Saluting the Ninth Annual Stars and Stripes Edition
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Top Blacks in the Military
General Dennis L. Via
Commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command
General Lloyd J. Austin Commander of U.S. Central Command
General Vincent K. Brooks Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific
Senior Executives Leading Transformation of Government
USBE&IT Homeland Security, Government and Defense Edition 2013 2012 www.blackengineer.com
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General Raymond T. Odierno Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
r e e r ok a C tlo Ou ction Se
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NOW THE MOST READ BLACK TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE REACHING OVER 100,000 READERS IN THE UNITED STATES, UK, AND SOUTH AFRICA
CONTEN US BLACK ENGINEER & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
BRINGING TECHNOLOGY HOME TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY
DIVERSITY
People and Events..................6
BEYA winners who have gone on to make significant accomplishments within their career and community.
PROFILES IN INNOVATION
One on One..............................7
Coast Guard Commandant highlights the role of Leadership, Proficiency of Craft at Stars and Stripes Dinner.
FEATURE: Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army’s Chief of Staff: A Thoroughly Modern Military Man.........................10 At the Pentagon, people refer to Gen. Odierno simply as “the man.” There are
many reasons for that. During 38 years in the Army, the northern New Jersey native has done it all.
returns with the 2013 list of top Blacks in the Military and federal Senior Executive Service.
COVER STORY: Commanding Views: Three 4-Star Army Generals................................ 12
FEATURE: The BEYA Stars & Stripes Mentoring Program..59
When it comes to top-ranking Blacks in the Army, these are the best of times. The service boasts three four-star generals, the highest number in history, marking another proud milestone for an institution long hailed as an exemplar of diversity.
Top Blacks in the Military & Senior Executive Service Defense.................................16 USBE&IT magazine’s Homeland Security, Government and Defense Issue
Stars and Stripes Mentoring is a staple event at the BEYA STEM Conference, hosted by Lockheed Martin Corp., The Council of HBCU Engineering Deans and USBE&IT magazine.
BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS
The Next Level......................61
For a onetime Infantry leader, it’s a long way from the jungles of South Vietnam to the Chief Executive’s Office at TAG Holdings, LLC
TS Vo l u m e 3 7 N u m b e r 4 EDUCATION
Book Review.........................64 One of the U.S. Army’s traditions is the compiling of the Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List.
SCIENCE SPECTRUM
Titans of Science..................65 Who’s Protecting the American Soldier?
PUBLISHER’S PAGE
U
SBE&IT magazine’s Homeland Security, Government and Defense edition has come a long way. It’s been nine years since USBE&IT re-launched its last issue of the year with a report on the historic “Town Hall Meeting on National Security.” Held at Morgan State University in the fall of 2004, the event was brought together by four retired generals―all past Black Engineer of the Year Award winners. The forum discussed issues ranging from the war in Iraq to the future of the U.S. military to civilian jobs on the front lines and terrorism. Following that debut, the 2006 Homeland Security, Government and Defense cover story spotlighted Brig. Gen. Bob Crear, then commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We also featured the first Black woman to fly a U-2 plane, opportunities in homeland security, HBCU student interns at Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence, the brains behind military technologies and innovation, and diversifying the nation’s Senior Executive Service. In addition, we did a roll call of top Black officers in the nation’s military services—some of the largest employers of 18-24-year-olds.
FEATURE: Diverse Faces of Science.................................68
With that, we welcome you to our ninth annual Homeland Security, Government and Defense edition. Per tradition, we’ve brought you the latest chapter in the careers of men and women who’ve devoted their lives and careers to America’s defense; scientists and engineers developing technologies for the war fighter, defense jobs, and nonprofits that provide services to military families across the nation.
CAREER OUTLOOK: SPOTLIGHT ON VETERANS............................71
In “One on One” contributing editor Michael Fletcher explored the talk given by Adm. Robert Papp at the 2013 BEYA Stars and Stripes Dinner. Fletcher highlighted what the Coast Guard admiral said were the three qualities military leaders should possess: proficiency in craft; proficiency in leadership, and disciplined initiative. Harkening back to Coast Guard history, the admiral noted one of the men who personified the three anchors was Richard Etheridge, the first African American to command a Life-Saving Service Station in North Carolina in 1880.
Curiosity and creativity are two traits highly accomplished engineers say are necessary to be successful in a STEM career.
―Job Horizon ―Recruiting Trends ―Professional Life —Operation Homefront —Benefits for Veterans
Elsewhere in our Books department, contributing editor Marvin Green reviews a time-honored military tradition—compiling of the Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List. According to Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, the reading list is an important element in the professional development of all leaders in the Army. “We can never spend too much time reading and thinking about the Army profession and its interaction with the world. These readings will deepen our understanding of the history of armies, the critical role of leadership in combat, and the strategic environment of today and the future,” he said. Helping prepare young people for the future that Gen. Odierno speaks of is the mission of BEYA Stars and Stripes program. Created in 2011, under Navy Vice Adm. (Ret) Anthony Winns and Vice Adm. (Ret) Walter Davis, USBE&IT writer Imani Carter points out that the program, a staple event at the annual BEYA STEM Conference, reaches more than 300 middle-high school students as well as STEM majors from local colleges and universities each year.
Tyrone D. Taborn Publisher and Editorial Director USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 3
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EDITORIAL Lango Deen Rayondon Kennedy Michael Fletcher Gale Horton Gay M.V. Greene Frank McCoy Garland L. Thompson Roger Witherspoon
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GRAPHIC DESIGN Sherley Petit-Homme | Art Director Bryan Clapper | Graphic Designer CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT Rod Carter | College Relations Ty Taborn | Corporate Development Imani Carter | Corporate Communications Specialist SALES AND MARKETING Richard Butler | Vice President of Government Relations/Special Projects Gwendolyn Bethea | Senior Account Manager Alex Venetta | Advertising Coordinator ADMINISTRATION Ana Bertrand | Conference Coordinator CONFERENCE AND EVENTS Rutherford & Associates 17304 Preston Rd Suite 1020 Dallas, Texas 75252 ADVERTISING SALES OFFICE Career Communications Group, Inc. 729 E. Pratt Street, 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone: (410) 244-7101 / Fax: (410) 752-1834
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US Black Engineer & Information Technology (ISSN 1088-3444) is a publication devoted to engineering, science, and technology and to promoting opportunities in those fields for Black Americans. The editors invite submissions directed toward the goals of US Black Engineer & Information Technology. In particular, we wish to present ideas and current events concerning science and technology, and personality profiles of successful Blacks in these fields and related business pursuits. Fully developed articles may be sent for consideration, but queries are encouraged. US Black Engineer & Information Technology invites letters to the editor about any topics important to our readership. Articles and letters should be sent to: US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Editorial Department, 729 E Pratt St., 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. US Black Engineer & Information Technology cannot be responsible for unsolicited art or editorial material. This publication is bulk-mailed to 150 colleges and universities nationwide. Subscriptions are $26/year. Please write to US Black Engineer & Information Technology, Subscriptions, 729 E. Pratt St., 5th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. Copyright (c) 2013 by Career Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Like us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/USBEIT Follow us on Twitter: @BlackEngineer
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Florida A&M UniversityFlorida State University Structural/Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Positions The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Florida A&M University – Florida State University (FAMU-FSU) joint College of Engineering invites applications for two tenure-track assistant professor positions with one in Structural Engineering and one in Environmental Engineering. The successful candidates are expected to have an earned doctorate in a field closely aligned with the position they are seeking, and to develop and sustain a high-profile research program that complements the existing strengths within the department and the College of Engineering. The department is seeking to expand its research into contemporary fields with the greatest potential for broad, interdisciplinary impact. Of particular interest for the Structural Engineering position are research areas such as renewable energy, sustainable building design, and advanced materials. For the Environmental Engineering position, the successful candidates are expected to have expertise in physicochemical aspects of environmental sustainability, environmental renewable energy systems, water-energy nexus issues, environmental impacts of energy and/ or nano-materials, or sustainable solid and hazardous waste management. The department is seeking candidates who have strong evidence of interdisciplinary research in collaboration with earth and atmospheric sciences, material sciences, sensor and control technology, high performance computing and simulation, and renewable energy, etc. Post-doctoral experience in topics related to renewable energy systems and/or sustainability is preferred. The Department currently offers programs leading to the B.S., M.Eng., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Civil Engineering. The undergraduate program is fully accredited. The Department has seventeen full-time faculty members and approximately 350 undergraduate students and 60 graduate students. Current faculty members conduct sponsored research projects exceeding $1.5 million per year. The US Department of Transportation recently announced that a coalition headed by FSU and FAMU has been awarded a Tier I University Transportation Center focusing on Center for Safe and Accessible Transportation for an Aging Population. The College of Engineering has new initiatives in renewable energy engineering and high performance materials, and the candidates will have synergistic opportunities to build a successful research program. Successful candidates will be able to be involved in the Aero-Propulsion, Mechanics and Energy Center, High Performance Materials Institute, Center for Advanced Power Systems, as well as many other centers in both FAMU and FSU campuses.
College of Engineering
Florida A&M University-Florida State University
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
Electronic submissions shall consist of letter of application, curriculum vitae, research plan and teaching philosophy statements, and the names and contact information for four references in a single PDF file. Address applications for the Structural Engineering position to StrEngSearch@fsu.edu, and those for the Environmental position to EnvEngSearch@fsu.edu. Inquiries related to the Structural Engineering position may be directed to Dr. Lisa Spainhour at spainhour@eng.fsu.edu, and those related to the Environmental Engineering position may be directed to Dr. Gang Chen at gchen@eng.fsu.edu. STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING position: Additional application instructions for the structural engineering position may be found at www.famu.edu/index.cfm?hr&Vacancies.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING position: Additional application instructions for the environmental engineering position may be found at jobs.fsu.edu.
Paper applications may be submitted to: C/O Mrs. Carrie M. Gavin, Equal Opportunity Programs Florida A&M University 647 Gamble Street Tallahassee, Florida 32307
Paper applications may be submitted to: Ms. Belinda Morris Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering FAMU-FSU College of Engineering 2525 Pottsdamer Street #129 Tallahassee, FL 32310
Applications should be received by January 31, 2014, to receive full consideration but will be reviewed until the positions are filled. The appointments are expected to begin August 2014. Additional information about both universities and the department may be found at http://www.eng.fsu.edu. Qualified women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. FAMU and FSU are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employers.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering • Florida
A&M University-Florida State University • College of Engineering
2525 Pottsdamer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32310
DIVERSITY Diversity brings vital new ideas to the table and creates dynamic solutions to international issues. We honor the individuals and institutions that strive to create and maintain a diversified workforce.
People and Events
by Imani Carter icarter@ccgmag.com
U
S Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine honors all men and women of color who have made countless accomplishments in his or her career. We encourage all of our award recipients to continue to create major goals and break barriers. Below are the names of past Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) winners who have gone on to make significant accomplishments within their career and community.
ROD ADKINS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CORPORATE STRATEGY, IBM
WANDA M. AUSTIN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AEROSPACE CORPORATION
Rod Adkins is IBM’s senior vice president of corporate strategy, and a 2007 Black Engineer of the Year award winner. Since 2007, Adkins has served as senior vice president for Systems and Technology Group (STG) development and manufacturing and STG senior vice president before his current role. He is responsible for leading continuous transformation across IBM and developing new strategies linked to execution plans for a new era of computing, new markets and new clients. In addition to his major win at the 2007 BEYA STEM Conference, Adkins was featured in Black Enterprise magazine as Corporate Executive of the Year.
As president and chief executive officer of The Aerospace Corporation, Dr. Wanda M. Austin has had many accomplishments, including receiving the Black Engineer of the Year award in 2009. In the following year, the White House appointed her to be a Defense Science Board member, and in 2011, she was elected as fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Austin was granted membership of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and received the Horatio Alger Award in 2012. She is currently a member of the California Council on Science and Technology. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Space Foundation and on the Board of Trustees for the University of Southern California and the National Geographic Society.
REGINALD VAN LEE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON Reginald Van Lee is the executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. Since receiving the Black Engineer of the Year award in 2008, Van Lee has had much recognition, such as receiving the Joseph Papp Racial Harmony Award from the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the C. Walter Nichols award for outstanding community service, the Percy E. Sutton Civic Leadership Award from the Apollo Theater Foundation and many more. In addition to being appointed by President Obama to the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, Lee was recognized as one of New York’s Finest Philanthropists and as one of the Washington Minority Business Leaders by the Washington Business Journal.
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JOHN D. HARRIS II, VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CEO, RAYTHEON INTERNATIONAL, INC.
John D. Harris II is the 2010 winner of the Black Engineer of the Year Award. Over the years, Harris has played a vital role with his company Raytheon, as he’s held many positions such as vice president of operations and contracts, vice president of contracts for the company’s government and defense businesses, and vice president of contracts and supply chain. Adding to his list of accomplishments with Raytheon Company, Harris has recently been named vice president of business development and CEO of Raytheon International, Inc. www.blackengineer.com
PROFILES IN INNOVATION We celebrate the men and women who are reinventing and reenergizing STEM, business, and government.
One on One
by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com
Adm. Robert J. Papp, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
COAST GUARD COMMANDANT HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP, PROFICIENCY OF CRAFT AT STARS AND STRIPES DINNER
I
n his talk at the 2013 Black Engineer of the Year program’s Stars and Stripes Dinner, Adm. Robert J. Papp, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, highlighted what he said were “three anchors” — or qualities—that leaders who serve the military service branch should possess during his keynote address. www.blackengineer.com
“First is proficiency in your craft; the skills of what you do. The second is proficiency in leadership, and then the third anchor is disciplined initiative,” Papp said, who assumed his duties as the 24th Commandant of the Coast Guard in 2010. Harkening back into Coast Guard history, one of the men who personified the three anchors was Richard Etheridge,
the first African American appointed to command a U.S. Life-Saving Service Station in North Carolina in 1880. The story of Richard Etheridge signifies a long-standing approach to the diversity of the modern Coast Guard. Papp immediately upon taking charge implemented the Coast Guard Diversity Strategic Plan that “recognizes diversity USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 7
PROFILES IN INNOVATION
One on One Cont’d as a mission readiness issue.” Born a slave on Jan. 16, 1842, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Etheridge, unlike plantation slaves of the time, learned the joys of the sea growing up— fishing, handling boats and searching for ship wrecks along the beach. Though illegal at the time, Etheridge’s slave owner taught him to read, allowing him to combine superior skills as a waterman with the ability to communicate leadership. Such skills served Etheridge well as he went on to join Union forces during the Civil War as a member of the 36th United States Colored Troops stationed along the coast of North Carolina. In his position later as station keeper on Pea Island, N.C., Etheridge served the unit for more than 20 years until his death in 1900, Papp recounted at the Stars and Stripes Dinner. Etheridge’s tenure on Pea Island was marked by a legendary rescue mission he led that saved the crew, captain and captain’s family of the boat the E.S. Newman during a hurricane in 1896. Papp called Etheridge the “perfect example of proficiency in leadership.” To honor Etheridge, the Coast Guard commissioned one of the service’s Fast Response Cutter after him—a new class of patrol boat that Papp calls a “gamechanger for us,” one of 58 of the craft the service ultimately will have. Papp said for the commissioning he did an extensive review of the exploits of Etheridge and his crew at Pea Island Station. “They became known as one of the best stations on the Outer Banks,” Papp said. “Richard Etheridge got that job as the keeper not because of his age, not because of anything else. He got it because of his proficiency at his craft.” Papp showed slides of photographs and other relics to discuss Etheridge, weaving a story of a man who rose through the ranks despite the color of his skin and other obstacles inhibiting enslaved African-Americans in the Civil War era. “He knew he had to make his crew 8 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
the best. He knew they had to be better than everybody else and he drilled them six days a week. He followed the procedures, and on Sunday, the one day of rest, he would sit them all down in the station and he would read to them the regulations and the procedures and have them memorize them rigorously so that he would have the best station on the coast,” Papp said. During the 1896 rescue, Etheridge and his men exhibited unparalleled bravery. “They went out in the middle of the night, in the middle of a hurricane,
Guard Diversity Strategic Plan seeks to “create public awareness—of and access to—the full spectrum of Coast Guard opportunities so that the challenges of the 21st Century will be met by a Coast Guard that is comprised of men and women who better reflect the diversity of America.” Papp, in outlining to attendees at the 7th annual Stars and Stripes dinner some of his priorities as Commandant, said honoring the Coast Guard profession ranked at the top of the list with other priorities.
“First is proficiency in your craft; the skills of what you do. The second is proficiency in leadership, and then the third anchor is disciplined initiative. and rescued nine people one at a time, trip after trip out there, and it was one of the most famous rescues but it went 100 years before it got recognized,” he said. “That was the first all colored in the U.S. Life-Saving Service, and they went on to do great things,” Papp added. A career military serviceman who graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1975, Papp leads the largest sector of the Department of Homeland Security charged with protecting America’s borders. Before being appointed Commandant, Papp served as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area in Portsmouth, Va., and Commander, Defense Force East. He was inducted into the Reserve Officers Association Minuteman Hall of Fame in recognition of his service to the nation and the U.S. Coast Guard in 2005. Under Papp’s command, the Coast
“I’d love you to spread the story of the Coast Guard, the great new tools we’re giving our young people, and we certainly need those engineers but so do the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Air Force. We’re all trying to get the job done and we need good people,” Papp said. Rebuilding the Coast Guard fleet of ships and infrastructure also are priorities set forth by Papp, such as one of the new cutters named for Etheridge. “What a great ship. It is state-ofthe-art, but even the best of technology does not work without great people, and how blessed we are to continue to have great men and women regardless of race, creed, color—whatever it is, stepping forward to serve our country,” Papp said.
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Save the Date October 23-25, 2014
2014 Women of Color STEM Conference Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center
Connecting. Mentoring. Learning. Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WOCITC Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/#!/woctechnology Career Communications Group, Inc. | 729 East Pratt St., Suite 504 | Baltimore, MD 21202 | (410) 244-7101 | www.womenofcolor.net
A THOROUGHLY
MODERN MILITARY MAN Gen. Raymond Odierno Army Chief of Staff
A
by Michael A. Fletcher mfletcher@ccgmag.com
t the Pentagon, many people refer to Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army’s Chief of Staff, simply as “the man.” There are many reasons for that. First, there is his resume. During 38 years in the Army, the northern New Jersey native has done it all. He has commanded units at every level, from platoon to theater. He has served in Germany, Albania, Kuwait, Iraq and the United States. In Iraq, he headed the allied war effort, overseeing the military’s transition from the surge that helped reverse a failing war effort, to the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country.
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Before that, he was a key architect of the surge, helping to implement the strategy credited with choking off the bloody Iraqi insurgency. At the start of the war, Odierno led the 4th Infantry Division, which captured former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole near his hometown of Tikrit. Years earlier, he had deployed in the Gulf War. Through it all, he has been highly decorated. Off the battlefield, Odierno has taken on many roles, most notably as the top military adviser to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. Beyond his resume, Odierno has earned respect as a “soldiers’ soldier,” a member of the military’s high brass who is happiest when rubbing shoulders with the troops. Then there is his appearance. Odierno is tall, broad shouldered and bald headed, giving him the look of a military man, or the tight end and baseball pitcher he was during his years at West Point. For all his traditional military appeal, Odierno is also a thoroughly modern military man, which is to say he is tech savvy. His undergraduate degree from the U.S. Military Academy was in engineering, and he later went on to earn a degree in nuclear effects engineering from North Carolina State University. One of his top priorities as Army Chief of Staff, a post he has held since 2011, is to improve the number of minority soldiers across the ranks of Army officers. “In the Army right now, we do not have the amount of diversity I would like as I go through the ranks,” Odierno said in an interview at his Pentagon office. “For me, it has become a priority. But the problem is you cannot fix it overnight. It is a 20-year problem.” The Army has three black four-star generals, the highest number in its history. But, overall, just over 12 percent of commissioned active-duty Army officers are Black and another 5 percent are Hispanic, according to Army statistics. By contrast, 22 percent of enlisted soldiers are Black and nearly 13 percent are Hispanic. Odierno believes he could go a long way to fix that imbalance by attracting more minorities to West Point. “We do not have enough minority graduates of the United States Military Academy,” Odierno said. “In my mind it has not changed. It has not progressed. And part of the problem is just people understanding it.” Part of his plan for addressing that information gap is to reach out to more urban high schools—some of which, he said, have counselors who know surprisingly little about the opportunities offered by the military--with information about the academies. Odierno, whose job makes him top military adviser to the Secretary of the Army and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also concerned with reducing the incidence of sexual harassment in the Army. Last year, a report found that more than 26,000 members of the armed forces had experienced an episode of “unwanted sexual contact” between 2011 and 2012. “Sexual assault is a problem across the United States. It is not just the Army,” Odierno said. “However, people do not expect us to have that problem. They expect us to solve that problem and we haven’t done it yet.” Yet another worry is meeting the Army’s growing need to attract soldiers with technical skills needed in an era of hightech warfare. Employers across the board are concerned about the shortage of job candidates with skills in science, technology, engineering and math, and the Army is no different.
“It is hard to find the numbers interested,” Odierno said. “We have to do a better job of promoting it and promoting the importance of it. We have to start early. We should start when kids are in 7th or 8th grade, asking them, are you interested in science? Are you interested in math? If so, a great path is to come into the military because we need you.” Odierno is confident that the Army can compete with any employer when it comes to attracting STEM professionals. Not only are the multiple scholarship and other educational programs the Army and rest of the military can offer, but there is also the fact that the military is on the cutting edge of many things technologically. The Internet was created by the Defense as a defense project. Drone technology has been used extensively by the military as are laser targeting and all kinds of computer systems. There is also the fact that the military offers a compelling career path. “I can guarantee them a job,” Odierno said of aspiring STEM professionals. “As soon as you graduate, you’ve got a job. You’ll have an opportunity to move up in that job. So there are some opportunities that we have to better utilize as we go forward.” Odierno’s own experience has taught him the value of spreading the news about the opportunities offered by the Army. He is from what he describes as a proud, patriotic Italian-American family. He says he was steeped in hard work. But he knew very little about them military and even less about West Point when he was weighing his college choices.
“I can guarantee (aspiring STEM professionals) a job.”
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“Up until the last minute, I didn’t know I was going to go to West Point,” he said. “The reason I went to West Point was to play football. I would like to say it was because I wanted to serve, but really it was not. Still, as I look back, it was the best thing that ever happened to me because it provided me an incredible opportunity that I wouldn’t have had [otherwise].” Even while at West Point, he never envisioned himself having a long Army career. After graduating from West Point and being commissioned as an Army officer, “I was focused on the five-year commitment,” he said. “But I found that when I got into the Army, I loved the interaction with people. The diversity of the Army. The people you met from different walks of life. The challenges that you had. Living in different parts of the world. And I felt good about what we were doing.” Soon, a five-year hitch was followed by more time. Then more time after that. Promotions came. Eventually, Odierno was headed to the top. “I just continued to really enjoy what I was doing,” Odierno explained, adding that long deployments and separation from his family are the toughest parts of his service. “It had to do with the people. It had to do with the mission that we had; the importance of what we were doing. Before you know it, you are in 20 years, then you are in 25. I never said I want to be a general officer, but what I did want to do was to lead soldiers.” USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 11
General Dennis L. Via
Commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command
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General Lloyd J. Austin Commander of U.S. Central Command
General Vincent K. Brooks
Commanding General of the U.S. Army Pacific
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COMMANDING VIEWS:
THREE FOUR-STAR
ARMY GENERALS
Proud milestone for an institution long hailed as an exemplar of diversity
W
hen it comes to top-ranking African Americans in the U.S. Army, these are the best of times. The service boasts three four-star generals, the highest number in Army history, marking another proud milestone for an institution long hailed as an exemplar of diversity.
The African American four-stars are Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, a former commander in Iraq who now heads U.S. Central Command, which is overseeing the U.S. drawdown in Afghanistan; Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific; and Gen. Dennis L. Via, head of the Army’s Material Command, which supplies the Army everywhere across the globe. But even as the Army is proud of its racial diversity, there is quiet concern that the Army may not be in a position to build on that success. The worry is that there are not enough minority officers in the pipeline to follow the footsteps of the black fourstar generals. Overall, 12 percent of commissioned active-duty Army officers are African American and another 5 percent are Hispanic. Meanwhile, more than one in five enlisted soldiers are Black and about 13 percent are Hispanic. “I am trying to improve the situation from within. I may be one who can help the door open,” Brooks said, who two decades ago helped organize a minority outreach program at West Point. “I would be disingenuous to say we are where we should be. We have some problems in terms of density in the ranks up and down the line.” Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the Army Chief of Staff, has called improving diversity one of his top priorities. “For me, it is about talent,” he said. “I want the best talent. And there is talent everywhere. And it is about us using that talent.” The generals add that the Army is bursting with opportunity for talented recruits, particularly those who are technically inclined. When people think of a career in STEM, they
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say, they don’t necessarily think of the Army. But, the generals said, maybe they should think again. “There is a demand for individuals with a background or degree in STEM,” said Austin, himself a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, which calls itself the nation’s oldest engineering school. “I would highly encourage young people, particularly minorities, who are interested in these subjects to pursue them and also consider joining the ranks of our combat arms or other specialty branches.” Austin says opportunities offered by the Army—and, more generally, the military—stack up well against other career paths. Not only is there an opportunity for service to country, they say, but there is also the chance to work on cutting-edge technology and lay the foundation. “Science and technology are fundamental to what we do,” said Brooks, a West Point graduate who was recruited to play basketball at the academy by famed coach Mike Krzyzewski. “We are always generations ahead. Whether it is military medicine and the science that is behind inoculations or whether it is the science of space exploration, developing rockets or actually putting men on the moon.”
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Task Force Talon commander Lt. Col. Clyde S. Cochrane III walks U.S. Army Pacific commander Gen. Vincent Brooks to his plane after his visit to the A4 THAAD at Andersen AFB, Guam, in August.
Beyond that, there is the leadership and career advancement potential offered by the military. They say the fact that three of the Army’s 12 active-duty four-star generals are African Americans speaks to the nearly limitless possibilities of an Army career. “I find myself pinching myself about being in charge of a global organization of this size,” Via said, a Virginia State University graduate. “If a soldier drives it, flies it, wears it, communicates with it, shoots it or eats it, AMC provides it. We provide everything that a soldier uses to accomplish his or her mission.” It is a huge responsibility. Via’s command—which has a $50 billion budget is staffed by 70,000 soldiers and civilians, including 13,000 scientists and engineers—also oversees the development of new weapons systems. That means everything, including new aviation systems, helicopters, weapons platforms, nano-technology projects, surveillance and intelligence tools, are developed in conjunction with the material command. “There is just an enormity of opportunity for anyone who is involved in a STEM career,” Via said. Opportunities may abound, but the Army—just like the rest of the military, and all of society, for that matter—struggles to find people with the interest and the background to take advantage of it. Still, the Army struggles to attract recruits prepared to go into STEM careers. And there is intense competition for those who are prepared for STEM careers. “How do we become more attractive to them than Caltech? That is a specific we’ve got to work on,” said Brooks, who noted that at West Point every cadet takes a core curriculum heavy on science and engineering. Still, he added, “I think we stack up really well at the academies in terms of high achievers. The U.S. Military Academy just two years ago was the top-ranked academic institution in the nation. It is not an also-ran.” Another area of concern for the Army, and the rest of the military, is the flurry of highly publicized sexual assaults. Reports of sexual assaults in the military soared by an unprec14 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
edented 46 percent in the 2013 fiscal year, the Pentagon has said. It remains unclear whether the increase reflected an actual increase in assaults or a spike in the number of people reporting them. Nonetheless, top generals called the problem a deep concern, but one that reflects a problem in the broader society even as it impacts the military. “Sexual assault is a problem across the United States. It is not just the Army,” Odierno said. “However, people don’t expect us to have that problem. They expect us to solve that problem and we haven’t done it yet. But what I am finding as I go around and talk with women is they still want to stay in the institution because they want to have the ability to attain their goals.” Indeed, women—and minority women—hold or have held key Army posts, both on the military and civilian side. The Army has had a woman four-star general, Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody who retired in 2012 after a distinguished 38-year career. Maj. Gen. Nadja Y. West, who is African American, serves as the Joint Staff Surgeon, the chief medical adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing advice to the Chairman of the Joint Staff and the Combatant Commanders. She is a graduate of West Point and George Washington University School of Medicine. Also, Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson, a graduate of Creighton University and Rutgers University’s School of Law, is the Deputy Chief of the Army Reserve. Heidi Shyu is the Assistant Army Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. And Katherine Hammack, is Assistant Army Secretary for Installations, Energy and Environment. Despite the clear problems, “women can succeed, thrive throughout our formations,” Brooks said. Austin noted that anyone considering a military career has to be mindful of the special demands of military service. “If a young person is contemplating a career in the military then they must recognize that they are part of a team and that leadership is essentially about taking care of people,” he said. “If you take care of people, they will follow you anywhere and you will be amazed at what they are able to accomplish.” www.blackengineer.com
PROFILES IN INNOVATION
TOP B
MIL
IN THE
U
S Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine’s Homeland Security, Government and Defense Issue was instituted in 2005. Focused on service through government and the military, the annual edition launched with a report on the historic “Town Hall Meeting on National Security” held at Morgan State University that fall. The event had been brought together by four retired Black general officers―all past Black Engineer of the Year Award winners―as part of the longstanding relationships USBE&IT magazine’s Black Engineer of the Year Awards has developed over 25 years.
