletters and more. After returning from Operation Desert Storm in 1992, Cary focused his creative skills on screenwriting. He bought every book out on the subject at the time, and joined the cast of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men at Theater Memphis to learn about acting and dialogue. He completed his first script in a month and quickly learned the real work was in the rewrites.

Stationed in New York in 2000, all of Cary's entertainment aspirations were put on hold after 9/11. Cary was the Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Non-commissioned Officer in Charge and spent his time providing the Unit's Terrorist Threat Training and Force Protection Management Program. After retirement he turned back to writing and using his experiences throughout his Marine Corps Career, and penned a military action drama that caught the attention of Sling Blade Producer Larry Meistrich. Cary's ideas were among those that stimulated Nehst to start GI Pictures and he's part of the team that got GIPictures.com off the ground.