By Kristin Davis

Robert “Bob” Tyler has just retired for the fourth time, which means his calendar is freer than it once was. But don’t expect it to be entirely clear for the foreseeable future. Or maybe ever.

Tyler, a retired Marine Corps colonel, has served as MOAA’s Illinois Council of Chapters president since 2017. He chairs the Illinois Veteran’s Advisory Council, serves on the board of the Macon County Veterans Assistance Commission, and is on the veterans advisory group for two U.S. lawmakers. He leads the Illinois State Fair’s multifaceted day for veterans, volunteers with the annual Toys for Tots program, and speaks regularly at veteran and community events.

His role with MOAA has allowed him to have a voice and advocate for veterans, said Tyler, although perhaps not always in the way one might expect.

“The narrative we have most of the time for veterans is a negative narrative,” he said. “Hollywood shows veterans who suffer from PTSD, homeless veterans, veterans addicted to drugs.”

While those problems are very real, Tyler said, “we don’t raise up the sheriff who is a veteran, the vice president of the major civil engineering company or the partner in the architecture firm who are veterans, the veteran-owned business creating jobs.”

His work with MOAA and other veterans’ groups allows Tyler to put forth a different narrative —  one that shows how the majority of those who wear the uniform go on to contribute to the nation they helped defend.

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After dropping out of college in 1967, Tyler, who grew up in Waukegan, Ill., visited a Marine Corps recruiter who showed him a photo of pilots in front of an F-4. Tyler had wanted to fly for as long as he could remember.

The recruiter didn’t tell Tyler that the program he was promised had been defunded six months before. Still, it all worked out. He trained as an aviation electrician before receiving a commission and went on to fly the CH-46 Sea Knight over south Vietnam.

“I ended up flying helicopters, jets, carriers, and multiengine transports around the world. Most guys end up getting stuck in one airplane. I flew a dozen,” he said. “I spent over 30 years in the Marines, and I loved almost every minute of it.”

Along the way, Tyler finished college and earned a doctorate in cognitive psychology. He joined MOAA — then The Retired Officers Association — in 1975 for supplemental insurance. More than two decades later, he used its transition services and began a second career as a consultant in Washington, D.C. Tyler returned to Illinois in 2009, where he worked as an instructor at a community college and then as a university professor.

He also got involved in MOAA after attending a chapter meeting to hear a fellow Marine speak. Two years later, Tyler was the chapter’s president. As president of the Illinois Council of Chapters, he’s always looking for innovative ways to get more veterans involved in MOAA.

“I’m trying to send the message that veterans are an important segment of our society even though only about 7% [of society historically] has ever put on a uniform,” Tyler said.

Kristin Davis is a writer based in Virginia.