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LACKS
ITARY by CCG Editors
The forum discussed topical issues ranging from the war in Iraq to the future of the U.S. military to civilian jobs on the front lines. The entire town hall meeting was aired on C-Span. Following that national debut, USBE&IT’s 2006 Homeland Security, Government and Defense issue’s cover story spotlighted Brig. Gen. (retired) Bob Crear’s work as commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Army Corps of Engineers and an
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article on the little known but widely impactful federal Senior Executive Service. We also featured, for the first time, men and women who’d devoted their lives and careers to America’s defense at home and abroad. Continuing our tradition for the ninth annual Homeland Security, Government and Defense Issue, below is USBE&IT magazine’s 2013 list of Top Blacks in the Military.
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U.S. ARMY
GEN. LLOYD J. AUSTIN III
Commander, U. S. Central Command
General Lloyd Austin hails from Thomasville, Ga. He was commissioned an Infantry officer in 1975 upon graduation from the United States Military Academy. Austin assumed command of United States Central Command on March 22, 2013. Over his 38-year career, Gen. Austin has served in a wide variety of staff and command positions from company to combatant level. Highlights include: commander, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division; commander, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division; assistant division commander (Maneuver), 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Ga., and Operation Iraqi Freedom from July 2001 until June 2003; commanding general, 10th Mountain Division (Light), Fort Drum, New York from September 2003 until August 2005, with duty as commander, Combined Joint Task Force-180, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; chief of staff, United States Central Command; commanding general, XVIII Airborne Corps where he commanded Multi-National CorpsIraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom from February 2008 until April 2009; director, Joint Staff; commander, United States Force–Iraq from September 2010 through the completion of Operation New Dawn in December 2011. Most recently Gen. Austin served as the 33rd Vice Chief of Staff of the Army from January 2012 to March 2013. 18 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
His military education includes the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Ga.; U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; and U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Penn. He earned a Bachelor of science from the United States Military Academy, a Master’s in Education from Auburn University and another master’s degree in business management from Webster University. Gen. Austin holds several awards and qualifications including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with Three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Distinguished Service Medal (with Two Oak Leaf Clusters), and Silver Star, as well as the Combat Action Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, the Ranger Tab and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.
GEN. DENNIS L. VIA
Commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command
General Dennis Via assumed duties as 18th Commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command in August 2012 after having served as deputy commanding general at the same command. He deployed to southwest Asia in October 2011 as commander, Army Materiel Command Responsible Reset Task Force, with the mission of leading strategic integration of the Materiel Enterprise for retrograde of equipment and materiel out of Iraq at the conclusion of Operation New Dawn. Prior to that, he served as director for
Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems, J-6, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. General Via has held a wide variety of command and staff positions. His command assignments include the 82nd Signal Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; 3rd Signal Brigade, III Armored Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; 5th Signal Command, United States Army Europe and 7th Army, Mannheim, Germany, and the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command and Fort Monmouth, Fort Monmouth, N.J. His key staff assignments include aide-decamp to the chief of staff, Allied Forces Southern Europe, Naples, Italy; Operations Officer J-6, Armed Forces Inaugural Committee, Washington, D.C.; division chief, Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, United States Army, Washington, D.C; principal director for operations, Defense Information Systems Agency/Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, U.S. Strategic Command, Arlington, Va. General Via was commissioned on May 18, 1980 in the Signal Corps after graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Virginia State University. He holds a master’s degree from Boston University and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (class of 1991) and the U.S. Army War College (class of 1999).
AS OF 31 JANUARY 2013, 1,429,995 PEOPLE WERE ON ACTIVE DUTY IN THE ARMED FORCES, WITH AN ADDITIONAL 850,880 PEOPLE IN THE SEVEN RESERVE COMPONENTS. (SOURCE: NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013 )
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degree in military art and science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. LT. GEN. THOMAS P. BOSTICK
U.S. Army Chief of Engineers Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
GEN. VINCENT BROOKS U.S. Army Pacific
Gen. Vincent Brooks took command of the United States Army–Pacific in July 2013. During his 33 years of service, he has served in various command and staff positions in the United States, Germany, Korea, Kosovo, and the Middle East. His tours of duty with fighting units include the 82nd Airborne Division as a lieutenant; the 1st Infantry Division (Forward) as a captain; the 1st Calvary Division as a major and again as a brigadier general; the 2nd Infantry Division as lieutenant colonel; the Third Army Central (with duty at Headquarters, Coalition Joint Task Force-Kuwait) and the 3rd Infantry Division (with duty at NATO-Kosovo) as a colonel. He has served at headquarters, United States Central Command; headquarters, 1st Calvary Division (with duty at headquarters, Multi-National DivisionBaghdad); headquarters, III Corps and Fort Hood, as a brigadier general; headquarters, 1st Infantry Division (with duty at headquarters U.S. Division-South), as a major general, and most recently as commanding general of Third United States Army/U.S. Army Central. Gen. Brooks has also served at the Pentagon. In the Department of the Army, he fulfilled staff duties as aide-decamp to the vice chief of staff, and later as Army chief of public affairs. Within the Joint Staff, he was deputy director (J5) for Political-Military Affairs for the Western Hemisphere, and later deputy director (J5) for the War on Terrorism. Gen. Brooks was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant from the U.S. Military Academy in 1980 after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science. He later earned a master’s www.blackengineer.com
Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick became the 53rd U.S. Army Chief of Engineers and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in May 2012. He serves as the senior military officer overseeing most of the nation’s civil works infrastructure and military construction. Prior, Lt. Gen. Bostick was the deputy chief of staff, G-1, Personnel, United States Army. His command positions include United States Army Recruiting Command; director of Military Programs, United States Army Corps of Engineers, with duty as commander of the Gulf Region Division, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq. He was assistant division commander (Maneuver); assistant division commander (Support), 1st Cavalry Division; commander, Engineer Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Operation Joint Forge, Bosnia-Herzegovina; and commander, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized). He served as executive officer to the Chief of Engineers, executive officer to the Army Chief of Staff, and deputy director of Operations for National Military Command Center, J-3, the Joint Staff in the Pentagon. Lt. Gen. Bostick was assistant professor of mechanical engineering at West Point and a White House Fellow, serving as special assistant to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia and graduate of the U.S. Army War College. Lt. Gen. Bostick graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He holds a master’s in both civil engineering and mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
MAJ. GEN. MARCIA M. ANDERSON Deputy Chief of Army Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentation (IMA) Office of the Chief, Army Reserve
Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson has served as deputy chief Individual Mobilization Augmentation (IMA), Army Reserve since October 2011. Previously she was the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Maj. Gen. Anderson is the first African-American female officer to earn the rank of major general in the Army or Reserve. Her command assignments include commander, 85th U.S. Army Reserve Support Command (West), Arlington Heights, Ill.; deputy commanding general, 1st Army Division West, Fort Hood, Texas; assistant commander for operations, Headquarters, 95th Division (Institutional Training) based in Oklahoma; commander, 6th Brigade (Professional Development), 95th Division (Institutional Training), Topeka, Kan., and deputy chief of staff, G-1, deputy G-3 and schools officer, deputy chief of staff operations with the 84th Division (Institutional Training), Milwaukee, Wis. Maj. Gen Anderson was commissioned through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Creighton University. She holds a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. Her current civilian position is clerk of court, United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Wisconsin. MAJ. GEN. GWEN BINGHAM
Commanding General, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
Maj. Gen. Gwen Bingham has served as the commanding general of White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico since September 2012. She USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 19
became the first woman to take command of this organization. Her previous assignment was commandant, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School, Virginia― the first woman to ever hold this position. Maj. Gen. Bingham has held a variety of command and staff positions to include special assistant to the commanding general of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, and Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn, Kuwait; chief of staff, Combined Arms Support Command, re-designated as Sustainment Center of Excellence, Fort Lee, Va., and commander, United States Army Garrison, Fort Lee, Va. She was also the first woman to serve in this position. Maj. Gen. Bingham received her commission through the Army’s leadership course for training commissioned officers, the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and has a Bachelor of science degree in management from the University of Alabama; a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and another master’s in national resource strategy from the National Defense University. MAJ. GEN. AUGUSTUS L. COLLINS The Adjutant General, Mississippi National Guard
Maj. Gen. Augustus Collins is the adjutant general of Mississippi and has served as commanding general of both the Mississippi Army and Air National Guard since January 2012. He has held various command and staff positions in units at every level to include company, battalion, regiment, brigade, and the Adjutant General’s primary staff in both a traditional and Active Guard Reserve status. Maj. Gen. Collins served on active duty in Operation Desert Shield/Storm as well as commanding the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team during combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 20042006. He also served as director, Mobilization Forces, Army Forces Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia; commander, 155th Armored Brigade, Tupelo, Mississippi; commander, 154th Regimental Training Institute, Camp Shelby, Miss., and deputy chief of staff, Personnel, Joint 20 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Force Headquarters, Mississippi National Guard, Jackson, Miss. Maj. Gen. Collins was commissioned in July 1980 upon completion of State Officer Candidate School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi, an M.B.A. from Jackson State University and a master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. MAJ. GEN. ROBERT S. FERRELL
Commanding General, CommunicationsElectronics Command (CECOM)
Maj. Gen. Robert Ferrell has served as commanding general of Communications-Electronics Command since February 2012. Previously, he was the director, Command and Control, Communications and Computer Systems (J-6) and chief information officer, United States Africa Command. He has also served as aide-de-camp to the secretary of the army; as assistant division signal officer, 82nd Airborne Division; battalion executive officer in the 82nd Signal Battalion; brigade S3, 7th Signal Brigade, 5th Signal Command; aidede-camp to the commanding general, V Corps, Germany; commander, 13th Signal Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division; military assistant to the executive secretary, Office of the Secretary of Defense; and military assistant to the director, program management office at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq. He commanded the 2nd Signal Brigade, 5th Signal Command; served as chief of the programs division in the Office of the Congressional Legislative Liaison; and was also senior army fellow on the Council on Foreign Relations; and director, Army Modernization, Strategic Communication. He first enlisted in the Army and was commissioned in August 1983 after completing his undergraduate degree at Hampton University. He holds a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University and another in strategy from the Army War College.
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL X. GARRETT Commanding General, U.S. Army Alaska/ Deputy Commander, U.S. Alaskan Command
Maj. Gen. Michael Garrett has served as commanding general, U.S. Army Alaska/ deputy commander, U.S. Alaskan Command since May 2012. His previous assignment was chief of staff, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and deputy chief of staff, United States Forces – Iraq, Operation New Dawn. Maj. Gen. Garrett’s assignments include command at the platoon, company, battalion and brigade level and staff assignments at company through corps level. He has commanded 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Fort Richardson, Alaska―deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom; an operations tour deploying to Afghanistan as chief of current operations, Combined Joint Task Force 180, Operation Enduring Freedom; and three tours on Fort Bragg. Maj. Gen. Garrett also served as deputy commanding general, U. S. Army Recruiting Command and later as director of the Department of Military Instruction, U.S. Military Academy, West Point. He commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry upon graduating from Xavier University with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice in 1984. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Senior Service College Fellowship.
2013 MARKED THE 238TH BIRTHDAY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. THE CONTINENTAL ARMY WAS ESTABLISHED JUNE 14, 1775
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MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL T. HARRISON, SR.
Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8 Department of the Army
Maj. Gen. Michael Harrison is currently the director of Program Analysis and Evaluation in the Office of the Deputy Chief of staff, G-8, at Headquarters, Department of the Army. His most recent assignment was as commanding general, United States Army Japan/Commanding General, I Corps (Forward) Camp Zama, Japan. He has held a variety of command and staff positions throughout his 33 years of service to include deputy commanding general (Support), 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Fort Drum, N.Y.; deputy commanding general (Programs), Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom; deputy director, Requirements, J-8, Joint Staff; director, Joint and Futures, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, Chief, Joint Requirements and Assessments Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8; commander, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Light Infantry) Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and operations officer, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and Operation Uphold Democracy, Haiti. MG Harrison was commissioned as an Infantry Officer through ROTC and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University, a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University, and another master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. MAJ. GEN. SANFORD E. HOLMAN Commander, 200th Military Police Command
Maj. Gen. Sanford E. Holman assumed command of 200th Military Police (MP) Command in March 2011 www.blackengineer.com
at Fort Meade, Maryland. He previously served as vice commander of the Joint Warfighting Center Vice J-7 at Joint Forces Command in Suffolk, Va. His various assignments include company commander in Occupied West Berlin; project leader at the Training and Doctrine Analysis Command at White Sands, N.M., and Area Support Group S-2/3 in South Korea. He served in the 80th Division, U.S. Reserve Command; was commander, 4th Battalion, 318th Regiment MP One Station Unit Training (MP-OSUT)) at Alexandria, Va.; commander, 1st Brigade (MP-OSUT) Fort Meade, Md.; and Inspector General. He also served as assistant division commander-operations for the 98th Division; in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) as deputy commander, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and Operation Iraqi Freedom as senior military advisor for the 3rd Iraqi Division in Iraq. He was on the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee from 2006-2009. Maj. Gen. Holman earned a Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy and was commissioned in the Infantry in 1978. He holds master’s in operations research from Florida Tech and national security strategy from the National Defense University. MAJ. GEN. CHARLES W. HOOPER Director of Strategy, Plans and Programs United States Africa Command
Maj. Gen. Charles Hooper has served as director of Strategy, Plans and Programs for the United States Africa Command since August 2011. Previously he was deputy director for Strategic Planning and Policy, J-5, United States Pacific Command, Hawaii. MG Hooper has held a variety of command and staff positions, including defense attaché, United States Embassy, Beijing, China; foreign area officer chairman, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California; chief, Army International Affairs Division, Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate, Army Staff G-3/5/7, Washington, D.C., and senior country director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, Office
of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C. Maj. Gen. Hooper was commissioned as an infantry officer at the United States Military Academy and received a Bachelor of Science degree. He holds a master’s in public administration with honors from Harvard University and was the recipient of the Don K. Price Award for Academic Excellence and Public Service. He was also the first Harvard Kennedy School of Government student selected as graduate student commencement speaker for a Harvard University Commencement. He returned to Harvard University as an Army Chief of Staff Research Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. MG Hooper is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. MAJ. GEN. LAWARREN V. PATTERSON
Commanding General of the Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon
Maj. Gen. Lawarren Patterson has served as commanding general of the Signal Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon since July 2012. He previously was commanding general, 7th Signal Command, also based at Fort Gordon, Ga. Maj. Gen. Patterson has held a variety of command and staff positions over his 31-year career, which include deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command; chief, Portfolio Management Division, Governance Acquisition; chief, Knowledge Office Directorate, office of the Army chief information officer, G-6, United States Army; special assistant to the commander, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/ United States Forces Korea, Korea; and commander, 1st Signal Brigade, Eighth United States Army, Korea. Maj. Gen. Patterson also served as chief, Command, Control, Communications, Computer Systems, Space and Networks Division, office of the chief information officer, Washington, D.C., and commander, 440th Signal Battalion, V Corps, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. He was commissioned through ROTC and received a bachelor’s degree USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 21
in communications from Norfolk State University as well as a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in strategy from the United States Army War College. MAJ. GEN. AUNDRE F. PIGGEE
Director for Logistics and Engineering, J-4 U. S. Central Command
Maj. Gen. Aundre Piggee is director for logistics and engineering, J-4, U. S. Central Command. Previously he served as the commanding general, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army in Germany. Maj. Gen. Piggee has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include deputy assistant chief of staff, C-4/assistant chief of staff, J-4, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/ United States Forces Korea; executive officer to the vice chief of staff, army, Washington, D.C.; commander, 15th Sustainment Brigade, 1st Calvary Division, Fort Hood, Texas, and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and commander, Division Rear Detachment/chief of staff, 1st Cavalry Division. Maj. Gen. Piggee also served as assistant chief of staff, G-4, Support Operations Division, Eighth United States Army, Korea; assistant chief of staff, G-4, 1st Calvary Division; and as commander, 15th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Calvary Division and Operation Joint Forge, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Maj. Gen. Piggee was commissioned through ROTC and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He also holds a master’s in materiel acquisition management from the Florida Institute of Technology and a master’s in strategy from the United States Army War College. MAJ. GEN. DANA J. H. PITTARD
Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Central/Third United States Army
Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard serves as deputy commanding general of the United States Army Central/Third United States Army, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. 22 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Previously he was commanding general, 1st Armored Division Fort Bliss, Texas. Maj. Gen. Pittard has held a variety of command and staff positions, including senior commander, Fort Bliss; deputy chief of staff, Operations and Training, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; commanding general, National Training Center and Fort Irwin, California, and commanding general, Iraqi Assistance Group, Iraq. He also served as assistant division commander (maneuver), 24th Infantry Division (mechanized), Fort Riley, Kansas; commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq, and commander, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, to include duty as deputy commander for maneuver, Multi-National Brigade (East), Kosovo Forces, Operation Joint Guardian, Kosovo. Maj. Gen. Pittard was commissioned through the United States Military Academy at West Point where he received a Bachelor of science degree and obtained a master’s in advanced military studies from the United States Army Command and General Staff College. MAJ. GEN. RENALDO RIVERA
The Adjutant General of the Virgin Islands
Maj. Gen. Renaldo Rivera has served as the adjutant general of Virgin Islands since March 2007. He has also served as J-3, deputy chief of staff, operations and training, Virgin Islands Joint Force Headquarters; plans, operations and military support officer, Headquarters Territorial Area Command, Virgin Islands National Guard (VING); commander, Troop Command, Detachment 1, VING, Christiansted;
commander, 786th Supply and Service Battalion, VING, Saint Thomas; and training officer, Headquarters Territorial Area Command, Virgin Islands National Guard, Saint Croix. Maj. Gen. Rivera is a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, which is comprised of the heads of the 26 departments within the executive branch. He received a direct commission in April 1980, having enlisted in the U.S. Army and completed a tour of duty in Vietnam. Maj. Gen. Rivera earned a Bachelor of Science from Youngstown State University and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. MAJ. GEN. ERROL R. SCHWARTZ
Commanding General, District of Columbia National Guard
Maj. Gen. Errol Schwartz is the commanding general, District of Columbia National Guard. He is responsible for operational readiness and command and control of the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard units with an authorized strength of 2,700 Soldiers and Airmen. Maj. Gen. Schwartz assumed duties as commanding general, District of Columbia in 2008. His military career started when he enlisted in the District of Columbia Army National Guard in 1976. He was commissioned in 1979 and appointed a platoon leader in the 104th Maintenance Company. He served in many leadership positions as a staff officer and commander. Some of his previous assignments include battalion commander, 372nd Military Police Battalion; deputy director of Information Management, director of logistics, commander, 74th Troop Command and the Adjutant General, District of Columbia National Guard. Maj. Gen. Schwartz also serves in the federal Senior Executive Service. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of the District of Columbia, a master’s in business management from Central Michigan University and a master’s in national security strategy from the National Defense University. www.blackengineer.com
MAJ. GEN. LESLIE C. SMITH
Commanding General, U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence
Maj. Gen. Leslie Smith has served as the commanding general of the Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri since June 2013. He previously served as commanding general, 20th Support Command (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Maj. Gen. Smith has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include commandant, U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School, deputy commanding general, Material and Technology, Army, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood; assistant chief of staff, G-3, 20th Support Command, and later commander. He also served as chief, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense Team, G-8, U.S. Army, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; commander, 83d Chemical Battalion, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kuwait and Iraq. Maj. Gen. Smith received his commission from Georgia Southern University and was selected as a distinguished military graduate. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting auditing from Georgia Southern University, a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in national security and strategic Studies from the National War College. MAJ. GEN. STEPHEN M. TWITTY Deputy Chief of Staff of Operation, G3 U.S. Army Forces Command
Maj. Gen. Stephen Twitty has served as deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7 for U.S. Army Forces Command, since July 2013. His previous assignment was as chief of staff, Strategic Communicawww.blackengineer.com
tions Headquarters, International Security Assistance Force, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. Twitty has held a variety of command and staff positions, including deputy commanding general (operations), 1st Armored Division; special assistant to the senior commander for Fort Bliss; chief of staff, Third Army/United States Army Central, Fort McPherson, Ga., and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kuwait; executive officer to the deputy commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command; commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, Fort Bliss and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq. He also served as commander, 3rd Battalion (mechanized), 15th Infantry, and later deputy chief of staff of operations, G-3, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq. Maj. Gen. Twitty holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal law from South Carolina State University, a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University and a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the National War College. MAJ. GEN. NADJA Y. WEST
Joint Staff Surgeon at The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
Maj. Gen. Nadja West is Joint Staff surgeon at the Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. Her previous assignment was as deputy chief of staff for support, U.S. Army Medical Command. Maj. Gen. West has held a variety of command and staff positions, including commanding general, Europe Regional Medical Command and command surgeon, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany; commander Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; director of operations, J-3, Joint Task Force-National Capital Region Medical, Bethesda, Md., and deputy commander, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. She also served as commander, United States Army, Medical Department Activity; chief, Department of Medicine and Dermatology
Service, 18th Medical Command, 121st General Hospital, Eighth United States Army, Korea, and division surgeon, 1st Armored Division, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany and Kosovo. Maj. Gen. West is a graduate from the United States Military Academy with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. She attended George Washington University School of Medicine where she earned a doctorate in medicine and also holds a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the National Defense University. MAJ. GEN. DARRELL K. WILLIAMS Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Materiel Command
Maj. Gen. Darrell Williams is deputy chief of staff, U.S. Army Materiel Command His previous assignment was commander, Defense Logistics Agency, Land and Maritime. Maj. Gen. Williams has held a variety of assignments to include director for logistics, engineer and security assistance, J-4, U.S. Pacific Command; executive officer to the deputy chief of staff, G-4, U.S. Army; commander, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Stewart, Georgia and Operation Iraqi Freedom; and deputy C-4, Third Army/U.S. Army Central/Coalition Forces Land Component Command, Fort McPherson, Georgia and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Kuwait. He also served as deputy director, strategic communications, office of the chief of staff, Army; chief and commander, 3rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division (mechanized), Fort Stewart, Ga., and Operation Joint Guardian, Kosovo. Maj. Gen. Williams received his commission through ROTC and a bachelor’s in psychology from Hampton Institute, a master’s in business management (logistics) from Penn State University, a master’s in military science from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the National War College. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 23
MAJ. GEN. MICHAEL E. WILLIAMSON
Deputy Commanding General for Support, Combined Security Transition CommandAfghanistan
Maj. Gen. Michael Williamson has served as deputy commanding general for support, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan since July 2013. Previously he served as the assistant military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology), Washington, D.C. Maj. Gen. Williamson held a variety of command and staff positions, to include assistant deputy for acquisition and systems management, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology); joint program executive officer, Joint Tactical Radio Systems, San Diego, Calif.; deputy program executive officer, integration, Arlington, Virginia, and director of integration, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Pentagon. He also served as project manager, Network Systems Integration, Future Combat Systems, Brigade Combat Team, Fort Monmouth, N.J.; commander, Software Engineering Center, Fort Belvoir, Va., and military assistant to the secretary of the army. Maj. Gen. Williamson was commissioned through ROTC and received a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Husson College. He also holds a master’s in materiel acquisition management from the Naval Postgraduate School. MAJ. GEN. LARRY D. WYCHE Commanding General U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee
Maj. Gen. Larry Wyche assumed the duties of the Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), Fort Lee, 24 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Va., in June 2012. CASCOM trains and educates Soldiers and civilians, develops and integrates capabilities, concepts and doctrine, and executes functional proponency to enable Army sustainment warfighting. Prior to arriving at Fort Lee, he was the deputy chief of staff for logistics and operations of the Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Maj. Gen. Wyche received his commission as a Quartermaster officer from Texas A&M University, earning a bachelor’s in business administration. He later earned master’s degrees in logistics management from Florida Institute of Technology and national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Wyche has held command and staff assignments to include the commanding general of the Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island, Ill.; brigade commander of the 10th Sustainment Brigade, Fort Drum, N.Y; chief, Initiatives Group, and later, chief, Focused Logistics, Force Development Directorate, Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) G-8. He has also served as director for Strategy and Integration, HQDA G-4 in Washington, D.C., Headquarters, Department of the Army is the executive part of the Department of the Army at the seat of government. BRIG. GEN. CARL A. ALEX
Deputy Commanding General for Support of the 10th Mountain Division (LI)
Brig. Gen. Carl Alex has served as deputy commanding general (Support) of the 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, N.Y. since June 2013. His previous assignment was as the deputy chief, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Army, Pentagon. BG Alex has held key command and staff positions, to include commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; director, Infantry Warfighters Forum, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg and two operational deployments to Operation Iraqi Freedom as commander, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg. BG Alex holds a Bachelor of science degree in Business and three master’s degrees in defense analysis from the Naval Post-
graduate School, a master’s in military arts and science from United States Army Command and General Staff College, and a master’s degree in national security and strategy from the National War College. BRIG. GEN. MARGARETT E. BARNES
Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Human Resources Command
Brig. Gen. Margarett Barnes has served as the deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command since October 2011. Her previous assignment was commander, Forces Command Augmentation Unit based in Atlanta, Ga. Brig. Gen. Barnes has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include assistant deputy G1, U.S. Army Forces Command; commander, 348th Personnel Group, New Orleans, Louisiana; commander, 324th Replacement Battalion, Starkville, Miss., and commander, 324th Replacement Battalion, Camp Wolf, Kuwait. She also served as the chief, Personnel Operations Division and S2/ S3 for the 348th Personnel Group, and inspector general, 3rd Personnel Command, Jackson, Miss. Brig. Gen Barnes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s in public administration from the University of South Alabama and a master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN ALTON G. BERRY
Deputy Commanding General (Troop Program Unit), 88th Regional Support Command
Brig. Gen. Alton Berry has served as deputy commanding general (Troop Program Unit) of the 88th Regional Support Command since June 2011. His previous assignment was commanding general, 86th Training Brigade (operations), Fort www.blackengineer.com
McCoy, Wis. Brig. Gen. Berry has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include commander, 70th Training Division (functional training) Fort Knox, Ky.; director of mobilization resource requirements, office of the assistant secretary for reserve affairs, Washington, D.C; staff officer, 9th Brigade (basic combat training), 100th Division (institutional training), Beaver Dam, Wis.; staff officer, 100th Division (institutional training), Beaver Dam; chief, Crisis Action Team, Army Operations Center, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; and commander, 9th Brigade (basic combat training), 100th Division (institutional training), Beaver Dam. Brig. Gen Berry holds a Bachelor of Science in agronomy from the University of Georgia and a master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN. WAYNE L. BLACK
Assistant Adjutant General of the Indiana National Guard
Brig. Gen. Wayne Black has served as the assistant adjutant general of the Indiana National Guard since June 2013. He is principal advisor to the adjutant general and responsible for assisting in formulating, developing and coordinating programs, policies and plans affecting the Indiana Guard and its more than 12,000 citizen soldiers. Brig. Gen. Black previously was the secretary to the general staff of 38th Infantry Division; S2 (intelligence officer), 38th Division Artillery; battalion executive officer, 3-139 Field Artillery; G3 (assistant chief of staff, operations and plans), Task Force Eagle (U.S. Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina -SFOR-15); Combined Joint Visitors Bureaus, Task Force Eagle (U.S. Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina -SFOR-15); S3 (operations officer), 38th Division Artillery; battalion commander, 3-139 Field Artillery; commander, Regional Police Advisory Command-N (Afghanistan); G1, (assistant chief of staff, personnel) Joint Forces Headquarters -Indiana; and construction facility management officer, Joint Forces Headquarters-Indiana. Brig. Gen. Black received an ROTC commission from The Citadel in field artillery. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration from the Citadel, a www.blackengineer.com
master’s in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University, and another in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. BRIG. GEN. PHILLIP M. CHURN SR.
