CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF

NATIONAL RECONNIASSANCE

JULY 2019

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE

JULY 2019

LEADERS OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE: 

DIRECTORS, DEPUTY DIRECTORS, STAFF DIRECTORS, 

PROGRAM DIRECTORS, CHIEFS OF STAFF, 

DIRECTORATE AND OFFICE MANAGERS

Volume II: 1993-2001

Second Revised Edition

Dr. Clayton Laurie

and

Michael J. Suk

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE

The Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR) is an independent National 

Reconnaissance Office (NRO) research body reporting to the Director/Business Plans and Operations 

Directorate, NRO. The CSNR’s primary objective is to advance national reconnaissance and make 

available to NRO leadership the analytic framework and historical context to make effective policy and 

programmatic decisions. The CSNR accomplishes its mission by promoting the study, dialogue, and 

understanding of the discipline, practice, and history of national reconnaissance. The CSNR studies the 

past, analyzes the present, and searches for lessons for the future.

Contact Information: Phone, 703-227-9368; or e-mail, csnr@nro.mil

To Obtain Copies: Government personnel may obtain additional printed copies directly from CSNR. Other 

requesters may purchase printed copies by contacting the Government Publishing Office. Selected CSNR 

publications are available on the Internet at the NRO web site.

Published by

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance

14675 Lee Road

Chantilly, Virginia 20151-1715

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office 

Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800 DC area (202) 512-1800

Fax: (202) 512-2104 Mail: Stop IDCC Washington, D.C. 20402-0001

ISBN: 978-1-937219-16-1

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword to Second Edition................................................................................................... vii

Preface to Second Edition.......................................................................................................ix

Preface to First Edition............................................................................................................xi

Introduction............................................................................................................................ xiii

Principal NRO Leaders by Office and Term of Service........................................................ xvii

BIOGRAPHIES

Major General James B. Armor, Jr., USAF..........................................................................1

Brigadier General David E. Baker, USAF............................................................................3

Colonel Wallace A. Beauchamp III, USAF...........................................................................5

Captain John M. Brownell, USN ..........................................................................................7

Mr. Julian Caballero, Jr. .......................................................................................................9

Captain Bruce N. Coburn, USN.........................................................................................11

Mr. Thomas W. Conroy ......................................................................................................13

Mrs. Mary M. Corrado........................................................................................................15

Brigadier General Thomas F. Crawford, USAF .................................................................17

Rear Admiral Joseph J. Dantone, Jr., USN .......................................................................19

Dr. William A. Decker.........................................................................................................21

Mr. Vincent W. Dennis........................................................................................................23

Major General Robert S. Dickman, USAF.........................................................................25

Mr. Robert H. Dumais ........................................................................................................27

Mr. Martin C. Faga .............................................................................................................29

Rear Admiral Rand H. Fisher, USN ...................................................................................31

Mr. Dennis D. Fitzgerald ....................................................................................................33

Brigadier General William M. Fraser III, USAF..................................................................35

Mr. Jeffrey D. Grant............................................................................................................37

Mr. Keith R. Hall.................................................................................................................39

Mr. Jeffrey K. Harris ...........................................................................................................41

Mr. Jimmie D. Hill...............................................................................................................43

Mr. David A. Kier................................................................................................................45

Brigadier General Robert E. Larned, USAF ......................................................................47

Mr. John A. Lauder.............................................................................................................49

Mr. Brian A. Malone............................................................................................................51
 vi

LEADERS OF THE NRO

Rear Admiral Daniel P. March, USN ..................................................................................53

Mr. Roger C. Marsh ...........................................................................................................55

Brigadier General Howard J. Mitchell, USAF ....................................................................57

Mr. Michael F. Munson.......................................................................................................59

Mr. John F. Nelson .............................................................................................................61

Rear Admiral Richard J. Nibe, Jr., USN.............................................................................63

Mr. Edmund H. Nowinski ...................................................................................................65

Mr. Robert A. Pattishall ......................................................................................................67

Brigadier General Thomas J. Scanlan, Jr., USAF .............................................................69

Brigadier General Joseph B. Sovey, USAF.......................................................................71

Ms. Carol A. Staubach.......................................................................................................73

Captain James M. Stephenson, USN................................................................................75

Mr. Garnett R. Stowe, Jr. ...................................................................................................77

