About Us

Captain Bob “Shoebob” Carey, US Navy (Ret) is Chairman and Chief Bottle Washer of the National Defense Committee, a veterans organization dedicated to military and veterans civil and legal rights.  and is also Principal at Empire-Capitol Strategies, a government consulting firm he’s headed since 2004,

Prior to the National Defense Committee, Shoebob served as Executive Vice President, Advocacy & Strategy for The Independence Fund, a veterans organization serving catastrophically disabled veterans, their caregivers, and their families.  Prior to that he served as the Director of Military and Veterans Engagement for the Republican National Committee, providing national support for State and campaign committees in reaching military and veteran voters on the issues most important to them, and in assisting those campaigns and voters in navigating the complex military voting process.

Shoebob was previously President of Abraham & Roetzel, LLC, a bipartisan, full-service government affairs and issue management firm, which he joined in May 2012.  Prior to Abraham & Roetzel, Shoebob served in the Senior Executive Service as Director of the Department of Defense’s Federal Voting Assistance Program, which helps military and overseas voters exercise their right to vote, raising military voter participation 21%.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985, Bob was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy and reported to USS Comte de Grasse (DD 974). After earning his Surface Warfare Officer designation, he reported to Pensacola, FL, earning his Naval Flight Officer wings in 1989. After additional training, he reported to Attack Squadron 85 (“The Bombing Buckeyes”) onboard USS America, flying the A-6E Intruder through two deployments, including 37 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. Shoebob left active duty in 1995 after serving on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations.

In 1995, Shoebob joined the staff of newly elected Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI), serving as his Military Legislative Assistant, Senior Legislative Assistant, and Legislative Director. In 2001, Shoebob moved to serve as first Legislative Director to Senator George Allen (R-VA), also assisting the Senator in his roles as Assistant Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate High Tech Task Force.

Soon after the 9/11 attacks, Shoebob was mobilized from the Reserves to active duty, again to serve on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations. Upon his demobilization in 2002, he was appointed a Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, serving as Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the Department’s $14 billion energy, science, and environment programs.

In 2004 Shoebob left government service to form Empire-Capitol Strategies, a strategic planning and policy development consulting firm. He also served as Senior Fellow at the National Defense Committee, establishing the Alliance on Military and Overseas Voting Rights, and consulting the Pew Center on the States’ Military/Overseas Voting Initiative.

Shoebob served as an instructor at the United States Naval Academy and the U.S. Naval War College and served six times as Commanding Officer of various U.S. Navy Reserve units. His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Air Medal (two individual awards with Combat “V”, and two Strike/Flight awards), Navy Commendation Medal (four awards, two with Combat “V”), the Navy Achievement Medal, as well as numerous unit commendations and service medals.

He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Naval War College, is pursuing a doctorate in public policy at Liberty University, and studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Georgetown University, the Center for Financial Management Studies at the University of London, and the Keenan-Flagler School of Business at University of North Carolina.

The origin of his callsign “Shoebob” is still publicly unknown but apparently can be decoded with beer or whisky.