Deputy Commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 200th Military Police Command
Brig. Gen. Phillip Churn is deputy commander (TPU) of the 200th Military Police Command based at Fort Meade, Maryland. His previous assignment was as commander/ brigade task force commander, 333rd Military Police Brigade of Farmingdale, New York, which was recently deployed to Bagram, Afghanistan, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Brig. Gen Churn has held a variety of command and staff positions to include director, Afghan Detention and Corrections Advisory Team, Kabul, Afghanistan; commander, 3rd Brigade (professional development), 104th Division (leader training), Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and commander, 336th Military Police Battalion (combat support), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also served as the deputy J3 JTF Guantanamo and S3, 300th Military Police Brigade, Inkster, Michigan. Brig. Gen Churn holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from Mount Saint Mary’s College and a master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN. NORVELL V. COOTS
Deputy Commanding General (Support) and Assistant Surgeon General for Force Projection Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army
Brig. Gen. Norvell Coots has served as deputy commanding general (Support) of the Army Medical Command and assistant surgeon general for Force Projection in the Office of the
Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. since June 2013. His previous assignment was surgeon general, United States Forces-Afghanistan/medical advisor, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Coots has held a variety of command and staff positions to include commander, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C, and commander, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, West Point, New York. Brig, Gen. Coots received his commission through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) collegebased program for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces at Howard University. He earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN. BRUCE T. CRAWFORD Director, J-6 Cyber/C4, United States European Command
Brig. Gen. Bruce Crawford has served as director for J6 C4/Cyber in the United States European Command based at Stuttgart, Germany since June 2013. His previous assignment was commanding general, 5th Signal Command/deputy chief of staff, G-6, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. Brig. Gen. Crawford has held a variety of command and staff positions to include director, Coordination Group, Office of the Chief of Staff, Army, Washington, D.C; chief, LandWarNet Integration Division, Chief Information Office, G-6, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; and commander, 516th Signal Brigade, Fort Shafter, Hawaii. Brig. Gen. Crawford received his commission through ROTC and holds a Bachelor of science in Electrical Engineering from South Carolina State University, a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University and another in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 25
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BRIG. GEN. GRACUS KAMAL DUNN Commanding General, 85th Support Command (Chicago, IL) and Deputy Commanding General-Support, First Army Division West (Ft Hood, TX)
On dual assignment, Brig. Gen. Gracus Dunn provides Title 10 support and validation of pre- and post-mobilization training requirements in support of worldwide operations for Guard and Reserve forces. His previous assignment was as deputy commanding General, 377th Theater Sustainment Command, Naval Air Station, New Orleans, La. A veteran of several contingency and peacekeeping operations, BG Dunn has served in numerous command and staff assignments in Germany, commanded troops in Korea and in the United States and served twice at the Pentagon as senior advisor-J3, the Joint Staff. Prior, he was division chief, Strategic Plans and Force Integration, Army Staff-G4, Washington, D.C. Commissioned through ROTC at Arkansas Tech University, with a Bachelor of Arts in music, he also holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Penn. BRIG. GEN. JASON T. EVANS Deputy Commander for Operations Installation Management Command
Brig. Gen. Jason Evans has been deputy commanding general for operations of Installation Management Command since March 2013. He previously was adjutant general of the U.S. Army/ executive director, Military Postal Service Agency. Brig. Gen. Evans has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include executive officer to the assistant secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs); CJ1, Multinational ForceIraq, (director personnel); commander, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Monroe, Va., and chief, Department of Army Secretariat for Officer Centralized Selection Boards, U.S. Total Army Personnel Command. Brig. Gen. Evans was commissioned through www.blackengineer.com
ROTC. She earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Bellevue University, a master’s in business administration from Webster University, and another in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of The Armed Forces. BRIG. GEN. URAL D. GLANVILLE
Commander for the Rule of Law Field Force Kabul, Afghanistan
Brig. Gen. Ural Glanville has served as commander for the Rule of Law Field Force in Kabul, Afghanistan, since July 2012. His previous assignment was commander, 213th Legal Support Organization, Decatur, Ga. Prior, Brig. Gen Glanville held a variety of command and staff positions to include staff judge advocate, 335th Signal Command Theater, East Point, Ga.; command judge advocate, 359th Signal Brigade, Augusta, Ga.; chief, Operational and Civil Law, 2125th Garrison Support Unit, XVIII Airborne Corps, Decatur, Ga., and senior legal opinions officer, 213th Legal Support Organization, Decatur, Ga. Additionally he served as the defense counsel, 213th Legal Support Organization, Decatur, Ga. Brig. Gen. Glanville received his commission through ROTC and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Georgia. He also has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia and a master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College BRIG. GEN. FREDERICK A. HENRY
Chief of Staff, Defense Information Systems Agency
Brig. Gen. Frederick Henry has been the chief of staff of the Defense Information Systems Agency at Fort Meade, Md., since July 2012. Previously he served as deputy commanding general of the United States Army Network Enterprise Technology Command. Other com-
mand and staff positions include chief, Information Assurance Division, Office of The Inspector General, Washington, D.C.; chief, Shared Software Branch, Personnel Information Systems Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command; mission commander, later operations officer, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Va., and S-3 (Operations), 411th Base Support Battalion, 26th Area Support Group, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. He received his commission through ROTC and holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology from Fitchburg State University, a master’s in business administration from Bowie State University, and another master’s in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. In 2008, Brig. Gen Henry received the Department of the Army award for Information Assurance Professional of the Year in the military category. He has also been inducted into Worchester Polytechnic Institute’s ROTC Bay State Battalion Hall of Fame. BRIG. GEN. HENRY L. HUNTLEY
Director for Army Resiliency Directorate, Army G-1
Brig. Gen. Henry Huntley has served as director for the Human Resources Policy Directorate, Army G-1 in Washington, D.C. since July 2013. Previously he was deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Recruiting Command. Brig. Gen. Huntley has held various command and staff positions, to include director, public and congressional affairs, U.S. Army Materiel Command; chief, Operational Planning Division, Office of the Chief of Public Affairs and chief, Media Relations Division, later public affairs officer to the vice chief of staff, Army, to include duty as deputy chief, public affairs, Combined Land Forces Component Command, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq. Brig. Gen. Huntley was commissioned through ROTC and holds a bachelor’s degree in art-classical from Kentucky State University, a master’s in administration from Central Michigan University, and a master’s in strategic studies from United States Army War College. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 27
BRIG. GEN. KAFFIA JONES
Deputy Commander (Troop Program Unit), 335th Signal Brigade Command (Theater)
Brig. Gen. Kaffia Jones has served as the deputy commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 335th Signal Brigade Command (Theater) in East Point, Ga., since September 2012. Her previous assignment was commander, 505th Signal Brigade, Las Vegas, Nev. Brig. Gen Jones has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include commander, 335th Signal Command (Theater) (Provisional), United States Army Central Command, G6, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait; commander, 505th Signal Brigade; chief of staff, 335th Signal Command (Theater); and director, Command, Control, Communications, Computers (C4), Commercialization (Afghanistan) Division, 335th Signal Command (Theater) (Provisional), Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. She has also served as the chief of staff, 70th Regional Readiness Command, Seattle, Washington. Brig. Gen. Jones was commissioned through Officer Candidate School and holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Excelsior College and a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center. BRIG. GEN ELTON LEWIS Assistant Adjutant General Virgin Islands National Guard
Brig. Gen Elton Lewis has served as the assistant adjutant general for the Virgin Islands National Guard, Virgin Islands Joint Force Headquarters in Christiansted, Virgin Islands, since 2005. His previous assignment was deputy chief of staff for Operations, Virgin Islands Joint Force Headquarters. Brig. Gen. Lewis has held a variety of command and staff positions to include commander, 104th Troop, Virgin Islands National Guard; operations officer; intelligence /security officer; and executive officer, Headquarters, Territorial Area Command. All positions were located at Christiansted in the Virgin 28 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Islands. Brig. Gen Lewis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Roger Williams University and a Graduate Certificate in Leadership from Central Michigan University. He also attended the Homeland Security Executive Leaders Program at the Naval Post Graduate School and the General and Flag Officer Homeland Security Executive Seminar at the Harvard Kennedy School. BRIG. GEN. RONALD F. LEWIS
Deputy Commanding General (Support) for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)
Brig. Gen. Ronald Lewis has served as the deputy commanding general (Support) for the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky., and Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, since October 2012. He was the recipient of the 2013 Black Engineer of the Year Award in the Army category. Brig. Gen. Lewis’ previous assignment was senior military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, Washington, D.C. He has held various command and staff positions, to include military assistant to the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; military assistant to the chairman, and commander, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky., and Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Lewis received his commission at the United States Military Academy and holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering mechanics from that academy as well as a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. BRIG. GEN. GREGORY D. MASON
Assistant Adjutant General – Army, Missouri National Guard
Brig. Gen. Gregory Mason has served as assistant adjutant general– Army for Missouri National Guard since February 2011. His previous assignment was
at the Joint Chief of Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Missouri National Guard. Brig. Gen. Mason has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include two tours as counterdrug coordinator, J3, Joint Force Headquarters, Missouri Army National Guard; S2, 35th Engineer Brigade; recruiting and retention manager, 27th Recruiting and Retention Detachment, Jefferson City, Mo.; and battalion commander, 635th Military Intelligence Battalion, Kansas City, Mo. He received his commission as a second lieutenant through Kansas Army National Guard Officer Candidate School and holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Missouri Western State University. He also earned a master’s degree in public management from Park University and another in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN (PROMOTABLE) TIMOTHY M. MCKEITHEN
Director, J-4, North American Aerospace Defense Command and the United States Northern Command
Brig. Gen. (Promotable) Timothy McKeithen currently serves as director, J-4, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. His previous assignment was as director, G34 (Force Protection), The Pentagon. Brig. Gen McKeithen has held various command and staff positions, to include chief of staff, Army National Guard Readiness Center, Arlington, Va.; G-4, Army National Guard Readiness Center; and deputy to the assistants to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard and Reserve Matters, Joint Staff, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He received his commission from the University of Alabama, where he was named a distinguished military graduate and earned a Bachelor of Science in business. He also holds a master’s in management from Florida Institute of Technology and another in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. www.blackengineer.com
BRIG. GEN. RENWICK L. PAYNE
The Adjutant General, District of Columbia Army National Guard
Brig. Gen. Renwick Payne has served as adjutant general of the District of Columbia Army National Guard since July 2012. His previous assignment was director, Joint Staff, New York Joint Force Headquarters. BG Payne has held a variety of command and staff positions to include military assistant to the deputy assistant to the Secretary of the Army, Assistant Adjutant General- Army, New York National Guard; Global War on Terrorism operational assistant to the director, Army National Guard, Arlington, Va.; chief of staff, Army National Guard Readiness Center; G-3/Operations Officer, Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Va., and executive officer to the director, Army National Guard Bureau. He also served as a senior service fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Washington, D.C. BRIG. GEN. (PROMOTABLE) BARRYE L. PRICE
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, U.S. Army Forces Command
Brig. Gen. (Promotable) Barrye Price has served as the deputy chief of staff, G-1 for the U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. since June 2013. His previous assignment was director, Human Resource Policy Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Arlington, Va. Brig. Gen. Price held various command and staff positions, to include deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Cadet Command; director, J-1, United States Forces-Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq; commander, United States Military Entrance Processing Command, Eastern Sector, Great Lakes, Ill., and assistant deputy chief of staff, G-1, U.S. Army Materiel Command. He received his commission through ROTC and obtained a bachelor’s in business adminwww.blackengineer.com
istration from the University of Houston, a master’s in history from Texas A&M University, a master’s in national security and strategic studies from the National War College, and a Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University. BRIG. GEN. A. C. ROPER JR.
Commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 415th Chemical Brigade
Brig. Gen. A. C. Roper has served as commander (Troop Program Unit) of the 415th Chemical Brigade in Greenville, S.C. since August 2011. His previous assignment was as chief of staff, 87th Army Reserve Support Command East, Birmingham, Ala. Brig. Gen. Roper has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include assistant chief of staff, G3, Regional Support East; Division Inspector General, headquarters, 87th Division (Training Support), Birmingham; assistant chief of staff, headquarters, 81st Regional Readiness Command, Birmingham and battalion commander, 314th Press Camp Headquarters, Kuwait/ Afghanistan. He was awarded the Gen. Douglas McArthur Leadership Award and is the chief of the Birmingham Police Department. Brig. Gen. Roper received his commission through ROTC and holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Troy University, a master’s in criminal justice from the University of Alabama, and a master’s in strategic studies from the Army War College. BRIG. GEN. PATRICK D. SARGENT
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Army, Diversity and Leadership Requirement
Brig. Gen. Patrick Sargent is deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7 for the U.S. Army Medical Command. His previous assignments include commander, Darnall Army
Medical Center, Fort Hood; chief of staff, Warrior Transition Command and commander, 62nd Medical Brigade including a deployment as the Medical Task Force commander in Iraq. As an aeromedical evacuation pilot and leader, BG Sargent has commanded at both the battalion and company level. He served as an aeromedical evacuation pilot with the 236th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. He has served in the Office of the Chief Legislative Liaison and as an Army Congressional Fellow. BG Sargent received his commission from the Florida State University ROTC program. He is the recipient of graduate degrees from Webster University and the National Defense University while attending the National War College. He also holds a certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Cornell University. BRIG. GEN. JAMES E. SIMPSON Commander, Joint Theater Support Contracting Command United States Central Command
Brig. Gen. James Simpson has served as commander of the Joint Theater Support Contracting Command, United States Central Command, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan since June 2013. Previously, he was deputy chief of contracting management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Simpson has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include senior contracting official-Iraq, Joint Theater Support Contracting Command, United States Central Command, Operation New Dawn, Iraq; chief of staff, U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., and commander, Contracting Center of Excellence, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Alexandria, Va. He was commissioned through ROTC and awarded a bachelor’s in political science from Lander University, a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University, another in business administration from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a master’s in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 29
BRIG. GEN. LESTER SIMPSON Commander, 176th Engineer Brigade Texas Army National Guard
Brig. Gen. Lester Simpson has served as commander of the 176th Engineer Brigade for the Texas Army National Guard since April 2009. His previous assignment was as deputy commander, 176th Engineer Brigade, Dallas. Brig. Gen. Simpson has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include deputy commander, 61st Engineer Brigade; commander, 142nd Rear Operations Center, Dallas; commandant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 36th Infantry Division, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Austin, Texas, and G5, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 49th Armored Division, Dallas. He also served as executive officer, 3/49th Armored Division, Dallas and commander, 3/144 Infantry Battalion, Fort Lewis, Wash. Brig. Gen Simpson received his commission through the Texas Army National Guard and ROTC at the University of Texas and earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree. He also holds a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. BRIG. GEN LINDA L. SINGH
Assistant Adjutant General, Maryland National Guard
Brig. Gen Linda Singh has served as assistant adjutant general of the Maryland National Guard since August 2013. Her previous position was director of the Joint Staff, Maryland National Guard. Brig. Gen Singh held a variety of command and staff positions, to include chief, Current Operations, Afghanistan National Security Forces, 29th Infantry Division Headquarters, Forward 3, Towson, Maryland; regiment commander, Headquarters, 70th Regiment, Reisterstown, Md.; assistant chief of staff, G-4, Detachment 1, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 29th Infantry Division, Towson; and battalion commander, Headquarters and Support 30 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Company, 229th Main Support Battalion, Reisterstown. She received her commission in 1991 through the Maryland Military Academy’s Officer Candidate School and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia Union College, a master’s of business administration, military management from Touro International University, and a master’s of strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN. CLARENCE D. TURNER Commander of the South Pacific Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Brig. Gen. Clarence Turner has served as commander of the Army Engineer Division in the South Pacific at San Francisco, Calif., since June 2013. Previously he was chief of staff, Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Turner has held command and staff positions, to include chief of staff, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force – 435, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan; chief, Base Realignment and Closure Division, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management; and commander, Far East Engineer District, United States Corps of Engineers, Republic of Korea. He also served as the senior emergency action officer for operations, National Military Command Center, Joint Staff. Brig. Gen. (Select) Turner was commissioned through ROTC and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Central Missouri State University, a master’s in industrial engineering from Wichita State University, and another in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. BRIG. GEN. (PROMOTABLE) DARRYL A. WILLIAMS
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3 United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany
Brig. Gen. (Promotable) Darryl Williams has served as deputy chief of staff, G-3 for United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany since July 2013. His previous assignment was deputy commanding general (Sup-
port), 2nd Infantry Division, Eighth United States Army, Republic of Korea and commander of 1st Armored Division Artillery. Brig. Gen. Williams has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include assistant surgeon general for Warrior Care and Transition/ Commanding General, Warrior Transition Command, Falls Church, Va., and deputy director of comprehensive soldier fitness, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, Washington, D.C. Brig. Gen. Williams was commissioned by the United States Military Academy and received a Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds a master’s degree in leadership development from the U.S. Military Academy, another in military science from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and in national security and strategic Studies from the Naval War College. BRIG. GEN. CEDRIC T. WINS
Director, Requirements Integration Directorate, Army Capabilities Integration Center U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command
Brig. Gen. Cedric Wins has served as director of the Requirements Integration Directorate, Army Capabilities Integration Center at the Army Training and Doctrine Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia since May 2013. His previous assignment was deputy commander, Police, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Training Mission- Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Wins has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include program executive officer, Joint Program Executive Office-Afghanistan Public Protection Force, Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan. He also served as deputy director, Program Analysis and Evaluation, G-8, United States Army, Washington, D.C. He received his commission www.blackengineer.com
through ROTC and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Virginia Military Institute. Brig. Gen. Wins also holds a master’s in management from Florida Institute of Technology and a master’s in national security and strategic Studies from the National War College. COL. (PROMOTABLE) RICHARD B. DIX
Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4
Col. (Promotable) Richard Dix has served as an executive officer to the deputy chief of staff, G-4 at the Pentagon since June 2012. His previous assign-
ment was as chief of staff of the Army Sustainment Command based on Rock Island, Ill., and Operation Enduring Freedom, Kuwait. Col. Dix has held a variety of command and staff positions, to include commander, 401st Army Field Support Brigade, Operation Enduring Freedom,
Afghanistan; aide-de-camp to the commanding general, Army Materiel Command; commander, Army Field Support Battalion-Afghanistan, and executive officer, later, commander, 29th Support Group, 21st Theater Support Command, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. Col. Dix received his commission at South Carolina State University through ROTC and a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He also holds a master’s in materiel acquisition management from Webster University and another in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Office. He served as the comptroller and then director of Mission Support (A7) at a major command; and held positions within Air Staff and Secretary of the Air Force. Prior to his current assignment, the general was director, Force Structure, Resources and Assessment, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. Gen. Spencer received his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering technology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and he was commissioned through Officer Training School in 1980 as a distinguished graduate. Two years later, he mad first lieutenant. He was made captain in 1984 and a major four years later. Gen. Spencer was promoted lieutenant colonel in 1992, colonel in 1998, and brigadier general in 2004. Three years later he rose to major general in 2007, lieutenant general in 2010 and a four-star general in July 2012. Gen. Spencer was born in Washington, D.C.
of communications positions, including an assignment on the Joint Staff as support manager for command, control, communications and computer systems. He later served as director of C4 Systems for Joint Task Force–Southwest Asia. The general has served as the director of communications and information, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces; director of communications operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force; and director, infrastructure delivery, Office of War fighting Integration and Chief Information Officer, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. Gen. Hawkins has also served as deputy chief of staff, communications and information systems, Multi-National Force–Iraq. He was the vice director, Defense Information Systems Agency. Prior to his current assignment he was the deputy director Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems (C4), Joint Staff, the Pentagon.
U.S. AIR FORCE
GEN. LARRY O. SPENCER
Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
Gen. Larry Spencer has served as the vice chief of staff of the Air Force since July 2012. He assists the chief of staff with organizing, training, and equipping 690,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. As vice chief, he presides over the Air Staff and serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Advisory Working Group. Gen. Spencer has commanded a squadron, group and wing, and he was vice commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. He was also the first Air Force officer to serve as assistant chief of staff in the White House Military www.blackengineer.com
LT. GEN. RONNIE D. HAWKINS JR. Director, Defense Information Systems Agency
Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins leads military and civilian personnel who develop and operate a global enterprise in support of the president, of the United States secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commanders, U.S. Department of Defense components, and other mission partners. Gen. Hawkins commissioned as distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at Angelo State University in 1977. He has held a variety
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LT. GEN. DARREN W. MCDEW Commander, 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base
Lt. Gen. Darren McDew commands Air Mobility Command’s sole war fighting numbered air force. 18th Air Force is responsible for providing rapid, mobility and sustainment for America’s armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and contingency response. With more than 39,000 active-duty Airmen, Reservists and civilians and 1,300 aircraft, the 18th Air Force manages the air mobility enterprise through the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), 11 wings and two stand-alone groups. The general also commands Task Force 294, which oversees tanker operations in support of U.S. Strategic Command. Gen. McDew was commissioned in 1982 following graduation from Virginia Military Institute. He began his career at Loring Air Force Base, Maine. His staff assignments include serving as a member of the Air Force Chief of Staff Operations Group, Air Force aide to the president, and chief of the Air Force Senate Liaison Division, and the director of public affairs, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. The general has served as vice commander of 18th Air Force and commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels as well as an Air Force direct reporting unit. He deployed in support of operations in central and southwest Asia as air expeditionary group commander and later as director of mobility forces. Prior, he was the commander, Air Force District of Washington. The general is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours in a variety of aircraft.
MAJ. GEN. CHARLES Q. BROWN JR.
Deputy Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command Deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
Maj. Gen. Charles Brown is deputy commander, Air Forces Central Command, and deputy, Combined Force Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia. The general is responsible for the command and control of a 20-nation area covering central and southwest Asia, to include air operations in support of the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan. Gen. Brown was commissioned in 1984 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at Texas Tech University. He has at squadron and wing level, including an assignment to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School as an F-16 instructor. His notable staff tours include aide-de-camp to the chief of staff of the Air Force; air operations officer, U.S. Central Command; and director, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff Executive Action Group. He also served as a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Gen. Brown has commanded a fighter squadron, the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, and two fighter wings. Prior to his current assignment, he served as the deputy director, Operations, U.S. Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. The general is a command pilot with more than 2,850 flying hours, including 85 combat hours.
THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE WAS CREATED WHEN PRESIDENT HARRY S TRUMAN SIGNED THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947.