Mr. Boyd D. Sutton.............................................................................................................79

Mr. Peter B. Teets ..............................................................................................................81

Colonel Dan M. Vannatter, USA.........................................................................................83

Brigadier General Donald R. Walker, USAF......................................................................85

Colonel Daniel W. Wells III, USA.......................................................................................87

Major General Craig P. Weston, USAF..............................................................................89

Colonel Stephen A. Wojcicki, USAF ..................................................................................91
vii

FOREWORD TO SECOND EDITION

I

n May 2002, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) History Office published Leaders of the National 

Reconnaissance Office, 1961-2001. This important work quickly became a vital reference tool for 

learning about the NRO’s formation and organization as well as for providing background information on 

its leadership. Updating and republishing Leaders of the National Reconnaissance Office became the 

responsibility of the Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance (CSNR) after the history program 

joined the CSNR in 2005. This updated reference work is now in three parts with Volume I covering leaders 

from 1961 to 1992, Volume II covering leaders from 1993 to 2001, and a planned third volume that will 

cover leaders from 2002 to the time of publication. The volumes provide updated information from the 

first edition. The first volume ends in 1992 because in that year the NRO underwent its most significant 

reorganization to date—abolishing the “alphabetic” Programs A, B, and C (NRO cancelled Program D in 

1974) in favor of functional directorates (IMINT, COMM, and SIGINT). In that same year, NRO leadership 

proposed collocating all component offices into a single headquarters building in Chantilly, Virginia. The 

second volume ends in 2001 with the September 11th terrorist attacks. The last volume will include NRO 

leaders since the war on terrorism began.

Like its predecessor volume, this updated multi-volume publication will be helpful for people seeking 

information on NRO Directors and Deputy Directors and principal NRO Directorate and Office heads 

and program managers before and during their NRO tenures. We look to these reworked volumes as 

the authoritative source of information on tours of service, awards, and accomplishments of the people 

who created and sustained the National Reconnaissance Program since its 1961 creation. Produced in 

unclassified form, we will make these volumes of the newer Leaders of the National Reconnaissance 

Office available to the public. In this way, we expect that their utility will extend far beyond the NRO and the 

intelligence and defense communities.

In his foreword to the first edition, then-Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Peter B. Teets 

described the importance of strong leadership to the success of the organization:

Today, throughout the world, the National Reconnaissance Office is recognized as the undisputed 

leader in space-based satellite reconnaissance. [I]t is gratifying to publicly acknowledge those 

individuals whose dedication, talents, and leadership shaped this organization into one of the 

nation’s greatest national security and intelligence assets.

Since its inception, the National Reconnaissance Office has attracted the top minds of the 

U.S. Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, private industry, and the academicscientific community. Its mission brought together leaders of a quality rarely found elsewhere 

during the latter half of the twentieth century, as the following pages ably demonstrate. 

United by common goals and motivated by a single-minded sense of patriotism and 

professionalism, NRO’s leaders represent an unusual array of national origins and races, and 

social, educational, and occupational backgrounds. Together they forged a new multi-agency 

intelligence [and defense] team that produced remarkable results. The achievements of the 

National Reconnaissance Office in large measure are a tribute to the vision and dedication 

of these men and women; they made what many deemed impossible just fifty years ago into 

routine operations today.

Under such leaders, supported by several thousand dedicated, hardworking personnel, the 

NRO has successfully and proudly lived up to its motto: Freedom’s Sentinel in Space: One 

Team, Revolutionizing Global Reconnaissance.

Mr. Teets words still ring true in commending the leadership of the NRO and recommending that all who 

work in the discipline of national reconnaissance learn from the leaders who went before them. This 

publication is one resource for doing so.

Robert A. McDonald, Ph.D.

Director, CSNR/Emeritus

National Reconnaissance Office

ix

PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION

Dr. Clayton Laurie authored the first edition of Leaders of the National Reconnaissance Office, 

which was published in May 2002. Subsequently, Dr. Laurie left the NRO and later returned as 

the NRO’s Chief Historian. He then took up efforts to revise the publication including restructuring 

it into three planned volumes. 

The first volume contains information on the leaders of the NRO who served in the organization from its 

founding in 1961 to its major reorganization in 1992. The second volume contains information about the 

leaders of the newly reorganized NRO in 1993 through 2001 when the Intelligence Community initiated 

consequential structural changes in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 

11th of that year. The Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance, which now has responsibility for 

the project, will publish a third volume with background on leaders of the NRO since 2001. 

