Mississippi Salute Podcast

Dr. David McElreath - MSVA Board Vice-Chairman - Retired Marine/US Army/National Guard

David Hughes McElreath serves as our Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board Vice-Chairman and is a professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Mississippi. A native of Oxford, Mississippi, he comes from a law enforcement family. He began his law enforcement career in December 1972 when he was appointed a Patrolman for the Oxford, Mississippi Police Department. Over the next five decades, his active law enforcement, corrections, military, and academic career includes time as an Oxford, Mississippi Police Officer, Missouri State Park Ranger, and Deputy Sheriff with Forrest County, Mississippi Sheriff’s Department. McElreath served over thirty years in the United States Army/Mississippi National Guard, United States Marine Corps, and National Guard of Mississippi, retiring from the National Guard of Mississippi in 2016 after serving as Commanding General of the Mississippi State Guard, which is a component of the Mississippi Military Department with the Mississippi Army National Guard and the Mississippi Air Guard. His military and Department of Defense/Department of State contractor service included tours in Eastern Europe within the former Warsaw Pact Nations with the Partners in Peace initiative as well as deployments into Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

Colonel Cindy Smith - Commander of the 186th Air Refueling Wing/Key Field Air National Guard Base - Meridian, MS

Colonel Cynthia L. Smith is the Commander of the 186th Air Refueling Wing, Key Field Air National Guard Base, Meridian, Mississippi. The 186th Air Refueling Wing provides over 1,100 personnel and eight KC-135R aircraft to Air Mobility Command for worldwide operations. Col. Smith is a traditional Guard pilot who has served multiple tours overseas. She has performed aircrew and staff duties supporting contingency operations, including Joint/Deliberate Forge, Deny Flight, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. In 2010, she supported a third flying mission at Key Field, the MC-12W, through the Project Liberty program.

Richard Wilson - Navy World War II Veteran

Richard Wilson is a native of Collierville, Tennessee, but now resides in our Mississippi Veterans Home in Oxford. Wilson served in the Navy during World War II and fought at Iwo Jima, witnessing one of the most iconic images in history. In this episode, Wilson discusses his journey as a small-town kid who leaves his home for the first time to join the military and the many places he's seen because of that singular moment.

Michael Watson - Mississippi Secretary of State

Michael Watson is in his second term as Mississippi’s 36th Secretary of State. Before taking office as Secretary of State, Watson served three terms in the State Senate, representing District 51 in Jackson County. A graduate of Pascagoula High School and the University of Mississippi, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a law degree, Watson began his work in public service as an intern for then-U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in the summer of 1999. That experience strengthened his desire to become a public servant and improve the quality of life for all Mississippians.

Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Stephen McCraney - Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Stephen C. McCraney was appointed as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency by Governor Tate Reeves on January 28, 2021. Before assuming the role of Executive Director, Mr. McCraney served as the agency’s Deputy Director and Chief of Staff since February 2016. During his tenure, he has led 18 federally declared disasters, eight emergency measures declarations, and numerous state emergencies—those disasters ranging from Hurricane Ida, the Jackson Water Crisis, and the March 24th tornadoes. Mr. McCraney has extensive experience responding to natural and man-made disasters in Mississippi. While serving 28 years as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard, McCraney responded to Hurricane Katrina, the Smithville Tornado, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and the Mississippi River Flooding of 2011. Mr. McCraney is a former Commander of the 47th Civil Support Team (WMD), Community Corrections Associate Director-Probation and Parole (MDOC), and a certified police officer who has worked in higher education, city, and state-level law enforcement positions. He brings to his position as an executive director over 38 years of experience in the Criminal Justice System, Mississippi Army and Air National Guard, first responder and disaster response. He received his Bachelor’s and Master of Social Science in Administration of Justice from Mississippi College.