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MAJ. GEN. RICHARD M. CLARK
Senior U.S. Defense Official, Chief, Office of Military Cooperation Defense Attaché, Cairo, U.S. Central Command, Cairo, Egypt
Maj. Gen. Richard Clark is principal military official at the American Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and Department of Defense representative to the U.S. embassy country team and host nation. As chief, Office of Military Cooperation, Egypt, he oversees a $1.3 billion budget and two divisions responsible for security assistance mission. The office provides advice and assistance to Egypt on a range of military procurement and training issues, serves as a liaison between the Egyptian Ministry of Defense and U.S. Central Command, and provides administrative and logistical support to more than 2,100 military and civilian personnel and their families stationed in Egypt. Gen. Clark graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986. His commands include the 34th Bomb Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, and 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. He has also served as director, Joint Interagency Task ForceIraq, Multi-National Force-Iraq, Baghdad, and the vice commander, 8th Air Force (Air Forces Strategic), Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Prior to his current assignment, he served as commandant of cadets, U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a command pilot with 4,200 flight hours, primarily in the B-1 bomber. MAJ. GEN. GARRY C. DEAN
Deputy Chief of Staff Operations Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples, Italy
Maj. Gen. Garry Dean is deputy chief of staff operations for Allied Joint Forces Command. JFC Naples is an operational NATO headquarters responsible to plan and conduct joint operations in the www.blackengineer.com
Balkans, Mediterranean and Southwest Asia regions. The general is responsible for execution and assessment of military operations in order to preserve peace, security, and territorial integrity of Alliance member states and the freedom of the seas and economic lifelines as assigned throughout Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s area of responsibility and beyond. Gen. Dean is a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours. His experience in the F-15 includes tours of duty in the Pacific Air Forces, Air Combat Command, and Oregon Air National Guard. He was commissioned in 1978 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and served as a T-38 instructor and F-15 pilot. He also served as the director of operations for the Oregon Air National Guard and as deputy Inspector General of the Air Force. He has commanded a fighter squadron, aircraft maintenance squadron, fighter wing, and a numbered air force. His military education includes Air Command and Staff College, Air War College, Capstone General and Flag Officer Course, Combined Force Air Component Commander Course, and the Senior Executive Seminar. MAJ. GEN. SAMUEL A. GREAVES Deputy Director, Missile Defense Agency
Maj. Gen. Samuel Greaves is assigned as the deputy director, Missile Defense Agency. He was commissioned in 1982 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program after he graduated from Cornell University. Since then, he has held assignments in operational, acquisition and staff units, including headquarters Air Combat Command, the National Reconnaissance Office, and on the Air staff within the Directorate of Operational Requirements and the Air Force Colonel Matters Office. He commanded the 45th Launch Group, Patrick AFB, Fla., the Launch and Range Systems Wing and Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. The general also served as vice commander, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base. Prior to his current assignwww.blackengineer.com
ment, he was director, Strategic Plans, Programs and Analyses, Headquarters Air Force Space Command. He has operational launch crew experience in the space shuttle, Titan, Atlas and Delta space-launch systems. BRIG. GEN. ONDRA L. BERRY Assistant Adjutant General
Ondra Berry recently served as a special advisor to Gen. Craig McKinley and Gen. Frank Grass from November 2011 to October 2013. He provided strategic guidance regarding initiatives and directives on issues of diversity, leadership, and equal opportunity that affect and influence National Guard personnel. BG Berry assisted with the dissemination of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau’s message on diversity to all levels of the National Guard, while emphasizing effective diversity management within the rapidly evolving organization. BG Berry attended the Academy of Military Science in 1990, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He has served the National Guard since September 1986, when he enlisted as an administrative specialist with the Nevada Air National Guar. In addition to his military career, BG Berry spent 25 years with the City of Reno Police Department in Nevada. He retired as the assistant chief of police, and he held a spectrum of positions, including his work with task force operations in conjunction with the FBI. BRIG. GEN. MARK BROWN
Comptroller, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command
Brig. Gen. Mark Brown is principal financial adviser to the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) commander and responsible for building the command’s budgets, administering the Air Force Working Capital Fund, executing AFMC’s annual budget program of $60 billion, and providing military, civilian and contractor pay
service to 75,000. He also oversees professional financial managers providing vital services supporting the command’s units worldwide, including 10 major bases. Gen. Brown was commissioned through Reserve Officer Training Corps at Tuskegee University and entered active duty in 1986. He has served in comptroller, command, and staff positions at the Department of Defense, including the legislative branch of government. He has commanded two squadrons and a mission support group, deployed in support of Operation Provide Comfort, and served as assistant executive officer for the 17th Air Force chief of staff. Prior to his current assignment, he was director, financial management and comptroller, for Air Mobility Command. His experience includes serving in the Philippines, Spain, England, Turkey and Iraq. BRIG. GEN. ANTHONY J. COTTON Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office
Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton is deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). His responsibilities include assisting the director and principal deputy director in managing the strategic and tactical operations of the NRO. As the commander of the Air Force Element, Brig. Gen. Cotton manages all Air Force personnel and resources assigned to the NRO and serves as the senior adviser to the director on all military matters. General Cotton entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1986 where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He started his career as a missile officer and has held a variety of operational space and headquarters staff assignments. He has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels, serving as a deputy operations group commander, and deputy director of the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Executive Action Group. He has also served as senior military assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and the vice commander and commander of the 341st Missile Wing. Prior to his current assignment, General Cotton served as the commander, 45th Space Wing and director, Eastern Range, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 33
BRIG. GEN. CALVIN H. ELAM
Assistant Adjutant General, McEntire Joint National Guard Base
Brig. Gen. Calvin Elam is assistant adjutant general for Air, McEntire Joint National Guard Base. He has served as commander of the 169th Mission Support Group; deputy commander, 169th Mission Support; commander, 169th Maintenance Squadron and chief of supply, 169th Logistics Readiness Squadron. Gen. Elam was born in South Carolina and commissioned in December of 1988, when he graduated from the Air National Guard’s Academy of Military Science. Prior to his commissioning, he was an enlisted Airman, spending six years on active duty culminating as a contracting specialist. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in business marketing from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. In his civilian career, Elam is chief executive officer for EFG/ProVest Wealth Management Group. BRIG. GEN. CEDRIC D. GEORGE
Commander, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, Robins Air Force Base
Brig. Gen. Cedric George commands the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, which performs depot maintenance on F-15, C-5, C-130, C-17 and special operations forces aircraft. Gen. George leads 8,400 employees in the restoration of equipment; avionic and airborne electronics weapons system repair; software development, test program sets, and automatic test equipment. He is also responsible for supporting peacetime maintenance, meeting wartime emergency demands, and accomplishing expeditionary aircraft maintenance and repair. He entered the Air Force in 1987 as a graduate of Norwich University ROTC program, and is a qualified maintenance commander and a Level 3 senior acquisition professional. His commands include the 49th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron; 35th Maintenance Group at Misawa AB, 34 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Japan; and 11th Wing at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C. He has also served as the director of Pacific Air Forces Air Force Smart Operations 21, Hickam AB, Hawaii, and special assistant to the vice chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. BRIG. GEN. STAYCE D. HARRIS
Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, 18th Air Force
Brig. Gen. Stayce Harris is the mobilization assistant to the commander, 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. With more than 39,000 active-duty Airmen, Reservists and civilians and approximately 1,300 aircraft, the 18th Air Force manages the air mobility enterprise through the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), 11 wings and two stand-alone groups. Gen. Harris received a commission in the Air Force through the University of Southern California’s Air Force ROTC program. She served on active duty until joining the Air Force Reserve in 1991. Her staff assignments include serving as a mobility force planner for the deputy chief of staff for plans and operations and as individual mobilization augmentee to the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force. She has commanded an airlift squadron, an expeditionary operations group and an air refueling wing. In her civilian career, she is a commercial airline pilot flying routes to Asia and the Middle East. BRIG GEN LEONARD ISABELLE
Chief of Staff, Joint Forces Headquarters, Michigan Air National Guard
Brig. Gen. Leonard Isabelle is chief of staff, Joint Forces Headquarters, Michigan Air National Guard and also serves as commander, Michigan Air
National Guard. As commander, he directs the activities of the Michigan Air National Guard in support of the adjutant general of Michigan and is responsible for the Air National Guard units located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, and the Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena. Gen. Isabelle received his commission as a second lieutenant in 1987 as a graduate of the Academy of Military Science. He has served in operations and maintenance assignments as well as command positions at the squadron and group level. Gen. Isabelle is a command pilot with more than 2,950 hours in the A-10 and F-16 aircraft. Prior to assuming his current position, General Isabelle was the 127th Operations Group Commander at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich. BRIG. GEN. ALLEN J. JAMERSON
Director of Security Forces, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Brig. Gen. Allen Jamerson is the focal point for ensuring physical security of Air Force nuclear assets, planning, and programming for more than 37,000 Active-Duty and Reserve component security forces at locations worldwide. He provides oversight for protecting Air Force resources from terrorism, sabotage and acts of war, and ensures security forces are trained, equipped and ready to support contingency and exercise plans. Gen. Jamerson entered the U.S. Air Force in 1986 after graduating from University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He was commissioned as an AFROTC distinguished graduate. After security police assignments, he served as chief, Security Police for Clear Air Station, Alaska. He graduated from the U.S. Army War College in 2003, followed by an assignment as deputy director of security for the National Reconnaissance Office. He also commanded the 90th Security Forces Group, was vice commander of 42nd Air Base Wing and commanded the 72nd Air Base Wing. www.blackengineer.com
BRIG. GEN. JAMES JOHNSON
Director for Logistics, U.S. Africa Command
Brig. Gen. James Johnson is principal logistics adviser to the commander of the U.S. Africa Command, and responsible for executing all Department of Defense logistics activities in the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility, with focus on deployment, distribution, supply, medical, and engineering matters. Gen. Johnson entered the Air Force through the University of Puget Sound ROTC program in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He served in operational positions supporting U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Mobility Command and completed numerous leadership assignments at the squadron, wing, major command, Headquarters Air Force, as well as Joint Command levels at U.S. Transportation Command, Central Command and Special Operations Command. Prior to his current position, Gen. Johnson served as director for Air Force Colonel Management, Headquarters Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. BRIG GEN BRIAN NEWBY
Chief of Staff and Vice Commander of the Texas Air National Guard
Citizen-Soldier Brian Newby, a Fort Worth attorney and former top aide to Gov. Rick Perry, has been promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force. Brig. Gen. Newby has also been appointed as the chief of staff and vice commander of the Texas Air National Guard— making him second in command of the 3,000-personnel unit. Before his new assignment, he was a top Operations and International Law Division official in Air Force headquarters, Washington, D.C. A 1983 graduate of Texas Tech University’s Air Force ROTC program, Newby has more than 25 years of service with active duty Air Force, the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard. He served as Perry’s chief of staff and general counsel a few years ago, www.blackengineer.com
and is a former member of the Board of Regents at Texas Tech University. Newby graduated from University of Texas School of Law and is currently a partner with state Sen. Wendy Davis in the Fort Worth firm of Newby Davis PLLC. BRIG. GEN. KENNY RICKET
Director, Joint Staff, District of Columbia
Brig. Gen. Kenny Ricket was selected as the director, Joint Staff–Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard in 2009. He is responsible for overseeing and managing development, execution and evaluation of joint staff programs and policies pertaining to the command, control and operation of Joint functions within the District of Columbia Army and Air National Guard. Gen. Ricket began his military career in 1982 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He left active duty in 1991 and joined the District of Columbia Air National Guard, where he has served in command and staff assignments. They include base civil engineer; commander, 113th Civil Engineer Squadron; commander, 113th Mission Support Flight and 113th Support Group. Gen. Ricket was assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard, in 2004, where he has served as executive support staff officer, human resource officer/J-1 and chief of staff. BRIG. GEN. (SELECT) BRIAN S. ROBINSON
Commander, 19th Airlift Wing, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark
Col. Brian Robinson works with the 314th Airlift Wing, 189th Airlift Wing, Detachment 1 and Air Force Weapons School in all aspects of C-130 training. As commander, he is responsible for training and equipping the personnel who operate more than ninety
C-130 aircraft. The wing ensures support for combat and contingency while providing for the health and welfare of more than 12,000 personnel and families at Little Rock AFB. Col. Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Philadelphia University, graduating in 1987, later receiving his commission from Air Force Officer Training School. He has served as a T-38B first assignment instructor pilot, commanded an airlift squadron, and held staff assignments at Air Mobility Command, United States Central Command and the Joint Staff. Previously, he served as vice commander, 437th Airlift Wing. Col. Robinson is a command pilot and Air Force weapons officer with more than 4,300 hours in airlift and trainer aircraft. BRIG GEN ROBERT L. SHANNON, JR. Vice Commander and Chief of Staff, Georgia National Guard
Brig. Gen. Robert Shannon is vice commander and chief of staff for the 2,900-member Georgia Air National Guard. He assists in the command of Air Guard members who serve in two flying wings, six units, and a Combat Readiness Training Center. Previously, he was director of the Joint Staff for Joint Forces Headquarters-Georgia. He has been vice commander of the Georgia Air National Guard since February 2009. Commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Program in 1981, Shannon served on active duty for seven years before transferring to the Air National Guard. He has been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turks and Caicos Islands, Europe, Canada, Japan, The Philippines, and the Dominican Republic. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Valdosta State University, a master’s in consumer studies from Oklahoma State University, and a Juris Doctor at the University of Georgia. He completed Squadron Officers School, Air Command and Staff College and the Joint Task Force Commanders Course. He has amassed more than 2,300 flying hours as a master battle planner in the E-3 AWACS, Airborne Warning and Control System. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 35
BRIG. GEN. CURTIS L. WILLIAMS Vice Commander of 22nd Air Force, Dobbins Air Reserve Base
Brig. Gen. Curtis Williams assists the commander in the management and oversight of more than 15,000 Air Force Reservists. Reserve aircrews within the 22nd Air Force fly a variety of missions including aerial spraying, fire suppression, hurricane hunters and troop transport utilizing the C-130 Hercules. The command supports air mobility operations from locations in 30 states across America. The general enlisted in the Air Force in 1976 under the delayed enlistment program at the age of 17. As an enlisted member, he held numerous positions in the administrative and Judge Advocate General career fields. He left active duty in 1984, and
entered the ROTC program at Angelo State University. Gen. Williams received his commission in 1986 along with his master’s degree in public administration. He reentered active duty, attended logistics plans officer training and held several squadrons and wing level plans officer positions. General Williams transferred to the Air Force Reserve in 1992. He currently serves as an Air Reserve technician, maintaining a dual status as an active reservist for the Department of the Air Force. BRIG GEN WAYNE A. WRIGHT
Director, Joint Staff, Virginia Joint Force Headquarters
Brig. Gen. Wayne Wright is chief of staff of the Virginia Air National Guard. He is responsible for the command
and control policy of the 1100 members of the Guard to include the Joint Force Headquarters, 192nd Fighter Wing, 203rd Red horse Squadron, and 200th Weather Flight, ensuring peace and wartime readiness capabilities. He serves the adjutant general of Virginia as a principal advisor on matters pertaining to the Virginia Air National Guard. Gen. Wright received his commission in 1981 after graduating from the University of South Carolina. He transitioned from active duty to the Georgia Air National Guard in 1992. He has held various leadership and command positions at the squadron, wing, and headquarters level. His assignments involved operations, formal training of United States Air Force and Allied command and control personnel. He also worked in the developmental and operational testing arena. Gen. Wright is a master air battle manager with qualifications in six ground-based command and control systems, including joint and allied systems.
U.S. NAVY
ADM. CECIL D. HANEY
Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
Adm. Cecil Haney currently serves as commander, U.S. Strategic Command. He assumed his current position on November 15, 2013. He previously served as commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet. A native of Washington, D.C., he is a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in ocean engineering. Adm. Haney took the helm of the world’s largest fleet command on Jan. 20, 2012. He led 125,000 sailors, Marines 36 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
and civilians who operate 180 ships and 2,000 aircraft. Adm. Haney was the 33rd naval officer to command the fleet since it was established in February 1941. He completed assignments in USS John C. Calhoun in division officer positions and the USS Frank Cable, where he completed surface warfare qualifications while serving as radiological controls officer. He also served as an engineer in USS Hyman G. Rickover, executive officer in USS Asheville and assistant squadron deputy at Submarine Squadron Eight before taking command of USS Honolulu in 1996. He commanded Submarine Squadron One from June 2002 to July 2004, and Submarine Group Two from October 2006 to March 2008. His shore duty tours include administrative assistant for enlisted affairs at Naval Reactors, and congressional appropriations liaison officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (comptroller); deputy chief of staff, plans, policies and requirements, U.S. Pacific Fleet; and director, Submarine Warfare Division; director, Naval Warfare Integration Group and deputy commander, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Haney holds master’s degrees in engineering acoustics
and system technology from the Naval Post Graduate School, and a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University. VICE ADM. MICHELLE HOWARD Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans & Strategy (N3/N5)
Vice Adm. Michelle Howard previously served as deputy commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. A 1978 graduate of Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo., she graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1982 and from the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1998, with a master’s in military arts and science. Her initial sea tours were aboard USS Hunley and USS Lexington. While serving aboard, she received the Secretary of the Navy/Navy League Capt. Winifred Collins award in May 1987 for outstanding leadership. www.blackengineer.com
She reported to USS Mount Hood as chief engineer in 1990 and served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She assumed duties as first lieutenant on board the USS Flint in July 1992. In January 1996, she became executive officer of USS Tortuga and deployed to the Adriatic in support of Operation Joint Endeavor, a peacekeeping effort in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. She took command of USS Rushmore March 12, 1999, becoming the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Howard was the commander of Amphibious Squadron Seven from May 2004 to September 2005. Deploying with Expeditionary Strike Group 5, operations included tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and maritime security operations in the North Arabian Gulf. She commanded Expeditionary Strike Group Two from April 2009 to July 2010. In 2009, she deployed to Central Command Theater, where she commanded Task Force 151, Multi-national Counter-piracy effort, and Task Force 51, Expeditionary Forces. In 2010, she was the maritime task force commander for Baltic Operations, under 6th Fleet prior to reporting as chief of staff, J5, Joint Staff. VICE ADM. BRUCE GROOMS
Deputy Chief of Staff for Capability Development Allied Command Transformation (ACT)
Vice Adm. Bruce Grooms, a native of Cleveland graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering. Following completion of nuclear power training he served in nearly every capacity aboard a variety of submarines, including a tour as executive officer of USS Pasadena where he twice deployed to the Persian Gulf. His command tours included USS Asheville where the ship earned the Battle Efficiency “E” award, the Golden Anchor, and the Silver Anchor for the highest retention in the submarine force. He subsequently served as commander, www.blackengineer.com
Submarine Squadron Six and later as commander, Submarine Group Two. Ashore, he served as a company officer and later as the commandant of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy. He served as the senior military assistant to the undersecretary of defense for policy, the senior inspector for the Nuclear Propulsion Examining Board, the deputy director, then director, Submarine Warfare Division. He was the vice director, Joint Staff and later served on the chief of naval operations staff as assistant deputy for operations, plans and strategy. Grooms was the Vice Adm. Stockdale Inspirational Leadership Award winner for 1999. He earned a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, graduating with distinction, and attended Stanford University as a National Security Affairs Fellow. REAR ADM. ANNIE B. ANDREWS Commander, Navy Recruiting Command
Rear Adm. Annie Andrews took command of the Navy’s recruiting force on Aug. 29 having completed her first flag assignment as director, Total Force Requirements Division. A native of Midway, Ga., she received a Bachelor of Science degree from Savannah State University and a Master of Science degree in management from Troy State University. Her assignments have been in the areas of manpower, personnel, training and education. Upon commissioning through Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at Savannah State University, Andrews began her career at Naval Station Whiting Field with assignments to Training Squadrons Five and Eight. Other assignments include: Joint Intelligence Center Pacific; director, Counseling and Assistance Center, Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland; officer-in-charge, Navy Personnel Support Activity Detachments Subic Bay and Cubi Point, United States Forces Philippines, Republic of the Philippines; and, chief, Requirements Branch and Joint Manpower Planner, Manpower
and Personnel Directorate Joint Staff, J-1. She also served as executive assistant and naval aide to the assistant secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserves Affairs and served as a fellow on the chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group. Andrews served as commanding officer of three commands including Recruit Training Command where she led the training efforts of over 100,000 Sailors for duty in the fleet, and was instrumental in commissioning the Navy’s only immersive simulator trainer. REAR ADM. CHARLES CARODINE Director, Navy Business Operations Office
Rear Adm. Charles Carodine assumed duties as the director, Navy Business Operations Office in the Office of Chief of Naval Operations in July 2012. Carodine comes to the office of the chief of naval operations from a two-year assignment as deputy commander, Navy Warfare Development Command. In this capacity, he developed an overhaul of the Navy Lessons Learned System and implemented a project management methodology to improve command effectiveness. Carodine is a 1982 graduate of the Naval Academy and earned a Master of Science in information systems from University of Texas at Dallas. He affiliated with the Navy Reserve (NR) in 1989 and mobilized in 1990 with NR Carrier Group 770 to support Carrier Group Seven/Battle Force Zulu. During combat operations, he served as Force Over-the-Horizon Track coordinator during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storming USS Ranger in the Northern Arabian Gulf. His numerous command tours include: NR Sealift Logistics Command, Atlantic; Military Sealift Command Expeditionary Port Units 112 and 113; NR USS Princeton; NR Mine Warfare Command Detachment 109; and NR USS Sentry. Prior to his selection to flag rank, Carodine served an information technology executive for several large healthcare insurance companies and is also a published fiction author. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 37
REAR ADM. JAMES CRAWFORD III Deputy Judge Advocate General
Rear Adm. James Crawford is the deputy judge advocate general of the Navy (DJAG) and commander, Naval Legal Service Command. As DJAG, he serves as the deputy Department of Defense representative for ocean policy affairs. He leads attorneys, enlisted legal men, and civilian employees of 17 commands, providing prosecution and defense services, legal services to individuals, and support to commands around the world. Crawford graduated from Belmont Abbey College and the University of North Carolina School of Law. He served from 2007 to 2011 as legal counsel to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. From 2011 to 2012, he was commander, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Rule of Law Field Support Mission/Rule of Law Field ForceAfghanistan. Before his appointment to flag rank, he was the special counsel to the chief of Naval Operations, the senior staff judge advocate for commander, U.S. Pacific Command, and as the fleet judge advocate for U.S. 7th Fleet. In command, he served as commanding officer, Region Legal Service Office Southeast. REAR ADM. KELVIN DIXON Reserve Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces U.S. Central Command
Rear Adm. Kelvin Dixon graduated from Prairie View A&M University where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He also holds a Master of Science in management. Dixon’s tours included director, Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission-Navy and Marine; deputy commander Navy Region Northwest; commander, Naval Surface Forces Detachment; Naval Beach Group Two, Inshore Boat Unit Two Three. In 1991, Dixon participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as operations officer for the United Nations Mission 38 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
headquartered in Kuwait. He assisted in the establishment of checkpoints and managed the movement of all military and civilian personnel throughout Kuwait and Iraq. He was mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom responsible for protecting shipping in the Persian Gulf; chief of biometrics, with responsibility for all aspects of identification and verification, and director, Iraqi Training, Advising, Operations Mission-Navy and Marine building the Iraqi navy and marines. He was awarded the prestigious Captain Leo V. Bilger Award for excellence in mission effectiveness and 2012 Distinguished and Outstanding Eagle Boy Scout Awards. REAR ADM. VINCENT GRIFFITH Commander, NAVSUP Global Logistics Support
Rear Adm. Vincent Griffith graduated with a bachelor¹s degree in business administration from Berry College in 1981. He received a master¹s degree in Business Administration from the George Washington University. Sea duty assignments included the USS Saratoga (CV 60), USS Stonewall Jackson (SSBN 634) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN74) as supply officer. Ashore, his tours include: Naval Supply Center, Charleston, South Carolina; Naval Supply Systems Command, Washington; Defense Logistics Agency, Alexandria, Va.; Naval Inventory Control Point, Philadelphia; OPNAV N81 Staff, Washington; supply officer, Naval Air Station Lemoore; commander Naval Air Forces U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego as deputy Force supply officer; commanding officer, Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville, Fla.; commander, Naval Air Forces U.S. Pacific Fleet, San Diego as Force supply officer, commander, Defense Logistics Agency, Aviation, Richmond, Va.; Director, His most recent assignment was director Fleet Ordnance and Supply and the Fleet Supply Officer on the staff of Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk. He is also a member of the Navy Acquisition Professional community.
REAR ADM. SINCLAIR HARRIS
Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet
Rear Adm. Sinclair Harris is a native of Washington, D.C., and a 1981 graduate of James Madison University, where he received a bachelor’s in economics. He had early sea assignments on the USS Long Beach, USS Vincennes, USS Jarrett, USS Coronado and was a commissioning executive officer in USS Benfold. He also commanded USS Comstock during Operation Enduring Freedom and the Amphibious Squadron 4/Iwo Jima Strike Group during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief-Hurricanes Katrina/Rita in 2005 and non-combative evacuation operation of Lebanon in 2006. He was a senior fellow in the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group (SSG XXVI). In May 2008, Harris returned to the office of the chief of naval operations as the deputy director, Expeditionary Warfare Division. He was commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 5 from 2009 to 2010 providing foreign disaster relief during the Pakistan Floods of 2010. Harris then served on the chief of naval operations staff as the director, Navy Irregular Warfare Office/ Future Concepts from 2010 to 2012. He earned a master’s in defense and strategic studies from University of Madras, India’s Defense Services Staff College. REAR ADM. WILLIE METTS Director for Intelligence, U.S. Pacific Command
Rear Adm. Metts assumed his current position as director for intelligence, U.S. Pacific Command in Aug. 2013. Prior, he was deputy chief of tailored access operations at the National Security Agency. He graduated from Savannah State University receiving a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering technology. Following commissioning, he completed three ship deployments to the Mediterranean and Red Seas with sustained combat operawww.blackengineer.com
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tions during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He was cryptologic resource coordinator for Carrier Group 2 embarked in USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during her maiden deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Gulf. He was deputy director, Collections and Information Acquisitions Division and completed the Harvard University Senior Executive Fellows Program in 2004. In 2005, Metts was selected as special assistant to commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet and in July 2006, reported for duty as commanding officer, Navy Information Operations Command. Following that command, he reported in August 2008 to the Navy Personnel Command as division director for the Information Dominance Corps and Foreign Area Officer Assignments. In August 2010, Metts reported to United State Cyber Command as director of intelligence. REAR ADM. FERNANDEZ “FRANK” PONDS
Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Three
Rear Adm. Fernandez Ponds, a native of Alabama, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama in 1982 and received his commission from Officer Candidate School in June 1983. Ponds commanded Amphibious Squadron Eight from November 2007 to May 2009. As commander of the Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group, he led four numbered fleet areas in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, counter piracy operations, and operation Sea Angel II-Bangladesh humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief. He also served as mission commander for operation Continuing Promise 2008 and Haiti humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operation 2008. Previously Ponds commanded USS Fife. Other assignments include engineering officer, flag secretary, and Fleet Propulsion Examination Board. He was senior naval advisor, Department of State during the 2005 earthquake relief operations, 2006 Lebanon non-combatant evacuation operation and Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. Ponds holds a master’s in information systems technology, another in military studies and national security strategy. 40 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
REAR ADM. KEVIN SCOTT
Deputy Commander, U.S. Naval Forces U.S. Central Command, Manama, Bahrain
Rear Adm. Kevin Scott is deputy commander, U.S. Naval Forces, U.S. Central Command, Manama, Bahrain. A native of Portsmouth, Va., and New York City Scott was designated a naval aviator in 1984. Under his command, the Helicopter Mine (HM) Counter Measures Squadron 14 was awarded the 2001 Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet Battle “E” Efficiency Award. He also commanded Mine Countermeasures Squadron One as commodore, and, was commander, Expeditionary Strike Group 2. His assignments include: HM-14 legal officer, aircraft division officer and maintenance test pilot (1985-1987); flight deck officer aboard USS Inchon; and HM-14 admin officer, operations officer and detachment officer in charge (1994-1996). Ashore, he was air combat placement officer, Bureau of Naval Personnel; wing operations officer, Commander Tactical Wing Atlantic; military aide to the vice president (1997-1999); current operations chief and division chief, Joint Forces Command; director of aviation officer Distribution Division (PERS 43), Naval Personnel Command; and acting director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Naval Postgraduate School, Naval War College, and the Joint Forces Staff College. He holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies. REAR ADM. DWIGHT SHEPHERD Director Manpower and Personnel (J-1) The Joint Staff
Rear Adm. Dwight Shepherd is a native of Cleveland, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1983, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a major in marketing. He also earned a Master of Science degree in national resource strat-
egy from the Industrial College of Armed Forces in 2006. Shepherd was commissioned an ensign in June 1984 and earned his naval flight officer wings July 1985. Shepherd’s operational command tours include: Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Three (VQ-3), the Navy’s largest aviation squadron. His major command was Strategic Communications Wing One and Task Force 124. He was the first Black officer to command a “Take Charge and Move Out” squadron and air wing. His operational tours include: Patrol Special Projects Unit Two (avionics division officer); Fleet Air Reconnaissance Special Projects Patrol Squadron Three (Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization, flight officer, and maintenance officer). His shore tours include: Bureau of Naval Personnel/Personnel-43 (Initial Assignment and VQ/Force Support detailer); Naval Training Support Unit/Naval Training Service Command (Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization evaluator/instructor); U.S. Strategic Command (Take Charge and Move Out /Airborne Command Post current ops officer); Office of the Chief of Naval Operations/N6F (executive assistant); Office of the Chief of Naval Operations N00X (Strategic Alignment branch head); and, senior military assistant to the secretary of the Navy. REAR ADM. JOHN SMITH JR.
Commander, Joint Task Force Guantanamo
Rear Adm. John Smith entered the Navy via the Aviation Officer Candidate program in 1982 and was designated a naval aviator in 1984. He has flown over 4,200 hours in H-3 and H-60-F/H/B aircraft. His most recent operational assignment was as commander of the Helicopter Sea Combat Wing, Atlantic Fleet. Ashore, he served as deputy director of Equal Opportunity (Personnel 61) in Washington, D.C.; and head aviation commander helicopter detailer, Bureau of Naval Personnel (Personnel 43) Millington, Tenn. In 2009, he served as chief of staff for Navy Cyber Forces in Little Creek, Va. From 2010 to 2012, he served as deputy director, Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key www.blackengineer.com
West, Fla., responsible for coordinating joint, interagency and international efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from South Carolina State College and a master’s degree in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Smith’s squadron command tours include Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron -11. He deployed aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Southern Watch, and Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 10, the fleet replacement squadron for the helicopter anti-submarine squadron community.
REAR ADM. COY YOUNG Deputy Chief of Navy Reserve
Rear Admiral Young is a native of Abilene, Texas, and a 1984 graduate of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry. He received his commission as an ensign from Officer Candidate School. He holds a Master of Science in financial management and a Master of Arts degree in national security. Young’s tours as a surface
warfare officer include ordnance officer, navigator, operations Officer, combat systems officer, executive officer, commanding officer, and commander, Destroyer Squadron. During his command tour, his crew won five of five Command Excellence awards. Young assumed command of Destroyer Squadron One from June 2009 through November 2010. In October 2009, Destroyer Squadron One was assigned as the sea combat commander for the Carl Vinson Strike Group. Young spearheaded Destroyer Squadron One’s transformation to an operational focused destroyer squadron.