As with the original publication, biographical information in the revised volumes came from information held 

in NRO directorates and offices, official military biographies, and open-source compendiums, as well as 

from NRO and other government records. When possible, each person included in the volumes received 

as copy of his or her biography for review. Unlike the original volume, the revised biographies conclude 

with the individual’s NRO service. 

As with the original Leaders of the National Reconnaissance Office, many individuals have contributed 

to the revised volumes. In addition to Dr. Laurie, those individuals include former deputy NRO historian 

David Waltrop; visiting senior historian Dr. Donald P. Steury; and former CSNR staff members Mrs. Faye 

Grubbs, Mr. Matt Doering, Ms. Cathy A. McConnville, and Ms. Frances Lawson who provided editorial and 

research assistance. Additionally, Mr. Charles Glover, CSNR’s information and data presentation analyst, 

developed the revised layout and presentation of the material. Finally, Dr. Robert A. McDonald, director of 

the CSNR, provided ongoing support for this project and for the larger NRO history program. 

Michael J. Suk

Chief, Historical Documentation and Research

Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance

National Reconnaissance Office

xi

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION

Between 1953 and late 1961 the administrations of Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy 

undertook a series of initiatives to protect the nation against surprise atomic attack by the Soviet 

Union. These initiatives resulted in creation of the National Reconnaissance Program (NRP) and 

the National Reconnaissance Office to manage it on 6 September 1961.

A unique hybrid organization, the NRO brought together the foremost intellects from the Central Intelligence 

Agency, the Department of Defense, the military services, private industry, and the American academicscientific community to solve the technical challenges of overhead reconnaissance. The individuals who 

came to the National Reconnaissance Office shared a mission of securing, through overflight of “denied 

areas,” intelligence on potential adversaries that posed a threat to the United States, and the vision and 

belief that space represented a new frontier exploitable to this end through advanced technology.

Within a few years of its creation, the National Reconnaissance Office achieved its original mission and 

vision to a degree far beyond the expectations of its founders and early leadership. The NRO provided the 

nation’s command authorities with unparalleled global information supremacy. Not since the Manhattan 

District [Project] created the atomic bomb during the Second World War has an organization accomplished 

such groundbreaking technological feats in the national security interests of the United States so thoroughly, 

so effectively, or so quickly. 

The success of any organization or endeavor ultimately depends on its leadership, and the National 

Reconnaissance Office has fortunately attracted leaders of a quality rarely found elsewhere. Indeed, the 

National Reconnaissance Office and its mission have always attracted an extraordinary group of highly gifted 

individuals. Long before the terms joint command and control, institutional flexibility, diversity, streamlined 

management, and public and private sector partnerships entered the lexicon and became philosophical 

dictums in American government, business, and industry, the leaders of the NRO had institutionalized 

and practiced them all for decades. Together they forged a new multi-organizational team and adopted a 

decentralized form of management that produced, in technical sophistication and capability, remarkable 

overhead satellite reconnaissance systems unequalled elsewhere in the world. These achievements in 

large measure are a product of, and a tribute to, the vision and dedication of the organization’s leaders. 

The majority of the men and women who created, directed, and managed the National Reconnaissance 

Program through the years have worked in anonymity, without official acknowledgement or public 

recognition. Yet their unswerving dedication to an intelligence mission and to the national security of the 

United States, and their commitment to innovation and excellence, contributed significantly to maintaining 

the peace and protecting the nation from foreign threats. In recognition of their contributions, the Office of 

the Historian has prepared these brief biographies of the directors, deputy directors, program directors, 

staff directors, chiefs of staff, and directorate and office managers of the National Reconnaissance Office. 

This collection provides a comprehensive biographical survey of the NRO’s leaders and their dates of 

service—a source of information and perhaps inspiration for members of the National Reconnaissance 

Office, the U.S. Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, and the public at large.

