Colonel Robert Preiss is the Chief of Staff and Senior Army National Guard Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C.

Prior to this assignment, Colonel Preiss was the Deputy Chief of National Guard Affairs as United States Forces-Iraq in Baghdad, Iraq where he traveled the country extensively in support of deployed National Guard units.

Colonel Preiss's previous positions over his 30 years of service include Chief of the Congressional Activities Branch in the National Guard Bureau Office of Legislative Liaison; Strategic Analyst in the Office of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Mobilization Officer in the Mobilization Augmentation Detachment of the District of Columbia Army National Guard; and a wide variety of tactical assignments including Psychological Operations Officer in the Army Reserve, Battalion Assistant Operations officer, Intelligence Officer, Adjutant, Infantry Company Command, Scout and Infantry Platoon leadership primarily in the Virginia Army National Guard. He also served for six years as an enlisted soldier in the Texas Army National Guard.

During 2005, he was an Army Congressional Fellow in the Office of Senator Richard Durbin where he served as the Senator's primary legislative assistant for military and veterans' affairs. For his success in that role he received the Legislative Award from the Reserve Officers Association and was credited by name in the Congressional Record for his legislative work.

He is the author of two published articles. "The National Guard and Homeland Defense" was published in issue 36 (December 2004) of Joint Forces Quarterly and has been cited as a reference in several books and scholarly papers. "Still in Iraq" was published in National Guard Magazine in July 2011.

Colonel Preiss's awards include the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal and others.

Before his entry onto full-time active duty, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Forum Associates, Inc, a lecture management and media relations firm. Prior to that he was Associate Director for Development at the Center for Security Policy, a think tank in Washington, DC.

Colonel Preiss holds a double major Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University. He is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College, the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Infantry Officers Advanced and Basic courses. He was commissioned through Officer Candidate School.