U.S. MARINE CORPS LT. GEN. (SELECT) RONALD BAILEY Deputy Commandant, Plans, Policies and Operations
Lt. Gen. (Select) Ronald Bailey was promoted to his current rank in June 2013 and assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps as the deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations. Prior, he commanded more than 26,000 men and women in the oldest and largest active-duty division, the 1st Marine Division. After graduating from Austin Peay State University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps and went on to serve as an infantry officer. Over his more than 30-year career, he has served as company commander, chief of professional military education, plans officer, J-5, Headquarters U.S. European Command and a ground lieutenant colonel’s monitor. Bailey earned a master’s in business management and administration from Webster University and attended the National War College, where he earned his second master’s degree in national security strategy. www.blackengineer.com
MAJ. GEN. (SELECT) VINCENT STEWART Commander, Marine Forces Cyber
Maj. Gen. (Select) Vincent Stewart is the new commander of Marine Forces Cyber. Prior, he served as director of intelligence, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. He received his baccalaureate degree in 1981 from Western Illinois University, where he majored in history. After his commission, some of his principal command tours included tank platoon leader with Company A, 1st Tank; executive officer, 1st Tank Battalion; and Company Commander with Company E, Marine Support Battalion, Japan. He also served as commanding officer, 1st Intelligence Battalion, and commanding officer, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. Staff assignments include project officer, assistant signals intelligence officer, intelligence officer and chief, command, control, communications and intelligence, Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force; as well as senior intelligence planner, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and as assistant chief of staff, Intelligence, Marine Corps Forces Command, and more recently assistant chief of staff, Intelligence, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, (2008-2009). He holds master’s degrees in national security and
strategic studies from the Naval War College and in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. BRIG. GEN. CRAIG CRENSHAW
Vice Director of Logistics, The Joint Staff
Brig. Gen. Craig Crenshaw began his career as a logistics officer with 3rd Force Service Support Group, Okinawa, Japan. In July 2012, he relinquished command of 3rd Marine Logistics, which he commanded since June 2010 to serve at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1984 through the NROTC Scholarship Program. Since then, he has served as platoon commander, maintenance management officer and assistant logistics officer. While assigned to 1st Marine Regiment, he deployed in support of operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. In 1992, he was assigned to the Program Executive Office for Cruise Missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. He has also served as Marine Corps integrated logistics support manager and deputy director, Joint Logistics Program, Joint Logistics Directorate. The general earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Southern University, Baton USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 41
Rouge; a master’s degree in procurement and acquisitions management from Webster University, and another master’s degree in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University. BRIG. GEN. CRAIG TIMBERLAKE
Deputy Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force; and Commanding General, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Brig. Gen. Craig Timberlake enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1977 and was promoted to staff sergeant in January 1982. Two years later, he was commissioned through the Enlisted Commissioning Program in August 1984. He was promoted brigadier general in January 2011. Timberlake’s assignments in the operating forces include platoon commander and company executive officer, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines; company commander, operations officer 1st
Battalion, 1st Marines; regimental operations officer, 1st Marines; and inspector and instructor, 23rd Marines. His other assignments in the supporting establishment include platoon commander and company commander. Headquarters and staff assignments include: action officer, Manpower Equal Opportunity Branch; and plans officer and deputy J-54, U.S. Pacific Command. Timberlake’s military education includes Amphibious Warfare School, Command and Staff College, and the Naval War College. He has also earned master’s degrees in military studies and in national security and strategic studies. BRIG. GEN. (SELECT) TERRY WILLIAMS Director of Public Affairs
Brig. Gen. (Select) Terry Williams was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps in 1986 after graduating with a bachelor’s in mathematics
from the University of California in Los Angeles. Brig. Gen. (sel.) Williams has served throughout Marine Air-Ground Task Force with command and staff assignments at every level from platoon/ company commander at 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion to series commander and battalion adjutant, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot. He has also served as engineer officer, ground operations officer, operations officer, and logistics officer. Other assignments include commanding officer, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, where he deployed to Haiti, in 2004, and in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He subsequently served as operations officer, Facilities and Services Division, Installations and Logistics Department, Headquarters Marine Corps. In 2009, Williams took command of Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and was subsequently assigned to Headquarters Marines Corps as executive assistant to the deputy commandant, Installations and Logistics in 2012. He assumed the duties of director of public affairs in June 2013.
U.S. COAST GUARD VICE ADMIRAL MANSON K. BROWN
Deputy Commandant for Mission Support
Vice Adm. Manson K. Brown assumed the duties as the second Deputy Commandant for Mission Support (DCMS) in May 2012. He is responsible for all facets of support for the Coast Guard’s diverse mission set through oversight of human capital, engineering, acquisition, telecommunications and information technology programs. He is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. He holds Master of Science degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and in National Resources Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is a registered professional civil engineer. Vice Admiral Brown’s previous flag com-
mands include Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West and the 14th Coast Guard District. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation, including duty as the Acting Deputy Chief of Staff after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. From April to July 2004, he was assigned as the Senior Advisor for Transportation to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq where he oversaw restoration of Iraq’s major transportation systems. Vice Admiral Brown’s many military decorations include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, the U.S. Transportation Secretary’s Gold Medal, the Legion of Merit, and Iraq Campaign Medal. In 1994, Vice Admiral Brown was honored as the first recipient of the Coast Guard’s Captain John G. Witherspoon Award for Inspirational Leadership.
AFRICAN AMERICANS COMPRISE 17 PERCENT OF THE NATION’S ACTIVE-DUTY FORCES IN THE ARMY, AIR FORCE, MARINES, NAVY AND COAST GUARD 42 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
www.blackengineer.com
Top Blacks in the
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE-DEFENSE
M
embers of the Senior Executive Service (SES) operate and oversee nearly every government activity in approximately 75 federal agencies. In keeping with USBE&IT magazine’s Homeland Security, Government and Defense tradition, we feature more than 60 executives in the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Force, and the 17 defense agencies and other DOD field activities. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY JAMES ABNEY
Director, G-9, Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Programs, Installation Management Command
Mr. James Abney was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2010. He currently serves as director of G-9, Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Programs, Installation Management Command. His duties include oversight of family programs: child, youth and school services, as well as soldier and community recreation; armed forces recreation centers, business operations, Army recreation machine programs, and non-appropriated funds for human resources and benefits. Previously, he was deputy to the commanding general of the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command (FMWRC), and served as an expert with duties as special www.blackengineer.com
assistant to the FMWRC, and deputy commander/chief of staff of FMWRC. Mr. Abney retired from active duty at the rank of colonel after more than 27 years with the U.S. Army. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University and a Master of Science from the National Defense University. JAY D. ARONOWITZ
Assistant G-1 for Civilian Personnel, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1 Headquarters of the Department of the Army
Mr. Jay Aronowitz has served as assistant G-1 for civilian personnel at the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Headquarters of the Department of the Army since July 1, 2012. He is responsible for the strategies, policies and programs across the life-cycle management of 300,000
Army civilian employees. The programs include workforce planning, employment, emerging civilian human resources programs information systems, labor relations and non-appropriated funds policies. Mr. Aronowitz also serves as the functional chief representative of the Civilian Human Resources Career Program, overseeing professional development of approximately 10,000 civilian human resource (HR) professionals. Before he was selected to the Senior Executive Service in July 2010, he served as deputy assistant secretary, Army (Force Management, Manpower and Resources), in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), Washington, D.C.; and acting deputy assistant secretary, Army (Equal Employment Opportunity and Civil Rights). He graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a bachelor’s degree in social work and later earned a master’s in public administration from The Ohio State University USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 43
DONN BOOKER
Contingency Business Director of the Transatlantic Division Principal Adviser, Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers
Mr. Donn Booker is contingency business director of the Transatlantic Division and the principal adviser to the commander of the Army Corps of Engineers. He leads strategic direction and financial operations as well as regional support to the division’s regional business center. He also serves as a representative to the National Management Board responsible for establishing policy and guidance. The Transatlantic Division provides the Corps of Engineers construction, engineering and project management support for Central Command, a unified combatant command within Department of Defense. Central Command’s area includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq. Overseeing thousands of Army Corps projects, the transatlantic division also provides support to Afghan National Security Forces, United States and Coalition Forces, Counter Narcotics and Border Management; strategic reconstruction support to the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the commander’s Emergency Response Program. Mr. Booker graduated from North Carolina A&T State University with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s from Georgia Institute of Technology. THEODORE A. (TAB) BROWN Chief, Planning and Policy/Leader, Mississippi Valley Division Regional Integration Team Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Mr. Theodore Brown serves as chief of planning and policy and leader of the Mississippi Valley Division Regional Integration Team, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). He provides oversight for coastal Louisiana post-Katrina reconstruction and planning. Mr. Brown also serves as leader, USACE planning community of practice. In his current position, he coordinates civil works policy with the Department of the Army, other federal agencies, and the 44 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Office of Management and Budget. He is executive liaison for the chief’s Environmental Advisory Board, and provides representation to other federal advisory committees. Mr. Brown is responsible for leading implementation of the 2007 Water Resources Development Act. Further, he is the principal civil works point of contact with congressional authorizing committees on policy and planning matters. He formulates civil works environmental policy, and develops planning and program initiatives. Mr. Brown earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Ohio State University and a master’s in business administration from Marshall University. JAMES C. DALTON
Chief, Engineering and Construction Division Directorate of Civil Works, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Mr. James Dalton was selected to the Senior Executive Service in 2005. He currently serves as the chief of the Engineering and Construction Division in the Directorate of Civil Works at the Headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He is responsible for policy, program and technical expertise in execution of design and construction programs worth over $10 billion for the U.S. Army, Air Force, Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and more than 60 foreign nations. He provides leadership to eight divisions, 41 districts, and approximately 15,000 personnel and guides the development of engineering and construction policy for the Army Corps’ civil works, military, and environmental missions. Dalton is regional integration team (RIT) leader for the South Pacific Division. His previous assignment was as the deputy district engineer for the Programs and Project Management Division, Alaska District, Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Dalton holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s in civil engineering from North Carolina State University. MONIQUE Y. FERRELL Deputy Auditor General U.S. Army Audit Agency
Ms. Monique Ferrell was appointed
to the Senior Executive Service and the position of deputy auditor general on November, 20, 2011. She has worked for the federal government and the U.S. Army Audit Agency for over 27 years. As deputy auditor general for Manpower, Reserve Affairs and Training Audits, Ms. Ferrell is principal advisor to the auditor general of the army on all matters pertaining to agency programs for auditing the Army’s major functional areas of human capital, force protection, force structure, and training. Her responsibilities also include directing army-wide audit coverage of high-risk areas that focus on theater deployment and sustainment functions― combat logistics planning, mobilization and demobilization logistics, transportation, equipment storage and disposal, and combat service support activities―the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, contingency contracting and contractors on the battlefield. She exercises operational control over four continental United States (CONUS) agency field offices and three field offices in Southwest Asia. Her previous assignment was as Program Director, Expeditionary Support Audits, Army Audit Agency. Ms. Ferrell holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Hampton University and a master’s in policy management from Georgetown University. MARY GILLAM
Director for Technology, Innovation and Engineering Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer Office of the Secretary of Defense
Ms. Mary Gillam has served as director for technology, innovation and engineering, office of the deputy chief management officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense since June 2012. A retired Air Force colonel, Ms. Gillam has over 28 years of public service. Her previous positions include associate at Booz Allen Hamilton; director of information technology, Air Logistics Center; chief of staff, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control and Communications) Space and Spectrum at the Office of the Secretary of Defense; senior staff engineer; international politicalwww.blackengineer.com
military affairs officer; commander, 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron, and commander, 52nd Combat Communications Squadron. She is a published author and former chapter president of the Army Forces Communications Electronics Association. Ms. Gillam earned a bachelor’s in chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University; a master’s from the Naval War College; two graduate degrees from Webster University; graduate certificates from University of Georgetown and Villanova, and a doctorate from the University of Phoenix. MITCHELL A. HOWELL
Deputy Director for Rapid Acquisition and Technology Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat
Mr. Mitchell Howell is deputy director for rapid acquisition and technology in the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat organization. He is responsible for implementing materiel and non-materiel solutions to prevent illicit use of the improvised explosive device (IED). He also has oversight of acquisition functions undertaken by Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat’s three lines of operation―attach the network, defeat the device, and train the force―to perform the counter-IED mission. This includes technology assessment and application, test and evaluation, acquisition policy and execution, program management, and contracting operations. Prior, he was executive director of the ground systems and munitions division, Defense Contract Management Agency. While there, he was responsible for post-award management of the ground system and munitions contracts and provided oversight for acquisition support services for more than 46,000 contracts valued at $175 billion for the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and foreign governments. Mr. Howell holds a Bachelor of Science in general studies from the U.S. Military Academy, a bachelor’s in administration from Central Michigan University, and a master’s in materiel acquisition management from the Florida Institute of Technology. www.blackengineer.com
TOMMY L. MARKS
Executive Dir. for Acquisition Services, Headquarters, Department of the Army Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement
Mr. Tommy Marks was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2011 and is executive director for acquisition services in the Department of the Army and assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Procurement. Marks is responsible for developing and implementing a holistic approach for acquisition services, in order to gain efficiencies while maintaining effectiveness in support of mission execution. As a senior service manager, his primary function is to assist commanders in obtaining cost effective and efficient services to achieve their mission. He previously served as executive director for the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP), U.S. Army Sustainment Command; and as deputy program director-Kuwait, director of operations and plans and deputy to the executive director for LOGCAP, Army Sustainment Command. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from McNeese State University, a master’s in acquisition management from Florida Institute of Technology, and another in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. ROBERT L. MOORE
Deputy to the Commanding General U. S. Army Security Assistance Command
Mr. Robert Moore is deputy to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command. USASAC implement’s U.S. Army security assistance programs, and manages approximately 4,000 foreign military sales cases valued at $103 billion, as well as coproduction of Army material. The command is increasingly responding in support of U.S. government emergency assistance, humanitarian relief, and United Nations peacekeeping operations. Previously, Mr. Moore served
as deputy director of Security Cooperation and Offices of Defense Cooperation, J-5, Headquarters U.S. European Command, Germany. Prior, he was the deputy director of Logistics and Security Assistance, J-4 Headquarters U.S. European Command. Mr. Moore was selected to the Senior Executive Service July 2003. Prior, he served for more than 28 years in the Air Force, retiring as a colonel. His last military assignment was with the United States Embassy in Berlin, Germany, as chief, Office of Defense Cooperation. He received his bachelor’s degree (cum laude) in biology and chemistry from Alabama State University, a master’s in counseling from Pepperdine University and another in logistics management at Air Force Institute of Technology. He also holds a number of Senior Executive certificates in logistics and technology, leadership and innovation, business transformation, management and Army acquisition. LEVATOR NORSWORTHY, JR.
Deputy General Counsel for Acquisition, Office of the Army General Counsel Headquarters Department of the Army
Mr. Levator Norsworthy was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1998 and currently serves as deputy general counsel for acquisition in the Office of the Army General Counsel at the Headquarters, Department of the Army. He assists the general counsel in providing advice and counsel to all Army Secretariat officials to include the secretary of the army, acquisition executive, chief information officer, and their staff. The provision of advice encompass areas such as federal procurement law, weapon system acquisition, military construction, research and development, developmental and operational testing, logistics, international cooperative programs, security assistance, competitive sourcing, and contracting. Mr. Norsworthy previously served as chief counsel, Army Communications and Electronics Command. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration–economics from University of Dayton and a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 45
TRACEY L. PINSON
Director, Office of Small Business Programs Office of the Secretary of the Army
Ms. Pinson advises the Secretary of the Army and the Army Staff on all issues relative to the utilization of small businesses in the performance of Army contracts. She is responsible for the management and leadership of the Department of Army small business program valued over $20 billion a year. She provides management and oversight for the Army mentoring program for small businesses. She also develops policies and initiatives to enhance participation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions in Army-funded programs. She provides management and oversight for the Army’s mentor-protégé program as well as the HBCU and Minority Institutions Program. Ms. Pinson is a member of the Senior Executive Service, Level 5. She occupies a critical acquisition position with a top secret security clearance. She is a principal member of the Army Secretariat and is the highest-ranking female in the Army acquisition career field. Under her leadership the Army has led the government in contract awards to small businesses for over 10 years. Ms. Pinson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Howard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. LARRY STUBBLEFIELD
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Diversity and Leadership
Mr. Larry Stubblefield was selected as deputy assistant secretary for diversity and leadership in 2010. He acts for the assistant secretary of the Army, Manpower and Reserve Affairs on plans, programs, policy formulation and practices pertaining to diversity and leadership. He also serves as the functional chief representative for the Army’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Career Program, responsible for addressing accessibility and public 46 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
use of army facilities. Stubblefield became a member of the Senior Executive Service in 2005 when he was selected as deputy administrative assistant to the secretary of the Army. He retired at the rank of colonel after 30 years of active duty. Mr. Stubblefield earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a master’s in business organizational management from the University of Laverne, another in strategic studies from the United States Army War College, plus an M.B.A. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. DR. LAURA STUBBS
Director, Science and Technology Initiatives
Dr. Laura Stubbs was appointed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense in July 2010. Currently, she is the most senior executive responsible for scientific and technical scholarship programs. She also leads all science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) initiatives assigned to the assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering. Previously, Dr. Stubbs was the chief learning officer for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, providing strategy for technical learning and workforce development initiatives for 3,000 employees. Prior, she led a team of engineers and scientists to develop technologies for the Navy as branch head for the machinery science and technology group. She earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Stubbs was the first African-American Naval Nuclear Power School instructor and later transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy as assistant mechanical engineering professor. She was recalled to active duty as a human capital and Lean Six Sigma deployment champion by the assistant secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Dr. Stubbs previously worked at Procter and Gamble where she led the delivery of global materials and the launch of a global product on four continents.
ALVIN D. THORNTON
Director of Engineering, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering
Mr. Alvin Thornton entered the Senior Executive Service in 2008 and serves as director of engineering at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center of the Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command. He has responsibility for execution of policy required to manage teamed personnel support activities for program life cycles of chemical biological defense systems, with additional responsibility in managing and executing army acquisition activities for chemical biological defense systems. The center is a research and development organization of 1,600 scientists, engineers, and technicians. Thornton manages 700 people and provides leadership for center activities pertaining to research, development, test and evaluation, and engineering support to acquisition and sustainment of chemical biological defense systems and materiel. Previously, he served as deputy director of the engineering directorate, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geography with concentration in math/physical science from Morgan State University. MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS
Director, U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency
Mr. Michael Williams assumed the position of director of the U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency on February 24, 2013. He leads and manages a range of initiatives and programs dealing with investigation, assessment, integration, demonstration, and transition of solutions that complement and bring focused enhancements across the current and future logistics enterprise. He guides evolution and integration of logistics capabilities that leverage concepts, technologies and processes to support tactical, operational, and strategic levels in a joint-capable, integrated logistics environment. He acts as deputy chief of staff, G-4 Executive Agent for the www.blackengineer.com
Army Integrated Logistics Architecture, deputy chief of staff, G-4 lead for the Common Logistics Operating Environment, and lead deputy chief of staff, G-4 Agent for the Science and Technology Working Group, the Small Business and Innovation Research Program, and related science and technology collab-
orative initiatives. Prior, Mr. Williams served in numerous leadership positions at the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, which provides the Department of Defense with transportation engineering, policy guidance, research, and analytical expertise to support the national military strategy. Mr.
Williams rose to deputy to the commander, responsible for facilitating continuous improvement and innovation in development of distribution policies, plans, and programs supporting the global mission and impacting joint service force deployment and logistics operations.
civil engineer activities, including readiness, emergency services, base development, environmental and housing programs, as well as contracting activities, executing $4 billion in support contracts annually. The sum includes $2 billion in commercial airlift contracts and security activities, providing force protection and information, physical and personnel security programs for 77,000 military and civilian employees and 110,000 family members. Bonapart earned a bachelor’s in history and a secondary school teaching certificate at Fordham University. He was commissioned in 1975 from the Air Force ROTC program. While on duty, he held assignments in communications; air traffic control and he also served at the Secretariat Air Staff, command and joint levels. He commanded a communications squadron, support group, cadet group and an air base wing. He retired at the rank of colonel in 2005. Prior to assuming his current position, he was associate director, directorate of strategic plans, programs, analyses, assessments and lessons learned, Headquarters Air Force Space Command.
design, planning, contract management and operations. Mr. Bridges most recent assignment was as the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health. He served twice as a base civil engineer squadron commander, and as an installation commander. He also served as an Air Force ROTC assistant professor and held various staff positions at the major command and Air Force levels in the readiness, environmental and resources arenas. Mr. Bridges retired from active duty at the rank of colonel in 2006 and entered the Senior Executive Service.
AIR FORCE FRANCINE C. BLACKMON
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Air Force Management Integration
Ms. Francine Blackmon provides oversight in the formulation of strategic plans and policies impacting Air Force military and civilian human resource functions and activities (including, but not limited to compensation and entitlements, education and training, transition, family support programs, health care, and wellness and morale, welfare and recreation activities). Ms. Blackmon has extensive interface with the Department of Defense and other government agencies and Congress. Upon graduation from University of Maryland, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force and assigned as a personnel officer. Her 24-year military career was performed in the field of human resources. She served as chief, commander’s Issues Team at the Air Force Personnel Center; Mission Support Squadron commander; and chief, Air Force Skills Management Division at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. She also served as military assistant for the deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy. Ms. Blackmon completed her military career while serving in a dual capacity as both the Air Force element commander and deputy director for the Office of Human Resources at the National Reconnaissance Office. JOHN H. BONAPART JR.
Deputy Director, Installations and Mission Support Headquarters Air Mobility Command
Mr. John Bonapart is responsible for Air Mobility Command (AMC) expeditionary combat support. He provides oversight to www.blackengineer.com
TIMOTHY K. BRIDGES
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations Headquarters Air Force, Pentagon
Mr. Timothy Bridges is responsible for management, policy and oversight of the $6 billion Air Force installation and facility programs. They include facility management, base closures, construction, family housing, acquisition, maintenance, operation, repair and disposal of real property. He was commissioned in 1979 as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force ROTC program at the Virginia Military Institute, earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Since then, he has served in
EUGENE COLLINS
Deputy Director of Logistics, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Installations and Mission Support, Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Mr. Eugene Collins is responsible for training, and equipping 180,000 technicians and managers maintaining the Air Force’s engagement aerospace weapons system inventory. He provides strategic direction for materiel and equipment management, fuels, vehicles, personal property, and passenger traffic management. The directorate develops logistics, maintenance and munitions policy, ensuring readiness of the largest element of manpower supporting Air Force combat forces worldwide. Mr. Collins is a 26-year Air Force veteran, retiring as a colonel. He is a combatproven aircraft maintenance and logistics leader who participated in operations Iraqi Freedom, Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom. He was commissioned upon graduation from Mississippi Valley State University, and has served in a variety of active duty military and civilian positions of increasing responsibility at wing, major command, and Air Force and non-Department of Defense federal government headquarters levels; includUSBE&IT I WINTER 2013 47
ing service as the Health and Human Services’ University chief learning officer and executive officer to the Office of the Secretary. Mr. Collins entered the Senior Executive Service in 2007, following retirement from active duty at the rank of colonel. Prior to assuming his current position, he was deputy director of logistics, Air Combat Command. He assumed his current position in June 2012. GAIL P. FOREST
Director for Information Dominance Programs Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition
Ms. Gail Forest is responsible for program acquisition and modernization of Air Force command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. She guides the development of program management, budget submissions, congressional testimony and international acquisition programs. She advocates acquisition strategies for reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, command and control and combat support systems, evolving C4ISR infrastructure, net-centric operations and information warfare programs. Ms. Forest also provides guidance on combat C4ISR systems and architectures to the secretary of the Air Force the Air Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff and Congress. Ms. Forest began her career as a manufacturing engineer with Buick motor division, General Motors Corp. In 1982, she entered federal civil service as an engineer in the maintenance directorate at Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command. She has held numerous engineering, logistics, and acquisition program management positions. Prior to her current assignment, she was director, plans and programs, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), responsible for developing and managing the processes that defined AFRL’s $2 billion annual investment in technologies for future Air Force systems. They include space, weapons, aeronautics, command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and human performance. 48 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
ARTHUR G. HATCHER, JR.
Director of Communications, Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command Barksdale Air Force Base, La
Mr. Arthur Hatcher is a member of the Senior Executive Service. As director of communications at the Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command, he leads the staff managing cyberspace, information technology infrastructure and knowledge operation support to 24,000 personnel. He oversees command management for fourteen Air Force-level nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) systems supporting B-2, B-52 and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations. He also manages more than 1,700 command cyber personnel providing organizing, training and equipment guidance. In addition, he serves as chief architect for Air Force Nuclear Deterrence Operations/Nuclear Command and Control Systems. Mr. Hatcher is from Selma, Ala. He completed 30 years with the U.S. Air Force, and entered federal service in July 2013. While on active duty, he served on the Joint Staff, a combatant command staff and two major commands. He has commanded an air expeditionary group, communications group and two communications squadrons. His units won both Department of Defense and Air Force level awards. His previous assignment was as the director of communications and chief information officer, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces. HORACE L. LARRY
Deputy Director of Air Force Services Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel
Mr. Horace Larry provides direction for a $2 billion program. The organization’s mission is to increase combat capability and productivity through programs promoting readiness, esprit de corps and quality service for Air Force people. This includes physical fitness, peacetime and wartime troop feeding, Air Force mortuary affairs, Armed Forces
entertainment, Air Force protocol, lodging and libraries. It also includes child development centers, youth centers and recreation activities. He provides oversight for uniforms, awards and recognition; Airman and family readiness, and Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, as well as other programs that contribute to sustainment. Mr. Larry was commissioned in the Air Force in 1975. Over the next 30 years, he was assigned to various posts including deputy support group commander; commander of the Air Force Services Agency; and deputy director of Air Force Services in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Installations and Logistics at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. He retired from the Air Force in 2005 as a colonel. Mr. Larry became a civil service employee in 2006 and federal contractor a year later, serving as a senior program manager for Logistics Applications Inc. at the Department of Energy. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2009. ESSYE B. MILLER
Director, Headquarters Air Force Information Management Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force
Ms. Essye Miller serves as Headquarters Air Force chief information officer and liaison to the Pentagon Architecture Council. She also manages the Air Force declassification office, publications distribution, Headquarters Air Force multimedia services and enterprise business solutions. Ms. Miller began her federal civil service in 1985 as a Palace Acquire Intern at the Standards Systems Center in Montgomery, Ala., where she worked as a computer specialist. She moved to Air Combat Command in 1992. There, she held positions responsible for policy and guidance airborne, space and deployed command and control systems support. Prior, she was director, 75th Air Base Wing communications and information directorate, and deputy chief information officer, Ogden Air Logistics Center. Ms. Miller was the center’s senior functional manager for more than 400 communications and information technology professionals. www.blackengineer.com
TAWANDA R. ROONEY
Director, Intelligence Systems Support Office
Mrs. Tawanda Rooney supports the undersecretary of defense for intelligence at the Intelligence Systems Support Office (ISSO). She began her federal career in 1984 through the Air Force summerhire program. After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Virginia State University in 1988, she became a budget analyst with the office of the deputy chief of staff for plans and operations. Five years later she moved to the Defense Evaluation Support Activity, holding positions including project manager, contracting officer and directorate budget representative. In 1997, she became a deputy program manager at the ISSO, responsible for acquisition and evaluation of sensitive technology efforts. She served as a staff officer with the deputy assistant secretary of defense for program analysis and evaluation at the Pentagon, and, in 2001, was appointed deputy director for the information engineering and assessment laboratory at the ISSO. Mrs. Rooney was selected for appointment to Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service in 2006 and assigned as laboratory director, providing R&D as well as technical support to the director of ISSO on acquisition and management of technology, intelligence systems and related methodologies to support the organization. JEFFERY R. SHELTON
Director of Resource Integration, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Installations and Mission Support
Mr. Jeffery Shelton oversees budget preparation and defense of Air Force programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of Management and Budget, and Congress. He monitors performance of operations, working capital funds and investment; participates in program and financial review groups; and advocates for financial adjustments to optimize force readiness. In addition, he is a member of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. www.blackengineer.com
Mr. Shelton entered federal service in 1981 and spent his first four years at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. He completed a two-year logistics career broadening assignment at the Pentagon and then moved to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base where he was command public and private competition program manager and BRAC liaison officer. In 1999, he returned to Washington, D.C., where he served in positions with the secretary of the Air Force for acquisition; financial management and budget; and the war fighting, integration and chief information office. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2008, and served as associate deputy assistant secretary for acquisition integration, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, and the deputy director of resource integration, Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Installation and Mission Support. KEITH D. THOMAS
Director, Air Force Cryptologic Office
Mr. Keith Thomas is intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance representative to both the National Security and Central Security Service agencies on Air Force cryptologic matters. As Air Force cryptologic office director, he guides development of Air Force cryptologic strategy and technologies to enhance mission support to signals intelligence and information assurance. He provides oversight and guidance for Air Force cryptologic activities, including missions related to both tactical war fighting and national-level operations. Mr. Thomas also serves as technical authority for the Air Force within the National Security Agency (NSA) on development, signals intelligence, and information security equipment and systems. He was appointed as the chairperson of the inter-agency senior electronic intelligence steering group by the director of NSA. Mr. Thomas is a 1979 graduate of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. He received a master’s degree in business administration in 1999 from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, and one year later, earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.
