General Peter Pace to Head Wall Street Warfighters Foundation

Retired Marine General Peter Pace, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been named to head the advisory board of the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, a nonprofit charity guiding disabled military veterans into financial industry careers. In January 2009, the Foundation will inaugurate an intensive resident training program named Operation Wall Street, which will recruit, train, and place graduates in high-demand jobs at Drexel Hamilton and other financial firms partnering with this program.

Drexel Hamilton, LLC, a federally-designated Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), provides staff, administrative support, office space, and funding for the Operation Wall Street training program. Financial institutions including the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ OMX Group, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and Goldman Sachs have pledged assistance in training and introducing disabled veterans to the industry. Base Technologies, Inc., an IT integrator based in McLean, Virginia, provides computers to support the program.

General Pace served as the sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007. He is the first Marine to have served in that position. During his 40-year career, he held command at virtually every level. After serving as a rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, he became Platoon Leader of the United States Marine Corps Special Ceremonial Platoon, which included the famed Marine Corps Silent Drill Team located at the Marine Barracks, 8th and I St., Washington, DC. One of Pace’s platoon sergeants during that tour was Lawrence Doll, who is now Chairman and CEO of Drexel Hamilton.

“As we talk to financial industry leaders about our training program for disabled veterans, the response has been immediate and overwhelming,” says General Pace. “Disabled vets are well represented in finance, but there’s room for many more. Our partners certainly think so, as demonstrated by their commitment. Now we’re working on finding the students for our first training cycle.”

“Our careers have evolved since General Pace and I served in the Marine Honor Guard after Vietnam,” added Lawrence Doll, Chairman and CEO of Drexel Hamilton. “But one thing has never changed for either of us: our commitment to helping our comrades wounded in service. We plan to bring many disabled vets to Wall Street and other financial institutions around the United States as well as hire them in our own firm.”

About the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation:

The Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, Inc., is a Pennsylvania nonprofit corporation. It shares offices with Drexel Hamilton in New York and Philadelphia. Operation Wall Street, the Foundation’s financial industry career training program, is open to all U.S. military veterans who have experienced physical or combat-stress related injuries while serving on active duty and who qualify for federal or state service-related disability benefits. We encourage eligible veterans to contact us through Drexel Hamilton’s website, www.drexelhamilton.com, to learn more about the program.

About Drexel Hamilton:

Drexel Hamilton, LLC, is an institutional broker-dealer headquartered in Philadelphia and a member of NASDAQ OMX PHLX, CBSX, FINRA, and SIPC. The firm offers comprehensive trading and advisory services to its clients. The federal government has designated Drexel Hamilton a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), qualifying it for preferential consideration in federal contracting and subcontracting. Drexel Hamilton works to benefit the community of service-disabled veterans. Drexel Hamilton has a mandate to recruit, hire and train disabled veterans whenever possible.