Some people talk about changing the system. Le Roy Torres has the scars and the legislation to prove he actually did. A member of the U.S. Army Reserve for 23 years, Captain Torres was deployed to Iraq in 2007, where he was exposed daily to toxic fumes from one of the largest burn pits in the theater of war.

He returned home with a lung disease, a toxic brain injury, and autoimmune conditions and a choice: suffer in silence, or fight back. He chose to fight. In 2009, Le Roy and his wife Rosie co-founded Burn Pits 360 to build national awareness of the harm inflicted on millions of service members by toxic exposure.

What began as a grassroots effort grew into one of the most consequential advocacy campaigns in modern veterans’ history, culminating in the passage of the Honoring Our PACT Act in August 2022 — the largest expansion of VA healthcare and benefits in the department’s history, now covering more than five million veterans.

His personal fight ran parallel on another front. After being wrongfully forced out of his career as a Texas State Trooper due to his service-connected injuries, Torres brought a landmark employment rights case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court under USERRA — the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

The Court ruled in his favor, a precedent-setting victory for every servicemember whose civilian career has been jeopardized by military service. A jury subsequently ruled in his favor after 13 years of legal battle. In a rare honor, Texas legislation bearing his name — the Captain Le Roy Torres Act — now enshrines those protections in law.

His national impact has been recognized at the highest levels of government. Le Roy has received three separate recommendations for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a testament to the depth and durability of his contributions to veterans’ justice and public health policy. He has testified before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, was honored as a 2022 State of the Union guest of Congressman Joaquín Castro, he has received the LULAC Presidential Commendation Award and countless other awards.

He doesn’t just understand the system. He reshaped it.

Today, as Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor of Torres Consulting, Le Roy brings lived authority, legislative impact, and moral clarity to every engagement — advising nonprofits, government agencies, corporations, and advocacy organizations on policy, public health, and systemic reform where veterans, first responders, and underserved communities are concerned.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

• Presidential Medal of Freedom — Recommended (3×) Congressional
• Recommendations for Advocacy & Policy Leadership LULAC Presidential
• Commendation Award Landmark USERRA Victory — U.S. Supreme Court
• Namesake: Captain Le Roy Torres Act State of the Union Guest — 2022

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Veteran toxic exposure advocacy
• Legislative strategy & coalition-building
• USERRA & veterans’ employment rights
• Congressional testimony & briefings
• Public policy reform
• Nonprofit leadership
• Community reintegration