JARRIS LOUIS TAYLOR JR.
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Air Force for the Strategic Diversity Integration Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
Dr. Jarris Taylor is the deputy assistant secretary of Air Force strategic diversity integration in the office of the assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs. He is responsible for policy, guidance, direction, and oversight of all plans and programs affecting diversity integration for Air Force military and civilian personnel. Dr. Taylor provides leadership, direction, and oversight to all levels of the Air Force to ensure a diverse and inclusive total force. Prior to his current position, he was associate director, William R. Harvey Leadership Institute and Honors College at Hampton University. Dr. Taylor has extensive experience in research, service and fundraising, earning his doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University. He retired from the Air Force in 2005 and was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2009. THEODORE J. WILLIAMS
Auditor General of the Air Force, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force
Mr. Theodore Williams serves as head of the Air Force Audit Agency, which is responsible for all internal auditing in the Air Force. He has administrative and technical supervision over a worldwide organization composed of more than 800 members assigned to 50 locations. He served in the Air Force for more than 26 years before retiring at the rank of colonel in 1999. While on active duty, he worked for the audit agency for more than 11 years as an acquisition auditor, audit manager, branch chief, acting office chief, program manager and executive officer to the Air Force auditor general. He was also an AC-130, KC-135, and EC-135 navigator, instructor and evaluator for more than 10 years. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Williams was assigned to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service as assistant deputy director for customer service and the first director of program control for accounting systems USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 49
development and migration. Following active duty, he worked for MITRE Corp., a non-profit assisting government organizations with scientific research and analysis, and systems development and acquisition. Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Williams was the deputy auditor general for financial and support audits, Air Force Audit Agency. NAVY AND MARINE CORPS RONNIE J. BOOTH
Assistant Auditor General for Installations and Environment Audits
Mr. Ronnie Booth has oversight of Navy and Marine Corps property, housing and facilities totaling over 72,000 buildings and 4.5 million acres valued at $215 billion. He is also responsible for environmental protection, safety and occupational health for military and civilian personnel; Japan’s agreement to realign U.S. forces in Japan and relocation of 8,000 Marines and their families from Okinawa to Guam. As former assistant auditor general for plans, policy, and resource management, he is responsible for assessing Department of Navy-wide institutional and programmatic vulnerabilities, developing strategic audit plans and managing the allocation of audit resources to ensure best outcomes. Previously, he was technical adviser to the special assistant to the secretary of the Navy for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Booth earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University in 1980. He is a certified fraud examiner and internal control auditor. He is a winner of the Presidential Rank Award and a recipient of the Department of the Navy’s Superior Civilian Service Award. ELLIOTT B. BRANCH
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Acquisition Procurement) Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition)
Mr. Elliott Branch is the senior career civilian responsible for acquisition and contracting policy that governs operation of the Navy’s multibilliondollar acquisition 50 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
system. He is principal civilian advisor to the Navy’s acquisition executive for acquisition and procurement matters, and serves as Department of the Navy’s competition advocate general. He leads the Navy’s contracting, purchasing and government property communities. Mr. Branch graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and completed the executive program at the University of Virginia Darden School. He has received the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, two Presidential Rank Awards for Meritorious Executive, the Vice Presidential Hammer Award for Reinventing Government, and the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for Management Excellence. MS. ANDREA BROTHERTON Deputy Naval Inspector General
Ms. Andrea Brotherton was appointed deputy naval inspector general in 2009. She oversees investigations involving senior officials and investigations into fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement at every level of the Navy. Ms. Brotherton has 28 years of civilian service. In 1985, she joined the Navy Office of the General Counsel, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) where she served as associate counsel in the office of counsel, Naval Sea Systems Command. In July 1999, she became an assistant to the general counsel in the office of the associate general counsel (management). From 1995 to 1999, she served in the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division as a staff attorney preceding her selection as counsel. In 2004, Ms. Brotherton was appointed to the senior executive service position of executive director, Office of Counsel, NAVAIR. She became counsel for Naval Facilities Engineering Command in 2005. A year later, she joined the office of the assistant secretary of the Navy as assistant general counsel (financial management and comptroller). Brotherton holds bachelor’s degrees in biology and political science. She also holds a juris doctorate and is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
KAREN S. BURROWS
Executive Director- Naval Ordnance Safety and Security Activity and Deputy for Weapons Safety, Naval Sea Systems Command
Ms. Karen Burrows serves as chair of the Department of the Navy’s weapon system explosives safety review board providing oversight for safety of all Navy and Marine Corps munitions, ordnance items, weapons and combat systems. She was has more than 29 years of experience in the Department of Defense and was selected to the federal Senior Executive Service in April 2012. Her previous positions include deputy administrator/chief information officer–Defense Technical Information Center; director, emerging capabilities and special assistant, office of the assistant secretary of defense (research and engineering); director, Weapons Technology Division; insensitive munitions program manager, and mine countermeasures program manager - Naval Surface Warfare Center. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She also completed graduate studies in engineering administration at George Washington University. LARRY E. DOUCHAND, P.E.
Assistant Commander for Environmental Programs
Mr. Larry Douchand has served as the assistant commander for environmental programs for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) since July 2006. He is responsible for environmental program management and execution of NAVFAC’s services to the Department of the Navy. Prior to his Senior Executive Service position with NAVFAC (Jan. 2004 to July 2006), Mr. Douchand served as chief, Strategic Integration Branch at the Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for establishing the management and execution structure for the $11 billion Base Realignment and Closure program, which included military construction, environmental cleanup, and real estate disposal. From July 2003 to January 2004, Douchand served as chief, Environmental Support www.blackengineer.com
Branch at the Army Corps of Engineers. He holds a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of San Francisco, and a bachelor’s of science in engineering from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Maryland, and a member of the NAVFAC acquisition community. STEFFANIE B. EASTER
Executive Director, F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office
Ms. Steffanie Easter is executive director for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office. The program is the Department of Defense’s initiative for defining affordable and sustainable fifth-generation strike aircraft. Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Easter was assistant deputy chief of Naval operations for manpower, personnel, training and education, where she was civilian executive advisor for the planning and programming of all manpower, personnel, training, and education resources, budgeting for Navy personnel and developing the information systems and tools to effectively manage the Navy Total Force. Ms. Easter is a 1985 graduate of North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. She holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the Catholic University of America and is a graduate of both the Defense Systems Management College and the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Senior Executive Management Development Program. Ms. Easter has 27 years of federal service and was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in December 2002. She was awarded the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 2007, the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award in 2009, and the Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2013. VICTOR GAVIN
Program Executive Officer for Enterprise Information Systems
Mr. Victor Gavin was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2007 while serving as technical director, program www.blackengineer.com
executive office, submarines. He was responsible for all submarine combat systems acquisition and program executive office-directed research and development. His responsibilities included modernization of all in-service submarines and support of foreign sales to the Royal Australian Navy Collins Class submarine and the Brazilian Navy Scorpene Class submarine. Mr. Gavin is a program executive officer for enterprise information systems. In this role, he oversees a $2 billion portfolio of information technology projects and programs designed to enable common business processes and provide standard information technology capabilities to the Department of the Navy. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s in systems engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. JANICE C. HAITH
Director, Department of Navy Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance
Ms. Janice Haith was selected to the Senior Executive Service in 2004, serving as principal deputy/chief information officer for the Defense Security Service. She managed agency operations and oversaw development of a Department of Defense enterprise security system. She subsequently was appointed as director, intelligence access for warfighter support in the Undersecretary of Defense (Intelligence), to oversee the development of information sharing policy for foreign disclosure and management of the IT portfolio. Haith has also served as director, assessments and compliance; and director, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance since 2010. She has been a security, intelligence and CIO professional since 1984. She has served as a security adjudicator for the Department of Justice; a program element manager (security and investigations) for Department of the Air Force; joint personnel adjudication system program manager for the Air Force and Department of Defense simultaneously; and as a Department of Defense e-Government program manager for internal efficiency and effectiveness, with tenure as a congressional fellow on behalf of the U.S.
Air Force. She is a graduate of Hampton Institute, with a bachelor’s in sociology and a master’s in technology management from the University of Maryland. She is also a graduate of the National Defense University - chief information officer and information assurance programs. LARRY E. HOLLINGSWORTH
Director, Integration and Interoperability
Mr. Larry Hollingsworth is currently director of integration and interoperability. He was appointed to this position in May 2013 by Vice Adm. David Dunaway, commander of the Naval Air Systems Command. Mr. Hollingsworth has been a civil service employee for 35 years. He began his career with the Naval Air Systems Command and served in the Avionics Division for eight years. In 1886, he was promoted to the position of chief engineer for the HARM, Sidearm, Maverick, Hellfire and TOW weapon systems. Three years later, he rose to deputy program manager for defense suppression systems. In March 1994, he was reassigned to Air-to-Air missile systems, where he was responsible for managing the Sidewinder, Sparrow and Phoenix missile programs. In February of 1996, he was selected into the Senior Executive Service position of national director of AIR-4.5 avionics department, managing 700 civilians. He also served as director of rapid response/irregular warfare at the Naval Air Systems Command. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University and a master’s degree in engineering administration at Catholic University. In 2008, Hollingsworth won the National Society of Black Engineers’ Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Government. MS. PAULA E. PATRICK
Director, Human Resources Operations Office of Civilian Human Resources
Ms. Paula Patrick leads Department of Navy operations centers in California, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. She advises the deputy assistant secretary of USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 51
the Navy about human resource operations and Ms. Patrick’s 1,000-plus staff fill Navy and Marine Corps vacancies. Patrick previously served as director of the executive management program office. During her tenure, she was responsible for the creation and execution of a Department of the Navy life-cycle management system and strategy for the department’s executives. For her achievements, she was awarded the highest honorary award that the secretary of the navy can bestow on a civilian employee― Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Prior to working for the Department of Navy, she worked for the Department of Air Force for 17 years in positions across the United States, Japan and Germany. Ms. Patrick has taught classes at undergraduate and master’s degree level. Ms. Patrick has an undergraduate degree in marketing from South Carolina State University and a master’s in management from Troy State University. Ms. Patrick maintains active memberships with the Senior Executive Association and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. MARK D. RIDLEY
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Acting Director
Special Agent Mark D. Ridley was appointed Naval Criminal Investigative Service acting director on March 3, 2013. In this role, Mr. Ridley leads the agency in its mission to defeat terrorism, investigate foreign intelligence and criminal threats to the United States Navy and Marine Corps everywhere they operate. In his prior role as deputy director, Ridley supervised the activities of 18 field offices, oversaw investigations and operations, and led strategic initiatives with law enforcement, security, and investigative agencies. Mr. Ridley began his career as a Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent in 1987. Mr. Ridley rose to senior leadership positions, serving as special agent in charge of the new Marine Corps West Field Office, as deputy assistant director for counterintelligence operations, and as assistant director for the new directorate of intelligence. Mr. Ridley joined the Senior Executive Service ranks in 2006 and served as executive assistant director (EAD) for Pacific operations and later as EAD for criminal 52 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
investigations. Mr. Ridley is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police International Policing Division Steering Committee. EILEEN ROBERSON
Director, Total Force Management, U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command
Ms. Eileen Roberson was selected as military sealift command director in 2012. She is responsible for strategic HR and manpower planning, policy, program development and management, and program assessment and evaluation for approximately 6,900 employees worldwide, including military and shore side civil service personnel and civil service mariners. She joined the command as director, Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force and Special Mission Ships in 2010. As senior adviser on policy, budgeting and strategic planning she managed a $2 billion budget and oversaw the operations of 67 ships. Prior she served as assistant for administration to the undersecretary of the Navy; associate administrator at Department of Transportation, maritime administration; deputy program executive Office for information technology; Department of Navy acquisition reform executive; and deputy program manager, aircraft carrier program. Ms. Roberson was a U.S. Navy reserve officer for 23 years before retiring as captain in 2006. She holds a master’s degree in management information systems from Bowie State University and a bachelor’s in engineering, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. JIMMY SMITH
Director for the Above Water Sensors Directorate Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems
Mr. Smith currently serves as the director for the above water sensors directorate within the program executive office for integrated warfare systems where he manages plan-
ning, procuring and sustaining war fighting sensors, electronic warfare systems, missiles, guns, and ammunition systems for all surface ships. In 1992, he began working for the Virginia Class Submarine Program Office. In 2003, he served as construction manager for the first seven submarines of the Virginia Class. In 2005, he served as deputy program manager for the Ohio-class submarine guided missile conversion program. Smith also served on the staff of the deputy assistant Secretary of the Navy for shipbuilding programs in a dual capacity as the director for submarines and the director for strategic systems programs. He graduated from Tuskegee University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Graduate-level pursuits include environmental engineering, marine engineering and business management. He began his career in government civil service in 1991 at the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., where he was an engineer-in-training. He was awarded the 2009 Blacks in Government Department of Defense Civilian Meritorious Service Award–Navy. SHARON SMOOT
Executive Director, Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations Naval Sea Systems Command
Ms. Sharon Smoot began her career with the Department of the Navy in 1986. She was selected for her current position in April 2010. She entered the Senior Executive Service (SES) in September 2006 as the assistant deputy commander, industrial operations, where she served until 2010. Other positions she has held include finance and industrial manager, fleet maintenance directorate of Fleet Forces Command; nuclear business and strategic planning officer, Norfolk Naval Shipyard; and electrical engineer, control engineering division of the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department, Norfolk Naval Shipyard. She holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering management from Old Dominion University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech. www.blackengineer.com
THEODORE SHORT JR.
Comptroller, Naval Air Systems Command
Mr. Theodore Short’s federal career spans a period of over 24 years in financial management. During his tenure with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), he has held numerous financial management positions providing oversight of budget formulation, execution and financial reporting. Short entered the Senior Executive Service as the NAVAIR comptroller in 2010. As comptroller, he is responsible for budgeting, accounting and all financial management for an organization having on order of $42 billion in acquisition and sustainment funds annually. This includes formulating fiscal policies and exercising controls over financial operations for NAVAIR in the functional areas of budget, accounting and finance, and audit and review. Mr. Short has twice been recognized with the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. He is a member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and president of the Southern Maryland Chapter. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Salisbury University in 1988. RONALD E. SMILEY, PH.D.
Director, Electronic Warfare Combat Systems Executive leader for Electronic Warfare Naval Air Systems Command
Dr. Smiley has spent over 40 years in maritime aviation and weapon systems research, development, acquisition, test and engineering fields, performing in key technical and executive assignments including directorships in corporate operations, the systems engineering department, the Advanced Technology and Analysis Center, weapons evaluation directorate, and the information and electronic warfare department. He received a master’s and a doctorate in management from www.blackengineer.com
Claremont Graduate School. He earned an M.B.A. at Pepperdine University and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Howard University. Dr. Smiley has served various boards including the College of Engineering and Computer Science Industry advisory board of California State University Northridge; the president’s advisory board of California State University, Channel Islands; Board of Directors for World Affairs Council of Ventura County, Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Ventura County, and Interface Children and Family Services. His professional affiliations include the Engineering Management Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Association of Old Crows Electronic Defense Organization, and the Senior Executive Association. RONDY WAYE
Director, Human Resources (HR) Policy and Programs Office of Civilian Human Resources
Mr. Rondy Waye provides leadership in the development, implementation and assessment of civilian human resource (HR) policies on behalf of the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, Civilian HR. He is responsible for developing HR policies and programs that support the Navy mission at the department, command and activity levels, affecting 200,000 civilian employees. Prior to the Senior Executive Service, he served as director of the Human Resource Service Center-East, where he led a team of 300 personnel responsible for delivering centralized HR services to the east region. Between 2003 and 2005, he served as director, Human Resources Service Center-Europe, where he managed the delivery of HR services to activities throughout Europe and the Middle East. In this position, he also served as the director, civilian personnel programs, command deputy EEO for the commander, United States Naval Forces Europe; and as chairman of European command’s joint civilian personnel committee. Mr. Waye holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University.
DEFENSE AGENCIES AND OTHERS ROGERS E. CAMPBELL
Executive Director for Sales, Marketing and Policy Defense Commissary Agency
Mr. Rogers Campbell has oversight of directorates responsible for Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) $6.1 billion sales, operations and policy, health and safety and resale contracting. Mr. Campbell assumed this position in 2011 as part of DeCA reorganization. Campbell entered federal government service in 2010 with appointment as director of the agency’s East region, after having worked extensively for more than 30 years in the private sector associated with selling and marketing various consumer goods. A former captain in the U.S. Army, Campbell’s career has taken him from commanding a tank platoon to leading marketing, sales planning and merchandising of new car sales for both the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). As vice president and chief marketing officer of Overseas Military Sales Corporation, he directed marketing efforts on 120 military installations in 30 countries and aboard U.S. Navy ships through NEXCOM’s Ships Store program. Campbell’s career highlights include: managing partner of Marketcorp International, a brand strategy consultancy, senior director of marketing for Nabisco Foods Group, and director of global new products for Schering-Plough Consumer Healthcare. He began his consumer packaged goods career at General Mills. He earned an M.B.A. from Rutgers University in 1974 and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing as a distinguished military graduate from Saint Peter’s College, N.J. In 1973. ALBERT CURRY, JR.
Deputy Assistant Commandant for Engineering and Logistics U.S. Coast Guard
Mr. Albert Curry currently serves as acting deputy assistant commandant for engineering and logistics for the Coast Guard. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 53
Additionally, he has served as deputy project manager for the Coast Guard Rescue 21 Program, and as deputy program manager for U.S. Coast Guard C4ISR Major System Acquisitions. He is a member of the Surface Navy Association, National Naval Officer Association, and the Savannah State University National Alumni. Curry earned a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from Savannah State University. He was commissioned in 1980 through the university ‘s Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program and retired as a captain from the Navy in 2006. During active duty his at sea assignments include: engineering officer aboard USS Barnstable County, executive officer aboard the USS Nicholson and commanding officer of the USS Pensacola. His ashore assignments in the Navy include: assistant program manager for the global positioning systems program office for ships and submarines, deputy program manager for the Tomahawk cruise missile mission planning system program, and director, Naval Sea Systems Command Total Force Development Office. He is a graduate of the advanced program management course at the Defense Systems Management College and is a certified Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security Acquisition Level III acquisition program manager. Curry earned a master’s in systems engineering (electronic warfare) from the Naval Postgraduate School. TERRI A. DICKERSON Director of Civil Rights U.S. Coast Guard
Ms. Terri Dickerson, a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2000, joined the Coast Guard in 2006 as director, Office of Civil Rights. In February 2013, Ms. Dickerson was honored by BEYA for her superior performance and contributions to Coast Guard personnel and missions. From 2000 to 2006, Ms. Dickerson was second in charge at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She examined federal agencies’ civil rights offices, and advised officials, Congress, and the White House on improved enforcement. In 2005, the White House installed her as the interim agency head after the outgoing chief departed, and until a new appointee’s con54 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
firmation. Ms. Dickerson is a published author, penning articles for industry and national publications including the Washington Post, USA-TODAY, and the Ladies’ Home Journal. The U.S. Supreme Court cited a study she directed, “Beyond Percentage Plans: The Challenge of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education,” in its 2005 decision on affirmative action. She was named a Presidential Meritorious Executive in 2008. Ms. Dickerson earned a bachelor of science from the University of Virginia and a master of arts from the Johns Hopkins University. She is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Board of Trustees. DONJETTE GILMORE
Director, Accounting and Finance Policy Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
Ms. Donjette Gilmore has responsibility for implementation of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Financial Management Regulation―a 6,600 page document of accounting and finance policy guidance. She has led financial management regulation modernization for 650,000 DOD users. Under her leadership, an Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) team accounted for $8.7 billion in development funds for Iraq. She was also key planner of a hotline, deployed in 22 days, providing visibility over $18.4 billion set-aside to rebuild Iraq. Ms. Gilmore has also served as an assistant chief information officer for business transformation at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, representing NGA’s equities to the defense department, congressional staffers, and Oracle Technical Exchange. She chairs a taskforce comprised of 70 professionals, twenty-one agencies, 4 accounting firms, and several industry members to resolve issues like accounting for $478 billion in general property, plant and equipment and $1 trillion in assets on financial DOD statements. Ms. Gilmore served in the Air Force Audit Agency as director of policy, oversight, and systems and is a certified defense financial manager and Level II acquisition professional in financial and program management. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and finance from Auburn University, and an M.B.A. from Washington University.
LYTWAIVE L. HUTCHINSON
Director, Enterprise Information Technology Services Directorate Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Mrs. Lytwaive Hutchinson became director, enterprise IT services for Washington Headquarters Services in 2011, following the merger of the Information Technology Management Directorate (ITMD) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Networks. She was promoted director of ITMD in 2010. As the deputy chief information officer, OSD, she assisted with strategy, tactical implementation, maintenance of information, and information systems. Prior, she was director, enterprise services, where she implemented the Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) Customer Service Software Platform and Service Desk. Hutchinson was promoted director, Information Assurance Division in 2004 and served as designated approving authority for IT services at WHS. She entered federal government service in 2002 as an information assurance manager. She was instrumental in modernizing the training program from a paper-based system to an automated system. Prior, she served for 21 years with the Army, attaining the rank of chief warrant officer 3. Mrs. Hutchinson holds a Master of Science in quality systems management and a bachelor’s in computer science. She is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute and Harvard Business School for Executive Education. JOHN H. JAMES, JR.
Executive Director, Missile Defense Agency
Mr. John James is executive director of the Missile Defense Agency, Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is senior civilian advisor to the Missile Defense Agency director on all issues relating to the agency’s operational and management activities. Mr. James provides oversight, direction and guidance to MDA staff, ensuring integration of all MDA functions required to sustain an effective Ballistic Missile Defense program. He also serves as an interface to the office of the secretary of www.blackengineer.com
defense, the services, and Congress. Previously, Mr. James was director, National Security Personnel System Transition Office, within Office of the Secretary of Defense. He was responsible for the Congressional mandate to transition 228,000 employees to alternate personnel and pay system. In addition, he held the position of executive director, logistics, maintenance and industrial operations and executive director for undersea warfare, both at the Naval Sea Systems Command. He joined the Senior Executive Service in May 2000. Mr. James holds an undergraduate degree from Howard University, a master’s degree from Florida Institute of Technology and attended the Harvard School of Business and the Keenan-Flagler Business School. CLARENCE A. JOHNSON
Principal Director and Director for Civilian Equal Employment Opportunity Office of the Deputy under Secretary of Defense (Equal Opportunity)
Mr. Clarence Johnson was selected to the Senior Executive Service In 2003, and assigned as the principal director and director for Civilian Equal Employment Opportunity, Office of the Deputy under Secretary of Defense (Equal Opportunity) at the Pentagon. In 2006, the office was renamed the Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity. He is responsible for coordination of diversity management and equal opportunities policy and programs affecting all Department of Defense (DOD) civilian and military personnel. He also provides supervision of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI), the premiere DOD school in equal opportunity and equal employment opportunity training, education and research. Mr. Johnson is principal advisor to the undersecretary of defense (personnel and readiness) on diversity management, equal opportunity and employment opportunity matters. He earned a bachelor’s in biology from Tuskegee Institute and a master’s in human resource management from Webster University. He is also a graduate of the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College, Alabama, and the National Security Management Course from the National Defense University.
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MILTON K. LEWIS
Acquisition Executive Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime
Mr. Milton Lewis is acquisition executive director at Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Land and Maritime. He assumed this position and was inducted into the Senior Executive Service in 2008. DLA Land and Maritime manages more than 1.8 million spare and repair parts, with 3,400 associates in 37 locations around the world, to include seven DLA depot level reparable and supply storage and distribution units supporting supply requirements at U.S. Navy naval shipyards, Marine Corps logistics centers and deployed units. In 2012, DLA Land and Maritime sales exceeded $4 billion. Mr. Lewis is a retired Army colonel with 29 years of military service. In his final military assignment, he was the director, land-based Weapon Systems Group with the Defense Supply Center Columbus. He received his commission as a distinguished military graduate from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Morehouse College and a Master of Science in systems management from the Florida Institute of Technology. Prior to assuming his current position, Lewis was an acquisition and logistics management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton. In this position, he was responsible for conducting analysis and developing acquisition, logistics and supply chain management solutions for government and commercial client organizations. WARREN LOCKETTE, M.D.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Clinical and Program Policy Chief Medical Officer of the TRICARE Management Activity
Dr. Warren Lockette is responsible for Department of Defense programs in clinical informatics, military public health, women’s health issues, mental health policy, graduate medical education, and patient safety. Dr. Lockette received his undergraduate and doctor of medicine degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Following post-graduate training at the
University of California, he was recruited by the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and was a tenured professor of endocrinology and medicine. Lockette was also appointed adjunct associate professor of physiology at the University of Michigan and professor of medicine and Faculty Fellow of the International House at the University of California, San Diego. In addition, he studies the molecular genetics of complex quantitative traits and human performance in extreme environments. Dr. Lockette has served as a senior advisor to the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command and the U.S. Special Operations Command. At Naval Medical Center, San Diego, Dr. Lockette helped guide the growth of the largest military clinical research program in graduate medical education. Most recently, he was special assistant to the commander, U.S. Navy Fourth Fleet, where he forged partnerships between military and civilian organizations of health care and public health practitioners to provide collaborative humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training in Latin America. MS. CYNTHIA MILLER
Chief of Staff, Information Assurance Director National Security Agency.
