Religious Program Specialist Chief Petty Officer Veronica A. Tiller is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She enlisted out of Chicago, Illinois on June 14, 2014. Following completion of basic training at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois she underwent Religious Program Specialist Apprentice School training in Columbia, South Carolina. Here she learned the basics for providing exceptional customer service and assisting chaplains in building a culture of spiritual care and facilitating the free exercise of religion for military service members and their families.
Chief Tiller reported to her first command, USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77), located in Portsmouth Virginia on November 14, 2014. She rose through the ranks serving aboard Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek Fort-Story (JEBLC-FS), Virginia Beach, Virginia, Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy, 3d Marine Division, Okinawa, Japan, and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, San Diego, California. She served as the Area Orientation Coordinator for NSA Naples, Italy where she led 63 civilian and military presenters across 32 tenant commands in the delivery of area orientation for a community of military, civilian, dependents and local nationals. She was instrumental in the development of the first expeditionary advanced base operations (EABO) training, Jungle Religious Ministry Course (JREL), aboard the Jungle Warfare Training Center (JTWC), Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa, Japan operationalizing Religious Ministry across three geographic locations.
From November 2023 to October 2024, she served as Marine Corps Installations-West, Navy Senior Enlisted Leader (SEL), a position normally held by a Senior Chief Petty Officer. During her tenure she supported a flag command and five Marine Corps TRIADs across six UICs. Chief Tiller currently serves as the Force SEL, Force Chaplain’s Office for Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) and US Marine Corps Forces South (MARFORSOUTH) New Orleans, Louisiana.
Her personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with one gold star, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with one gold star, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. She participates in the Association of Naval Services Officers (ANSO) west region and Lambda Theta Alpha (LTA) Latin Sorority fostering the development of strong military and civilian leaders. She holds a bachelor’s in business management from National Louis University and a master’s degree in public policy from Eastern Illinois University with cum laude honors.