Prior to joining the National Security Agency (NSA), Ms. Cynthia Miller was a U.S. Navy human resources officer, retiring as captain. Over her 27-year career, she earned several professional certificates including human resources and civilian management training. Ms. Miller’s most recent SES assignment was as the director, Leadership and Development, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), providing oversight for the ODNI and sixteen Intelligence Community agencies. Additionally, she was responsible for implementation of the five-year strategic plan for human capital (2012-2017). As HR director for the ODNI and chief human capital officer, she served as advisor to senior leadership. She was also chief of staff for the associate director of human capital, and advised on planning, logistics, and human capital programs. Other positions Ms. Miller has held include chief of staff USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 55
for the Intelligence Community Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity. She supported the director on management of the Intelligence Community’s efforts to build and retain a diverse workforce. Additionally, she provided guidance on the representation of minorities and persons with disabilities. Miller graduated in 1983 with a master’s in business management from Central Michigan University. In 1977, she earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Savannah State University. She also graduated from Marine Corps Command and Staff College in 1991 with a master’s level equivalency in strategic planning. CURTIS B. ODOM
U.S. Coast Guard Director of Civilian Human Resources, Diversity and Leadership, Coast Guard Headquarters
Mr. Curt Odom assumed the duties of the Coast Guard’s director of personnel management in 2009. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as deputy director of personnel management April 1, 2007. He currently oversees the Coast Guard’s civilian human resources office, diversity staff, workforce planning staff and the leadership and professional development staff. He leads a staff of more than 180. Mr. Odom retired from active duty with the Coast Guard at the rank of captain. He has held various assignments throughout his career including, executive officer, Coast Guard Training Center, and Coast Guard Support Center. While serving at the center he was selected as the “Outstanding Military Officer of the Year” by the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Executive Board. His Coast Guard assignments include chief, office of leadership and diversity, reserve and training directorate and ethnic policy advisor to the commandant of the Coast Guard as a member of the diversity management staff. Mr. Odom also completed a 10-month fellowship with the Chief of Naval Operations strategic studies group before assuming command of the Coast Guard’s only recruit training center. With a staff of more than 500 military and civilian personnel, the center graduated approximately 5,000 military members each year that were assigned to Coast Guard units all over the world. He is a member of the Coast Guard Academy 56 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
board of trustees. Odom is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy where he earned a Bachelor of Science in government. He also has an M.B.A. from the Florida Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. FREDERICK SELLERS
Deputy Assistant Director United States Secret Service
Mr. Frederick Sellers’ career with the U.S. Secret Service has focused on both the protective and investigative missions of the agency. Over his 25-year tenure, he has played an executive protecting role with five U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, William Clinton, George W. Bush and currently Barack Obama. Currently, Mr. Sellers oversees forensics, asset forfeiture, analytic/research specialists, commercial database management, and criminal investigations to include all financial/cyber-crimes. He holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from University of South Carolina and joined the Secret Service as a uniformed division officer in 1988. Two years later, he was appointed a special agent. After seven years in field offices he was assigned to the protective intelligence division, which monitors threats directed at the President, Vice President and world leaders when visiting the United States. Later, Mr. Sellers was selected to the Department of Homeland Security’s Senior Executive Service cohort to serve as chief of staff in the office of the director of risk management analysis, which informs homeland security strategy, formulation, preparedness priorities, and resource allocations. In 2012, he was appointed as a deputy assistant director in the Office of Investigations. In this role, he oversaw logistics of the 2,400 special agents and 745 administrative, professional and technical personnel in the domestic and international field offices. He is an active member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
ANTHONY C. THOMAS
Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence and Special Program Assessments
Mr. Anthony Thomas was appointed to the Senior Executive Service March 10, 2013. He has more than 28 years of experience in the intelligence career field. Prior to his current position, he served as chief, Counterintelligence (CI) policy and assessments at the Defense CI and HUMINT Center, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). In that capacity he planned, led and directed annual assessment of the DOD counterintelligence enterprise missions, functions and activities. Before joining DIA, Mr. Thomas served in key roles at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and provided intelligence and counterintelligence support regarding the global threat of weapons of mass destruction. Thomas began his career in 1985 as an Air Force intelligence officer. He served in leadership positions at the Strategic Air Command, Air Combat Command, U.S. Air Forces Europe, Air Staff, and the U.S. Pacific Command. Following military service, he briefly entered private industry and later joined the federal government in September 2005 with a focus on national security and related intelligence issues. Mr. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Alabama State University and a master’s in business administration (aviation) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His professional military education includes Joint Doctrine Air Campaign Planning, Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College, and the Air War College.
SENIOR, HIGH LEVEL FEDERAL JOBS INVOLVE PERFORMANCE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, BIOLOGICAL, MEDICAL, OR ENGINEERING SCIENCES.
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Bringing Great People and Great Organizations Together Each person is different, and so is each career opportunity. That’s why at Aerotek we find out what’s important to each individual and each company to find the perfect fit. Every time.
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THE BEYA
STARS & STRIPES T
by Imani Carter icarter@ccgmag.com
MENTORING PROGRAM
he demands for STEM workers are increasing; however, due to lack of knowledge and motivation, students are not choosing to study in these fields. In some cases there are several minority students who have sparked an interest in STEM, but have counted their dreams as unrealistic. Students need encouragement and positive influencers to steer them into the right direction. Here is where the BEYA Stars and Stripes Mentoring Program steps in. Created in 2011, under the leadership of Vice Adm. (Ret) Anthony Winns and Vice Adm. (Ret) Walter Davis, this phenomenal program reaches out to approximately 300 middle and high school students and engineering majors from local colleges and universities. The Stars and Stripes Mentoring Program is a staple event at the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) STEM Conference, which is hosted by Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Council of HBCU Engineering Deans and US Black Engineer Magazine. Over a two hour period, students enjoy an entertaining, yet educational experience that includes networking with over 100 mentors, including college and university deans, industry professionals and flag officers of all services. Students understand the importance of the of Stars and Stripes Mentoring Program and realize how beneficial it is to the development of their future. “I had a chance to speak to the students after the mentoring sessions, and they told me that the experience was both entertaining and educational,” said past attendee Mike Hissam, Director of STEM Outreach for PA Cyber. Students are able to participate in a variety of seminars where mentors share the importance of leadership, STEM, STEM-related careers and the rewards of military service. The www.blackengineer.com
takeaways from this program are invaluable, as participants, including parents have expressed great gratitude to the Stars and Stripes Mentoring Program coordinators. “It was an amazing event, and we were so grateful to have the opportunity to participate. The various speakers and presentations were very impressive and inspiring. My son definitely needed this level of exposure, and I’m hopeful that it will resonate with him as he continues with a rigorous high school schedule on his journey towards becoming a biomedical engineer,” said parent Cassandra Ford, a ninth grade counselor at TC Williams High School. What makes this program so special is the fact that the service does not stop once the program is over. Instead, mentors have continued conversations with their mentees after the conference, and have developed strong relationships with their students. The Stars and Stripes Mentor Program addresses the reality that many students have never been in the same room with industry professionals, service officers and generals, let alone speak to them about their future. This is the type of exposure that students, minorities especially, need. It is tremendously inspiring for students to be able to see someone who looks just like them, achieving things that they thought were impossible. These students are instilled with a drive and passion to follow the steps of their mentors and one day find his or her self on a stage being honored for their accomplishments and mentorship to others. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 59
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BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS Some of the brightest minds in STEM, business and government offer their insights and advice about living and working to one’s best potential.
The Next Level
by Garland Thompson gthompson@ccgmag.com
JOE ANDERSON: FROM THE ARMY TO THE CORPORATE TOP RANKS
I
t’s a long way from the jungles of South Vietnam to the chief executive’s office at TAG Holdings LLC, in Troy, Mich., and Joseph B. Anderson, former U.S. Army infantry leader, can look with satisfaction on that climb. But looked at another way, Anderson’s career represents an even longer climb, one which can serve as an example for many of the young Black engineers working their ways up the career ladder behind him. He never stopped climbing, long after others might have expected him to take his gold watch and sit down. Anderson, a 1991 Black Engineer of the Year finalist, has forged several careers in a single lifetime. His latest big moves, as the 20th century ended and a new millennium geared up, should be instructive for all those observers lamenting the failure of Black professionals to build wealth for the next generation. GROWING UP IN A TIME OF TURMOIL
But first, let’s look at how he started. Anderson was born in Topeka, Kan., during the height of the Second World War. American arms were clashing with the enemies of democracy on the high seas, in the air and on the land on fields of conflict spread all over the globe. More pertinent to Anderson’s family and his personal career climb, however, is the barrier that blocked the dreams of young Blacks across his state and across much of the United States: de jure segregation. Kansas was a segregated state, and the young Joe Anderson was 11 years old when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, changing the way schools were run and Joseph B. Anderson, CEO, TAG Holdings LLC the ways life could be lived in modern American society. There still were hurdles to be overcome, however, before WINDS OF CHANGE BLEW OPEN DOORS the young Joe Anderson could make his climb to executive ranks But they mattered greatly, for Anderson and all in his generin American industry. Chicagoan Emmett Till was only one year ation. The Little Rock Nine desegregated Central High School in older than Anderson when he met his tragic fate in Mississippi Arkansas, in full view of jeering mobs and TV cameras, during one year later, sparking a civil rights movement that upended the his boyhood. The Montgomery Bus Boycott began in Alabama mores of segregation even more thoroughly than the high court’s in 1955, the same year young Emmett Till died. In every state, decision upended the Jim Crow laws. black groups were challenging the “mores” of segregation as To Joe Anderson, all of 12 years old, those events, difficult well as the laws and practices that kept them in second-class for an eighth-grader to understand, must have seemed unknowcitizenship. ably far away. Including during their service in the U.S. military. Benjamin Davis Jr., the commander of the Tuskegee Airmen www.blackengineer.com
USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 61
BEST PRACTICES FOR SUCCESS
The Next Level cont’d braving the skies over Nazi-occupied Europe when Anderson was a boy, was “silenced” -- treated to open contempt and refused everyday conversation -- by his fellow cadets at the United States Military Academy a generation before Anderson graduated high school, but the pathway he blazed meant Anderson and his fellow black officers-to-be had a less obstructed path to success.
General Motors’ Pontiac Motors Division, and in March 1981, he became plant manager for pressed metal and plating operations. In 1989 he won appointment as director of GM’s exterior systems business unit, Inland Fisher Guide division. Building upward in that business, Anderson rose to general director, body hardware business unit at Inland Fisher Guide.
GOING WHERE FEW HAD GONE BEFORE
SHIFTING GEARS YET AGAIN
Still, enrolling at the nation’s oldest and most prestigious And just like at the end of his Army service, Anderson left school of engineering while learning what it takes to become a to begin yet another new career: serial entrepreneur. leader of uniformed warriors during the turbulent 1960s, when In December 1992, Anderson resigned his post to become there were few African-American role models extant in Ameripresident and CEO of Composite Energy Management Systems can industry and fewer still African-American youths could Inc. Sitting at the top of the enterprise fit him well, he thought, imagine themselves even becoming engineers, must have been so he next acquired a controlling interest in Chivas Products daunting. But Cadet Anderson, undaunted and unfazed, handled the stress, graduating in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and engineering, and going on to the famed 82nd Airborne Division, the “All Americans.” A new war was raging in southeast Asia, and Lt. Anderson was plunged into the middle of it. That brought him to public light. It was so unusual, two decades after President Truman desegregated the armed services, to see a Black officer leading troops in combat, that TV cameras found him, slogging his way through the jungles of Vietnam. The resulting documen–—Joseph B. Anderson, CEO, tary, “The Anderson Platoon,” put onto TAG Holdings LLC TV screens the face and personality of the young 1st Cavalry unit leader for all Americans to see. The highly acclaimed film was shown in more than 20 countries and won both an Limited, trim, lighting and plastics operations. Academy Award for “Best Documentary” in 1967 and an Emmy “I ran that for several years,” Anderson said in an interview, from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. but admitted he found a hard learning curve ahead of him. “I thought I knew what entrepreneurship was after my time SLOGGING ONWARD AND UPWARD as a GM executive. But I did not. Banking, labor relations, balAnderson, a committed young officer, kept on fighting ance sheets, all those kinds of details were handled by GM, not through two tours of duty in south Vietnam. Returning home by me—I didn’t know how to do all those things. Entrepreneurafter that intense experience, Anderson completed two master’s ship really requires learning from your failures. degree programs at UCLA in 1972 and 1973, and having served “Chivas Products went into bankruptcy in 1998, and I as aide-de-camp to two general officers, was selected to attend continued to struggle,” Anderson said. “I learned a lot of lessons the Army’s Command and General Staff College in 1977. Anfrom that.” derson returned to West Point before he left the Army, serving as Next Anderson tried a joint venture. “Vibration Control assistant professor of social sciences before taking a new post as Technologies LLC, a manufacturer of torsion control dampa White House Fellow. ers, was a partnership between me, a German company and a In 1978, his Army career came to an end, but that only served Japanese entity,” he said. TAG Holdings, the larger company he as a new beginning for Joseph Anderson. The next year, he joined formed in 2002 to oversee and manage his corporate properties,
“I thought I knew what entrepreneurship was, after my time as a GM executive. But I did not. Banking, labor relations, balance sheets, all those kinds of details were handled by GM, not by me. Entrepreneurship really requires learning from your failures.”
62 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
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has the strategy of owning controlling interests in a range of manufacturing and service industries. LESSONS LEARNED, MOVING ON
Deciding he’d learned enough as chairman and chief executive officer at the restructured Chivas Industries LLC, Anderson sold his interest to Continental Plastics. In Silicon Valley, they call that “cashing out.” A corporate profile published by Black Enterprise in 2009 noted that TAG Holdings LLC had in its portfolio Vibration Control Technologies LLC; A&D Technologies LLC, a Korean and Chinese manufacturer of temperature sensors and plumbing ceramics; North American Assemblies LLC, a provider of assembly and supply-chain management services; Great Lakes Assemblies LLC, a provider of automotive and motorcycle wheel assemblies; and Gulf Shore Assemblies LLC, another provider of automobile wheel assemblies. How he got there provides an interesting example for others. Anderson served as president of the National Association of Black Automotive Suppliers, meeting with corporate decision-makers all over the auto industry. “As president, I had the responsibility of talking to all the majors about working with Black suppliers,” Anderson said, “and those contacts proved invaluable. Others would say ‘I’ll just keep my head down; I don’t have time for that,’” but Anderson made time. ACTIVISM CAN GET YOU NOTICED
He visited Honda’s American corporate headquarters, saying, “We are here, we want to do business with you,” and got a call back. “[Honda’s executive] said, ‘I’ve got a little business in South Carolina, an ATV assembly operation. It’s a small operation; I’d like you to take over and become a supplier to Honda,’” Anderson said. That business started in 2003, and by April 2004, Honda’s people were telling Anderson, “We want to talk to you about the next business we’d like you to consider -- at our largest car operation in Marysville, Ohio.” So Anderson’s new auto assemblies operation was born. The Honda subsidiary handled “all of the tire and wheel assembly for two corporate plants,” Anderson said. “I looked into that and formed a joint venture between TAG Holdings and Honda -- Midwest Express, founded in 2005. Anderson had launched another automotive business in Asia in 2004. “I was contacted by guys who said Chrysler needed a supplier in Korea for temperature sensors that controlled the thermostat.” Thus, A&D Technologies was born.
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EXPANDING HIS REACH
Then Honda, impressed with Anderson’s management of its South Carolina supply works, asked him to take over tire and wheel assembly in Alabama. Gulf Shore Assemblies required Anderson to move to a new location and take over from another minority supplier in 2007. But Honda was not finished with him yet. In 2008, Anderson took over another assembly plant in Indiana. Personal success, as satisfying as it was, still was not enough for Anderson. “My commitment -- management of these companies, my leadership team at TAG Holdings, is to creating personal leadership and development in our communities. Five of the nine managers of my companies are African Americans. “My workforce in Alabama and South Carolina is predominantly African American. In Ohio and Indiana, it’s predominantly white. But I put African Americans in leadership positions. I found people by a lot of searching,” Anderson said. “During the economic downturn, I was able to identify seasoned managers from Ford, GM and Chrysler who were now available.” A Black female-led search firm Anderson declined to identify helped him find his people, and then Anderson began turning over some properties to African Americans he had found. DEVELOPING NEW ENTREPRENEURS
One was Billy Vickers, who became Anderson’s successor in owning Great Lakes Assemblies and Gulf Shores Assemblies. As Anderson said, one of his missions is to create wealth in the African-American communities. So when Vickers, who had worked well within TAG Holdings, stepped forth to purchase a company, Anderson was ready to let go. Ditto for James Tolson, a former manager in the South Carolina manufacturing works. In addition to managing his companies and developing other Black industrial capitalists, Anderson also serves on corporate boards: Quaker Chemical Corporation, ArvinMeritor Inc., Sierra Pacific Resources, Rite Aid Corporation and Valassis, according to the Black Enterprise report. He also serves, the magazine said, on the boards of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, the Society of Automotive Engineers Foundation, and the Society of Automotive Engineers International. He sits on the executive committee of the National Association of Black Automotive Suppliers and the Board of Governors for the Center for Creative Leadership, and he also serves on the advisory board of Horizons-Upward Bound and the board of directors of Focus Hope. All that might tire out the average person, but Anderson, a 1984 graduate of the Harvard Advanced Management Program, found time in 2007 to head off to Kettering University, where he received an honorary Doctor of Management degree. Slowing down? What’s that?
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EDUCATION Information is our most powerful resource, whether we receive it via the printed page, a computer screen, or from a dedicated teacher. In this section, we look at the trends and developments that are expanding STEM education.
Book Review
by M.V. Greene mgreene@ccgmag.com
U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF’S READING LIST IS TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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ne of the U.S. Army’s time-honored military traditions is the compiling of the U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List—which recommends books to Army soldiers as a means for both development and enlightenment. The Army Reading List acts as an introduction to many books on Army history, heritage and leadership that assist those serving at all levels of the service branch. Each of the U.S. military’s other branches —Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force and Coast Guard—also publish reading lists for professional development tailored to the work of the specific branch. According to Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who became the 38th U.S. Army Chief of Staff on Sept. 7, 2011, the reading list is an important element in the professional development of all leaders in the Army. “We can never spend too much time reading and thinking about the Army profession and its interaction with the world at large. These readings will deepen our understanding of the history of armies, the critical role of leadership in combat and the strategic environment of today and the future,” Odierno said. “There is simply no better way to prepare for the future than a disciplined, focused commitment to a personal course of reading, study, thought and reflection.” The Army Reading List is broken down into four categories: The Army Profession, The Force of Decisive Action, Broadening Leaders and The Strategic Environment. As stated in the 2013 edition of the reading list, books are selected to “complement materials currently used in the Army educational system and can help bridge the intervals between periods of formal instruction at Army schools.” Along with promoting professional self-development, the list encourages the habits of reading and reflection, sustained growth and deepened appreciation of soldiers’ military heritage through the exploration of books in the four categories. While the chief of staff recommends books, the Army points out that the list is not particularly an endorsement of the views or interpretations of authors, but a “starting point on a journey of discovery and development” for soldiers. The titles included in the Army Profession section for 2013 cover wide-ranging topics pertaining to the military profession. For example, historian Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, tells the story of the men of Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, from recruitment through the end of World War II in Europe. The author compiled hours of interviews with many of the veterans themselves, while also pouring through journals and letters. The book is a story of sacrifice and heroism by a unit that suffered a 150 percent casualty rate and considered the Purple Heart a badge of honor. In 2001, the “Band of Brothers” mini-series was adapted for HBO. 64 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
Another title, The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, represents a book in the reading list’s Force of Decisive Action section. Shaara’s novel recounts the battle of Gettysburg from a fictional point of view and was the basis for the 1993 film “Gettysburg” that starred Tom Berenger and Martin Sheen. The author tells of the events immediately before and during the battle as seen through the eyes of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Lewis A. Armistead and Federal Gen. John Buford and Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain and others. Historians have called the battle of Gettysburg the decisive battle of the Civil War, and Shaara conveys the thoughts of men in war as well as their confusion in the “fog of battle.” John Kotter’s 2002 Leading Change title is a selection from the Broadening Leaders section of the reading list. The text on leadership describes a proven eight-step change process: 1. establishing a sense of urgency; 2. creating the guiding coalition; 3. developing a vision and strategy; 4. communicating the change vision; 5. empowering others to act; 6. creating short-term wins; 7. consolidating gains and producing even more change; and, 8. institutionalizing new approaches in the future. The chief of staff recommends leaders across the Army should study and use Kotter’s change process to assist in leading complex Army organizations through uncertainty and difficult circumstances. Another title, Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia from Ahmed Rashid, is found on the Strategic Environment portion of the reading list. Rashid, a Pakistani writer, describes a view that the war against Islamic extremism is being lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. The author examines the region and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe to depict how promised nation building in these countries has progressed. His conclusions are devastating: an unstable and nuclear-armed Pakistan, a renewed al-Qaeda profiting from a booming opium trade, and a Taliban resurgence and reconquest. He argues that failing states pose a graver threat to global security than the Middle East. These texts represent just four of the dozens of titles included in the 2013 edition of the Army Reading List. They illustrate the wide range of topics recommended to soldiers at all levels. Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. (1999-2003) and current U.S. Sec. of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki outlines the importance of the Army Reading List. “This is a professional reading list for all leaders. We can never spend too much time thinking about our profession. There is no better way to develop the sure knowledge and confidence required of America’s most demanding occupation than a disciplined, focused commitment to a personal course of reading and study.” www.blackengineer.com
SCIENCE SPECTRUM Science spectrum champions the advancements made in all areas of scientific inquiry, whether those strides are made by individual innovators or through the resources of enterprisng organizations.
Titans of Science
Multiple Unified Simulation Environment/Air Force Synthetic Environment for Reconnaissance and Surveillance simulation system
by Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com
Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Soldiers deploy Shadows to facilitate reconnaissance, targeting enemy forces for air or artillery strikes. A UAS platoon’s training regimen consists of preparing the Shadow for flight, launching it, maintaining a flight pattern and landing safely.
WHO’S PROTECTING THE AMERICAN SOLDIER?
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hen the army unveiled its Unmanned Aircraft/Aerial Systems Roadmap at the Army Aviation Association of America convention in 2010, one speaker said of all the technologies introduced during eight and a half years of war, he didn’t think any had made a greater impact than unmanned aircraft systems. UAS are the “eyes of the Army” and they provide capability to collect, process and disseminate information to reduce sensor-to-shooter timeline. But in addition to unmanned aircraft deployed in theater are other hi-tech innovations that support combat operations. USBE&IT spoke to engineer-scientists who work on the systems and develop the products that help protect the American soldier. Jackson State University computer science grad Brenda Matthews is currently lead systems engineer of the pre-planned product improvement program for the Shadow product line of the tactical unmanned aerial system project office in the Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (AMRDEC) at Redstone Arsenal. She is responsible for planning and system modification programs. One of them is the Shadow, a medium-sized unmanned aerial system that provides reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition for up to 12 hours of continuous operation within a 24-hour period. “The Shadow UAS is the Army’s tactical ‘workhorse’ supporting brigade and combat team operations,” Matthews said. “The Shadow provides the ground commander with significant situational awareness and ability to influence operations in a timely manner. The addition of extended wings and increased fuel storage capacity increased mission endurance allowed for expanded payload capability.” The Shadow has compiled 800,000 flight hours since its fielding in early 2003. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Soldiers deploy Shadows to facilitate reconnaissance, targeting enemy forces for air or artillery strikes. A UAS platoon’s training regimen consists of preparwww.blackengineer.com
ing the Shadow for flight, launching it, maintaining a flight pattern and landing safely. SERVE AND PROTECT
Four years ago, Cathy MillerRobinson took on one of her toughest missions yet over a 24-year career. She led an information assurance team at the AMRDEC software engineering directorate. The software directorate supports sustainment of some of the most sophisticated weapon systems used to train soldiers for battle. “These systems provide services to war fighting commanders for the Cathy Miller-Robinson, Army, Navy, and Air Force,” Millerautomatic test/electrical Robinson explained. “It’s my responsi- engineer, Army/Space and Ground bility to ensure that soldiers who utilize Aircraft Weapon systems our systems/products are kept safe from any cyber-threats that may affect their mission.” Information assurance, she adds, along with operational security, physical security and training, protects the Army’s flow of information from individuals that wish to use it to derail efforts. JAM RESISTANT WIRELESS
Located in Natick, Mass. (and known locally as Natick Labs), the Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is a recognized leader in the Army’s campaign to assure the decisive edge for the 21st century warrior. In partnership with industry, the Army Research Lab, and the Army’s information technologies and USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 65
SCIENCE SPECTRUM
integrated systems center at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, Natick led design of a wireless personal area network (WPAN) that enables secure communication without the need of TYPE-1 encryption between digital components―sensors, smartphones, video displays, audio devices, etc. “This is analogous to how Bluetooth is used to connect a smartphone to a headset,” said Jesus Aberlade, a technical advisor to the center director. “The WPAN incorporates high-tech techniques and algorithms to mitigate the shortcomings of commercial wireless solutions providing reliable soldier communications under battlefield conditions,” Abelarde explained. “Examples include secure and stealthy Jesus Aberlade, military waveform communications technical advisor to Army Natick Soldier called ‘multi-concatenated spread Research, Development spectrum’ that provide high bandwidth, and Engineering Center and jam resistant wireless channel with Director a low probability of interception and detection.” The waveform power level is so incredibly low, he said, that one falling snowflake generates at least two orders of magnitude more power when it hits ground. “Other examples are a security module capable of mitigating cyber-attacks as it challenges adversaries to adapt, and a modular system design that enables the utilization of the waveform for various applications across the Department of Defense. “The technology, as it matures, has potential to unburden, protect and increase soldier acceptance to soldier-borne computing systems, giving them a tactical edge on the battlefield as it will improve size, weight, power and cost over the current soldier system platform,” Abelarde said. In the fall of 1996, Connie Miles volunteered to go to Kaposvar, Hungary, to serve as section chief of the redeployment cell for the U.S. Army Materiel Command Logistic Support Element (Main) in support of operation Joint Endeavor/Joint Guard. Miles stayed till the spring of ‘97 and the six-month experience at her station changed her world view. “Almost everything that I utilized, from my clothes, sleeping quarter, and food was developed at Natick,” she noted. “Once I returned home, I had a better appreciation of how what we do impacts the soldier every day,” she said Miles, who has worked for the U.S. Army in Natick for almost 20 years, has done research on a variety of Army Rigid Wall Shelters (RWS). “We are the technical expert for acquisition, manufacturing and integration of rigid and soft-wall shelters,” she said. Rigid wall shelters (RWS) are environmentally controlled work/ live-in spaces that can be used for field hospitals, maintenance facilities, tactical operation centers, command posts, field kitchens, and laboratories. The RWS can be transported by military vehicles, heli66 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
copter, aircraft, train and ship and rapidly set up to serve the soldier. Shelters range in size from those that can be carried by High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvees, to 20-foot container size. They are constructed using aircraft type construction―honeycomb core sandwiched between two aluminum skins. “New technology is constantly being investigated that will improve the performance of the current RWS, by making it lighter and more durable,” Miles said. Michelle Richardson, at Natick for 24 years, is a senior food technologist in the combat feeding directorate. “I develop processing methods and ingredients that will prevent growth of various pathogenic bacteria, spoilage microorganism that cause food borne illnesses and spoilage, while ensuring microbial stability to ensure nutritional quality and soldier acceptability,” she said. Some of Richardson’s projects include: dehydration techniques that will provide high-quality, low-cost foods for operational rations with reduced dependence on refrigeration required for transport/storage; and next-generation combat bakery Items using latest ingredient and processing methods to create highly requested items such as pizza focaccia and brownies that meet shelf-life requirements: three years at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Richardson’s research also focuses on technology and foods that can withstand five-year storage during spaceflight and extraterrestrial stockpiling as well as provide sufficient vitamins/nutrition throughout the duration of the mission. In addition, she looks at elements affecting the military in the dining hall, in ration packaging, food safety areas, as well as emerging technologies that may help sustain the warfighter. “We look at the systems that soldiers are going to use in the current environment whether it’s altitude, or temperature; we simulate how the weapon will perform; verify that the system will perform,” Mike Davis said. A 1987 Alabama A&M University civil engineering graduate, Davis spent summers at the Army’s aviation and missile command responsible for the management of Army missile, Mike Davis, team leader, helicopter, unmanned ground vehicle aviation systems, and unmanned aerial vehicle weapon AMRDEC systems. Davis took up full-time employment in 1991 at the defense installation and center of excellence for missile and aviation technology. Currently, he is a team leader for aviation systems in AMRDEC’s system simulation and development directorate. The Army aviation and missile command works closely with AMRDEC, which operates simulation facilities to evaluate missile components, such as seekers, in a variety of flights and countermeasures environments.
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“Our mission is to provide aerial, ground and seaborne targets to warfighters for training, and to weapon system developers for developmental and operational testing,” said Michael Francis, a general engineer in the program executive office for simulation, training and instrumentation. “Threats to our warfighters are evolving; therefore integrated product teams work to produce various design solutions to make each target type more versatile. By doing so, each target can replicate multiple threats and therefore create an enhanced training and testing environment,”
Michael Francis, a general engineer for Army Targets Managment in the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation. According to the Army’s acquisition and contracting center of excellence for simulation, training and testing capabilities, the PEO STRI fielded the first soldier tracking system to Fort Bragg, N.C., to assist in the tracking and safety of special operations soldiers during the land-navigation qualification course. The soldier tracking system
proved to be highly successful, so useful that three injured soldiers used the panic button to call for help. In addition to special operation soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga., soldiers all across the Army are benefitting from the work PEO STRI is doing. The common driver trainer program is one example. The trainer, designed to teach tank and Humvee driving, has been modified to teach soldiers to drive mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles or armored fighting vehicles, whose purpose is surviving improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE
“Some sensitive site assessment operations expose soldiers to environments contaminated with chemicals. The Rapid Area Sensitive-site Reconnaissance (RASR) Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) developed a capability that allows personnel to remotely conduct initial assessment of a site using the integrated RASR ATD System. The RASR ATD demonstrated that this system can potentially decrease the time for the SSA mission by survey- Alvin D. Thornton, Director Engineering, Edgewood ing and mapping the location of chemi- of Chemical Biological Center, U.S. Army cals and reducing the time soldiers Research, Development, would spend in personal protective and Engineering equipment,” said Alvin D. Thornton, director of engineering at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering. “My work in support of the Chemical and Biological (CB) defense program ensures CB defense equipment and materiel mitigate the threat; is appropriately suitable for use in the threat environment and is survivable consistent with end user and mission requirements. I engage engineering directorate resources toward development of military vehicle training surrogates―a vehicle rollover simulator and gunner’s restraint system in support of the rapid equipping force, Pamela Lamb, the joint improvised explosive device maintenance engineering defeat organization and other compobranch chief, Acquisition nents of the Army Materiel Command. Logistics Division Technical Directorate [We] equip soldiers with assets for use in simulated training prior to deployment. The rollover simulawww.blackengineer.com
Rigid wall shelters (RWS) are environmentally controlled work/ live-in spaces that can be used for field hospitals, maintenance facilities, tactical operation centers, command posts, field kitchens, and laboratories. The RWS can be transported by military vehicles, helicopter, aircraft, train and ship and rapidly set up to serve the soldier. Shelters range in size from those that can be carried by High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvees, to 20-foot container size.
tor helped optimize safe egress operations in the event of a vehicle rollover, and the gunner’s restraint system eliminated soldier fatalities and reduced soldier injuries resulting from warzone hazards previously encountered.” Pamela Lamb, maintenance engineering branch chief, Acquisition Logistics Division Technical Directorate, said, “As a maintenance engineer, my job is to ensure the system/equipment can be maintained at the desired level of readiness after it is placed in operational use. Long story short, the design engineers can come up with the best piece of equipment, but if that equipment can’t be maintained once the soldier has it, then what good is it? If the solder cannot fix it because maintenance of the item is above his skill level we have a problem! Or if he can fix it but it cost more to fix it than the item itself, we have another problem. If the tools or repair parts are not known, you guessed it, another problem. The maintenance engineer is needed to fix these problems. Through test and analysis, we make sure the soldier has all he needs and is well prepared to maintain the equipment in the field environment.” USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 67
SCIENCE SPECTRUM
Diverse Faces of Science
by Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com
Ray Gilstrap (Center) Chief Technology Officer for Information Technology at NASA Ames Research Center Aisha Bowe (Right) Aerospace Engineer, AST Flight & Fluid Mechanics at NASA Ames Research Center, Nicholas Pennycooke (Left) Design Engineer at APX Labs
BE CURIOUS AND CREATIVE FOR SUCCESS IN STEM
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uriosity and creativity are two traits that several highly accomplished engineers say are necessary to be successful in a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) career. And seizing opportunities to cultivate those traits may spell the difference between being just a dreamer and meeting and exceeding one’s dreams. Three engineers discussed their own journeys in engineering, how their innate curiosity and creativity were developed and how they challenged themselves on their career paths. “Your journey in STEM can take you many different places,” said J. Chris Ford, technical advisor to the director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the Department of Energy (DOE). “But the driving factor is your curiosity to solve problems. I think that’s the hallmark of all scientists.” Ford serves to foster catalytic activities that commercialize DOE technology and improve diversity and inclusion. In addition to Ford’s technical pursuits, he is a budding entrepreneur. He is the owner of A&A Resources and Golden Technologies,Inc., which serves the healthcare and clean energy consulting sectors. He pointed out that historically it was “engineers who were 68 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
entrepreneurs who changed the landscape of this country and this world,” citing Steve Jobs, Nicolai Tesla and Thomas Edison. “These individuals were great scientists but they understood the mechanics of entrepreneurship and policy issues,” he said. “I have the mind of an engineer—being very technical—but the heart and passion of an entrepreneur. I am a risk taker.” Ford, a 2003 graduate of Morehouse College/Georgia Tech in a dual math/mechanical engineering degree program, talked extensively about how his journey involved three internships at the NASA AMES Research Center. His first experience was one he described as “horrible” and which left him discouraged due to a supervisor who was culturally insensitive. The internships that followed were “phenomenal” and he worked in the fluid mechanics lab and contributed to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. “We must be proactive and encourage people of color to nurture that innate curiosity,” Ford said. “HBCUS [Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are excellent in doing that.” Nicholas Pennycooke is the primary design engineer under APX Labs’ Research and Development arm. He did his undergraduate and graduate work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was involved in a project focused on “changing the urban landscape” related to transportation. www.blackengineer.com
Through that project, he worked on a two-seater electric network security, multimedia, quality of service and evaluation vehicle that compacts so more vehicles can fit in traditional of emerging network technologies for use in mission-related parking spaces. applications. He is a veteran of eight field expeditions in remote In 2010, a company from Spain approached the lab about desert and polar locations and has served as the technical lead on producing the vehicle and in 2012 that company launched the a project to enhance nighttime safety for women in an informal fold-up Hiriko in Europe, Pennycooke said. settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. “It’s been an incredible trip to be able to see this care actuGilstrap said what he likes about his job is working with a ally real now,” Pennycooke said. diverse group of scientists and engineers and delving into about A native of Jamaica, Pennycooke said he fantasized about areas of robotics, space suit design, geology and meteorology attending MIT long before he fully understood what the school and more. was all about. He recalled being a freshman and being intro“It’s really cool to be able to follow along and learn from duced to computer-aided design. the folks you are working with,” he said. “NASA has no short“Wow, wait a minute, this is age of people doing cool work.” what I just drew, but in 3D space He added another personal so I can actually get a real feel reason for enjoying his job. for what it looks like and can it “My attention span is kind actually work,” he remembered of short, so sitting at a desk all thinking. day is not something I would He described how powerprefer to do, but in my role I get ful the moment is when ideas to go and do a lot of different become tangible. things and travel to a lot of “I think that moment for different places,” Gilstrap said. many engineers is pivotal in “Having an opportunity to go deciding the direction they are and explore different things going in, if they really have that is really exciting to me just to fire burning in them to create,” keep the variety going.” Pennycooke said. Gilstrap is a graduate of Now at APX Labs, headFlorida A&M University with an quartered outside of Washington, electrical engineering undergradD.C., Pennycooke works in auguate degree and a master’s degree mented reality and biometrics. in electrical engineering from the J. Chris Ford (Center), technical advisor to the director of the “We think there are many University of California. Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the Department of different applications for augGilstrap said being able to Energy, Knatokie Ford (Left) AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, Shana Craft, Ph.D. (right) Staff project engineer, mented reality,” he said. work as a member of a team is Lockheed Martin Asked why he moved from critically important for those one discipline to another, Pennywanting to work for an employer cooke said it simply makes sense. such as NASA. “To me there’s a world of challenges out there that need “That’s how engineering is done these days,” he said. “It design solutions and to me moving from one to another doesn’t literally takes a cast of a thousand folks to get the space shuttle mean I have abandoned everything I have learned from the first into orbit. If you can’t work in a team, you are not contributing one because a lot of the design principles I got to apply to the to the mission.” autonomous vehicle space apply to this as well,” said Pennycooke. As for the importance of creativity and curiosity, Gilstrap Developing expertise across a broad range of fields is said, “A lot of times you are going to be stumped by a problem also critical. you’ve never seen before and working with some constraints “I think I can become a better overall engineer and designer if you haven’t seen before. What you learned in school is not going I tackle as many different diverse problems as possible,” he said. to be particularly helpful. You need to be able to think on the fly. Ray Gilstrap, a network engineer and acting chief technolSay, ‘Hey, let’s try this. It’s a crazy idea but maybe it’s just crazy ogy officer for Information Technology at NASA Ames Research enough to actually work.’” Center in Moffett Field, Calif., also has ventured into several And curiosity is also an important trait, according to different areas in his career. Gilstrap. “Because part of engineering is doing new things…creHe has been involved in numerous projects in the areas of ativity and exploring, fundamentally you have to want to do that. network architecture design, space communications, rapidlyYou have to want to know what’s out there.” deployable satellite and wireless networking for field operations, www.blackengineer.com
USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 69
CAREER OUTLOOK An in-depth look at a cutting-edge industry within STEM. We tell you where the jobs are, why you want them, and, most importantly, how you get them.
Spotlight on Veterans
INSIDE: JOB HORIZON RECRUITING TRENDS PROFESSIONAL LIFE OPERATION HOMEFRONT BENEFITS FOR VETERANS
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CAREER OUTLOOK
Job Horizon
VOW TO HIRE HEROES ACT: ENDING VETERAN UNEMPLOYMENT
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pproximately 160,000 active duty service members and in high-demand sectors, from trucking to technology. Disabled 110,000 National Guardsmen and reservists transition to veterans got up to 1-year of additional Vocational Rehabilitation civilian life each year. But for too long, veterans were and Employment Benefits. patted on the back for their service and then pushed out into the The bill required the Department of Labor to take a hard job market alone. look at what military skills and training should be translatable In 2010, a Department of Labor report found nearly 1 million into the civilian sector and work to make it easier to get the unemployed veterans in the United States. The average unemploylicenses and certification our veterans need. Tax incentives of up ment rate among returning veterans was 11.5 percent―one in 10 to $5,600 were provided for hiring veterans, if the veteran has couldn’t find a job to support their family, didn’t have an income been looking for work for six months or longer and up to $9,600 that provided stability or work that provided them with the pride for hiring disabled veterans. that is so critical to their transition home. This fall, a story in the Washington Post which appeared on The following spring, Veterans Day showed that Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) although the jobless rate for all traveled throughout WashingU.S. veterans was just 6.9 perton state to talk to veterans, cent in October—slightly lower employers and experts about than it is for the population as a the barriers veterans face in whole—the unemployment rate finding employment. In May for veterans who have served 2011, Murray, chairman of since 9/11 stood at 10 percent, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs with 246,000 out of work. Committee, introduced the “That’s the same rate as basis of a comprehensive bill it was a year ago, and it’s a to put America’s veterans higher jobless rate than it is back to work. The legislation for non-veterans, after adjustwas designed to provide job ing for age and demographic skills training as veterans left factors. That is, even when the military and by easing you factor in the dismal U.S. the training and certification economy, recent veterans are Spc. Raymond Kasirye, a Schenectady, N.Y. resident assigned to process veterans face. The bill still having trouble finding E Company 427th Brigade Support Battalion speaks with a job fair vendor during the Transition Assistance Program training workshop came on the eve of Veterans work,” the Post’s Brad Plumin here on March 3. The training is required of returning veterans and Day 2011 at a time when mer wrote. coincidentally a job fair was taking place during the workshop. The TAP training is mandated by the Veterans Opportunity to Work Act. nearly 1 million American A February 2013 report veterans were unemployed. prepared by the National The VOW to Hire Heroes Economic Council and the Act combined provisions of Senator Murray’s original Hiring President’s Council of Economic Advisers, with assistance from Heroes Act of 2011, Chairman Jeff Miller’s Veterans Opportunithe defense, treasury, health and human services, and labor dety to Work Act, with a tax credit for employers that hire veterans partments, Veterans Affairs, transportation, the Domestic Policy and job training assistance for veterans from earlier eras. Council, National Security Staff, and the Office of the First The VOW to Hire Heroes Act made the Improving the Lady, discussed the challenges that confront service members, Transition Assistance Program (TAP) mandatory for most military spouses and veterans in establishing their qualifications service members transitioning to civilian status, upgraded career for civilian employment. counseling options, and resume writing skills, as well as ensured Frequent moves combined with different requirements for the program is tailored for the 21st century job market. The bill occupational licenses across state lines can make it difficult and allowed service members to begin the federal employment procostly for spouses of active duty military to find a job, the report cess prior to separation in order to facilitate a seamless transition said. Adding that despite having valuable experience, veterans from the military to jobs at Veteran Affairs, Homeland Security, frequently find it difficult to obtain private sector recognition of or other federal agencies. their military training, experiences, and skill sets through civilThe VOW to Hire Heroes Act also provided nearly 100,000 ian certification and licensure. This also makes it difficult for unemployed veterans of past eras and wars with up to one year the private sector to capitalize on the resources and time spent of additional Montgomery GI Bill benefits to qualify for jobs training and educating service members. 72 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
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CAREER OUTLOOK
Recruiting Trends BENEFITS OF HIRING US WAR VETERANS
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any U. S. military members have gone off to war and come home to try to find normalcy again in their lives. Part of that is trying to re-enter the civilian life they once led. It is tougher and tougher for those veterans to find work, though. It is understandable that employers would be leery of hiring recent war veterans. There are many issues those of us who have never faced war in person could possibly understand. But the reality is that our war veterans need to work and they need to learn how to transition back into civilian life. We owe it to them to give them the opportunity to do just that. ADVANTAGES TO EMPLOYERS OF HIRING WAR VETERANS:
1. Discipline Veterans have had to learn to be disciplined in everything they do. They have learned how to be patient and to obey orders. Although we don’t call it obeying orders in the civilian workforce, it amounts to the same thing. The employer is the company officer and the employee is the soldier. The employer tells the employee what to do (the order) and the employee, ideally, will follow that instruction. Civilians often have their own idea of how to handle the “orders.” Soldiers already know how important it is to follow through on whatever they are told to do, even when they don’t understand why. 2. Hard Workers There are no workers who will work as hard as someone who has been to war. They have done the dirtiest work and dealt with the most stress any human being could be asked to endure. They stand strong in the face of adversity and with death all around them. It is safe to say that they are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. 3. Training U.S. military service members have a lot of training in many different areas. You will be surprised how much a military member knows and how that training can be put to use in your company. There are drawbacks to having someone who has been to war working in a company because of the post-traumatic effects, but there are more advantages to hiring them. Find out what types of training the war veteran has before you decide that he or she won’t be a good candidate based on the fact that he or she may have been in a war zone. You will be shocked what knowledge you find in people who have been in the military forces. 4. Longevity People who have been in the military have learned to stick things out no matter what happens. They have the ability to stay with things even when others would have walked away. This is proven by the fact that they stayed in a war zone where no one www.blackengineer.com
Marines with 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion work into the night constructing an observation post along Route Cowboys, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Second CEB’s mission included the construction of three observation posts on Route Cowboys.
really wants to be. They have seen things that no person should ever have to see and they stuck it out because that is how they are trained to do. If the veteran could stick it out in a war zone, they will certainly be able to stick it out in a company when things get rough. These are just some of the reasons that employers should consider hiring a war veteran in the United States. War veterans certainly have circumstances that can cause some issues. That is to be expected. I would urge you to consider what they have given to the country though. They put their lives on the line for all of us. They saw things that most of us would have run from. There are challenges that have to be overcome, but helping a veteran re-enter civilian life can be one of the most important things that you will ever do. It gives them a chance and they certainly deserve that. If you are one of the companies that have decided not to hire war veterans because of the possible issues, change your thinking. There are a great many benefits to hiring a war veteran as well. USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 73
CAREER OUTLOOK
Professional Life ONLINE RESOURCES FOR VETERANS SEEKING JOBS
First lady Michelle Obama announces new hiring commitments by the private sector as well as major accomplishments of the Joining Forces initiative during remarks at Naval Station Mayport. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden created Joining Forces to bring Americans together to recognize, honor and take action to support veterans and military families as they serve our country and throughout their lives.
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oining Forces, spearheaded by first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, is designed to gather the public together in a collective effort to lend support to military families. One of the key missions of Joining Forces is to focus on job availability for soldiers coming home from active duty, and the spouses of those vets, who might also need new jobs due to transfers. If you, or someone you know, is a veteran looking for work, here are six online employment sites that can be helpful: 1. Military.com This site offers a career section with the “largest veteran job board in the world.” Here individuals can search for jobs, create and post resumes, network with other veterans and find career fairs to attend in their own locales. 2. VetJobs This is considered one of the leading boards for veterans. It is sponsored exclusively by Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. Registration is free and veterans can do a search for current job openings and also post a resume. 3. America’s Veteran This is the official website of the U.S. government. It is operated by the Office of Personnel Management to assist veterans who might be looking for jobs within the federal government.
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4. G.I. Jobs This site provides career advice and tips on how to find a job in the civilian workforce. They issue a newsletter and also have pages on Facebook and Twitter. 5. National Veteran’s Foundation The National Veteran’s Foundation (NVF) serves the crisis management, information and referral needs of U.S. veterans and their families. The foundation has both a legal center and an employment center with job listings. This site operates the nation’s only free helpline for all veterans and their families. There is also a live chat forum available. One section is dedicated solely to new veterans. There is a downloadable booklet to help veterans navigate the complexities of dealing with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. 6. MilitaryHire.com A site developed and maintained by a team of military veterans and corporate hiring authorities. Its purpose is to “serve those who served.” Veterans can sign up for free, search the job database, post resumes and apply for jobs online. The homepage lists upcoming job fairs. These six online resources combined give veterans access to potential solutions to every conceivable job issue they might encounter in their post-military career journey. If you would like more information on how you can become involved in the “Joining Forces” initiative visit the website here http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces www.blackengineer.com
CAREER OUTLOOK
Military families pick up backpacks full of school supplies at five regional distribution events held August in Washington, D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia. Nationwide, the Back-to-School brigade program distributed $4.9 million in school supplies, including 41,000 backpacks. Locally, the D.C. Metro Field office gave 4,200 backpacks to military children in Washington, D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia.
Operation Homefront SOMETIMES ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK ince its creation in 2002, Operation Homefront has met over 741,000 needs of military families and military personnel returning from duty. Operation Homefront provides emergency financial assistance. They also help with healthcare services, home repair and home items, moving and relocation as well as auto repair. In addition, the organization runs community events and programs such as the Back-to-School Brigade, Hearts of Valor and Homefront Celebrations. The scenarios below illustrate just a few of the many services offered by Operation Homefront D.C. Metro, which serves Washington, D.C., Maryland and northern Virginia.
S
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Army Specialist Brandon Boyd is the father of four. Wounded sponse to a request from the soldier’s unit, OH D.C. Metro Chapter in combat in Iraq, he suffered multiple injuries, most significantly reached out to donors and companies to find a bunk bed. After breaking his back. After recovery, Boyd was found medically unfit many calls, Value City Furniture of New Carrollton, Md., offered to serve, so he retired from the military and applied for veteran the perfect set at a 50 percent discount. Coordination between OH benefits in 2011. As he transitioned to civilian life, he also began and the Battle Company at Walter Reed ensured the bunk beds were searching for a job. In the meantime, the young family scraped by. set up in their room before the boys arrived. Bills began piling up as Boyd waited for a job offer and for In October, a mother attended the Star Spangled Babies baby the VA benefits check to arrive in the mail. Baby supplies and shower sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. Below is a thank groceries were soon in short supply. That’s when the family reached you note: out to Operation Homefront. They’d found out about them through the military family network. The D.C. Metro chapter helped pay I hope this email finds you doing well. I wanted to send my peran outstanding utility bill to keep the lights on and heat running, sonal thanks for such a lovely and heart felt event that you all and provided grocery gift cards to buy food and baby supplies. The hosted. I attended the Star Spangled Babies baby shower on husband and wife also got a new mattress from a donation the chapthe 15th and I must say that I was touched greatly by the genter received from a local Ashley Furniture home store. And when erosity that you all extended. The opportunity provided to meet Boyd’s job offer finally came, the chapter provided donated suits for local moms-to-be, make new friends, the amazing gifts and to him to use as he returned to the workforce. Boyd started his new job have an overall great morning of being pampered, relaxing and early this year and the VA benefits began arriving in March. having a wonderful time meant more than words could begin to But just as things seemed to be falling into place, the famexpress. I did not get the names of all of the vendors but I would ily car broke down. In desperation, the Boyds reached out again like to also extend my gratitude to Booz Allen Hamilton, the many to Operation Homefront (OH) DC Metro. At the time, the family volunteers, and all of the other booths that were there and sponwas no longer eligible for financial assistance since they had begun sored the event as well. It was truly a first-class experience and receiving VA benefits. Although OH could not help, they connected something that I will remember for a lifetime. Words can’t fully the family with a local mechanic at Fries Automotive in Manassas, express how appreciative or thankful I am. Take care and have a Va., who offered to discuss a possible discount with management. wonderful day. OH later learned from the Boyds that the shop offered to donate the labor and went even further to discuss a discount on the cost of the parts with the supplier. It didn’t end there. Curry’s Auto Parts Supply of Manassas also stepped up and agreed to donate the needed parts at no cost. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Army Staff Sgt. Alejandro Jauregui, wounded April 8, 2012 and recovering from a double amputation, yearned for his family to join him at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Prior to the family’s arrival, it was discovered Walter Reed’s family quarters Nearly 150 military spouses were honored at an appreciation dinner headlined by Dr. Tyrone Taborn, Career did not have enough Communications Group’s publisher and CEO, and hosted by BlackBerry and Operation Homefront. Each military spouse received gift bags including a new BlackBerry phone. beds to accommodate both children. In re76 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
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Professional Life
by Chris Pearce editors@ccgmag.com
A SUMMARY OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BENEFITS
V
arious benefits are available from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans and their spouses and children. These include compensation and pensions, survivor benefits, education, vocational rehabilitation, home loans, and life insurance. 1. Compensation and pensions Disability compensation is paid to veterans who suffer from injuries or diseases incurred during their time on active duty, or were made worse because of military service. Additional payments may be made to a veteran who has a spouse or children, or who has a very severe disability, or who has a disabled spouse. The benefits are not taxed. A Veterans Affairs pension may be paid to veterans aged 65 years and over. A person under 65 may qualify if he or she is totally and permanently disabled. An income test applies. Disabled
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veterans may also receive an aid and attendance benefit if the veteran needs the assistance of another person with their day-today activities such as washing and eating, or is bedridden, in a nursing home, or blind. A housebound benefit is also available. Both are paid in addition to the pension. A death pension benefit is payable to surviving spouses and dependent children. There is an income test to qualify. Burial allowances include a gravesite in a national cemetery, a headstone or a marker, a flag, a presidential memorial certificate, and ongoing maintenance of the grave. 2. Survivor benefits Veterans Affairs offers a number of benefits to the spouse and children of a veteran who died in service or from a servicerelated disability. Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a
USBE&IT I WINTER 2013 77
CAREER OUTLOOK
monthly payment of $1,154 (in 2009) available to a spouse. He or she will receive an extra $286 a month for each child. This is a tax-free benefit. A spouse who remarries at age 57 years or over can continue to receive the benefit. A $250 transitional benefit is also paid each month for two years if the spouse has children under 18 years. A lump sum DIC for surviving children if there is no surviving spouse is currently $488 for one child. This amount reduces with the greater number of children in the family, right up to nine children who each receive $217.66. A parents’ DIC may be paid as a monthly benefit to the parents of a veteran who dies in active service. The benefit is means tested. The Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program pays a monthly education or training allowance. The spouse or children can receive this monthly payment for up to 45 months. Work-study employment is available to a spouse or children who study full time or at least three-quarter time toward a degree or a vocational or professional qualification. Other benefits include Vet Center bereavement counseling, and beneficiary financial counseling services, as well as those listed under other headings. 3. Education Benefits for training and education are available under various programs. The benefit can usually be used for a degree or certificate course, apprenticeship, flight training, or a correspondence course. Under some circumstances, a remedial, deficiency, or refresher course might be approved. From Aug. 1, 2009, the new Post-9/11 GI Bill will pay tuition and fees to an institution of higher learning, as well as for books and supplies to the value of $1,000. It will also pay a monthly housing allowance and a one-off payment for those in rural areas. The education benefits will be available for 15 years after release from active duty and can be paid for up to three years. Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty also provides up to three years of education benefits for veterans. Benefits under this program are available for up to 10 years. The Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve offers similar benefits to the active duty program but to members of reserve forces such as Army Reserve and Navy Reserve. A Reserve Education Assistance Program gives education benefits to reserve officers called up to war or national emergency. A $600 buy-up program allows certain service persons and reservists to contribute up to $600 to the GI Bill and receive extra benefits up to $5,400. Veterans Education Assistance Program is for veterans who first entered service between 1977 and 1985 who made contributions to this program from their pay. The government will contribute $2 for every dollar and the money can be used for various courses. 78 USBE&IT I WINTER 2013
The Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program pays for education and training of dependents of those who died on active duty, or died or became totally disabled due to a service-related condition. Special restorative or vocational training may be available. 4. Vocational rehabilitation The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program assists veterans with a service-related disability to prepare for work, find a job, and keep it. This includes services such as an evaluation to determine a veteran’s abilities and skills, learning job seeking skills and resume writing, help finding a job, on the job training, and tertiary training at a college or a vocational or business school. Free vocational education counseling is available to veterans and dependents. Services might include aptitude and interests testing, exploring different occupations and setting goals, and examining education or training options. 5. Home loans A Veterans Affairs Home Loan is available to eligible veterans. This includes those who served in World War II or the Korean, Vietnam, or Gulf wars for at least 90 days, or less than 90 days if discharged due to disability. It also includes those who served at least 180 days during peacetime. A departmental loan counselor can be appointed to a veteran who is experiencing mortgage difficulties. Services to help avoid foreclosure include a repayment plan, special forbearance, loan modification, extra time to arrange a sale, short sale, and a deed in lieu of foreclosure. A Veterans Affairs Home Loan to a surviving spouse may offer a better interest rate than other home loans. Under the Home Loan Guaranty, a spouse may be able to secure a guaranteed loan through a private lender. This could be for a new or existing home, or renovations, or to refinance an existing mortgage. 6. Life insurance Veterans Affairs offer life insurance benefits to veterans who cannot get private cover due to a service-related disability. Service members’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) members who are discharged due to totally disability may be able to stay covered for up to two years without cost. All SGLI members automatically qualify for the Traumatic Injury Protection program. This is effective from Dec. 1, 2005, and applies retrospectively to Oct. 7, 2001 for injuries sustained in the Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom operations. Payments are available to spouses of deceased veterans under SGLI. The maximum amount is $400,000 and is not taxable. Payment can be a lump sum or 36 equal monthly installments. Family SGLI provides a further amount of up to $100,000 for a spouse and $10,000 for each child. www.blackengineer.com
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