This reference book was not a solitary effort. First, the author thanks all of those included here, and the 

members of their staffs, who reviewed, edited, or supplemented various drafts of the biographies. Without 

their contributions, this monograph would be neither as accurate nor as comprehensive. The author also 

wishes to thank Matt Doering, who used his computer skills to create and lay out the present work. Equally 

important, Cathy A. McConville, former NRO History Staff secretary, completed an extraordinary amount of 

correspondence and administrative tasks associated with this monograph. The author also thanks those in 

the NRO’s Visual Design Center, in the Intelligence Community, and the Department of Defense, who took 

time from their busy schedules to answer numerous inquiries, provide photographs, and otherwise make 

important contributions to this final work. Special appreciation goes to former NRO Deputy Director Jimmie 
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LEADERS OF THE NRO

D. Hill and to Mrs. Sharilyn Watts, who provided unique firsthand information on this organization and its 

past leadership. Special thanks also go to R. Cargill Hall, the NRO Historian, whose editorial review much 

improved the final work.

The following biographies are listed alphabetically by last name. Military ranks, government positions, 

and other titles shown are those held at the time of NRO service and do not necessarily represent those 

held at the time of retirement from active duty or in subsequent military or government service. The text of 

each biography describes these various military assignments and government offices held in chronological 

order before and during NRO service. Individuals who served temporarily as interim leaders are included in 

the chronological listing with their dates of service and with the designation “Acting” in parentheses behind 

their names. Unless subsequently assigned permanently to that position, or to another NRO leadership 

position, their biographies and photographs do not appear in this edition.

The men and women listed in this work are, or were, the leaders of primary offices appearing on NRO 

organization charts following establishment in 1961. Leaders of subcomponents of the NRO director’s 

staff, of NRO staff offices, or of sub-elements of the larger offices and directorates, are not included in this 

edition unless that component previously existed as primary office.

Biographical information came from a variety of sources. For most NRO leaders, at least those serving 

since the collocation of all NRO elements in 1996, the bulk of the data and photographs came from official 

National Reconnaissance Office biographies. U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army offices handling 

public affairs provided official biographies for most past and present uniformed NRO leaders. Additional 

information and photographs came from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the National Archives 

and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, including various editions of the U.S. military 

service academy alumni registers, from Who’s Who and Who Was Who, Who’s Who in Science and 

Technology, Current Biography, etc., and, in some cases, the obituary listings of The New York Times and 

The Washington Post. In all cases, the history staff edited biographical sketches for stylistic consistency. 

When and where possible, individual subjects reviewed and edited their biographical sketches before 

publication. Final products reflect their contributions. When additional information becomes available, or 

when positions change, updated editions of this monograph will appear. As always, the author accepts 

responsibility for any errors that may remain.

Clayton D. Laurie, Ph.D.

Deputy Chief Historian 

Office of the Historian

National Reconnaissance Office

Chantilly, Virginia

1 May 2002
xiii

INTRODUCTION

Between 1993 and 2001, from the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO’s) creation of functional 

directorates to the start of the Global War on Terror, the NRO underwent an organizational 

transformation that fundamentally altered its operations. When President Harry S Truman 

authorized America’s first strategic reconnaissance overflights of “denied areas” in the late 1940s, 

he sought information otherwise unobtainable by traditional espionage. The Soviet Union’s detonation of an 

atomic device in August 1949 revealed America’s vulnerability to surprise atomic attack. By 1954, fears of a 

potential superpower bomber gap had emerged, followed by concerns—attributable to the Soviet’s launch 

of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957—of an even more dangerous missile gap. President Dwight D. Eisenhower 

expanded Truman’s overflight efforts to include high-altitude reconnaissance balloons, specialized aircraft, 

and earth-orbiting satellites. During his administrations and the Kennedy administration that followed, 

government and private industry created revolutionary systems such as the U-2, A-12, and SR-71 aircraft; 

the Poppy and Grab signals collection satellites; and the Corona and Gambit imagery satellites that laid the 

foundation for future U.S. reconnaissance activities. On 6 September 1961, the Department of Defense and 

Central Intelligence Agency jointly established the National Reconnaissance Program (NRP), managed by 

the National Reconnaissance Office, to consolidate military and civilian reconnaissance efforts. Created 

in utmost secrecy at the height of the Cold War, the NRO gave U.S. leaders vital information on the 

capabilities and intentions of the nation’s enemies and potential adversaries.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, ending over four decades of superpower hostility, 

dramatically modified the world’s national security posture. As the threat of global nuclear confrontation 

subsided, the NRO’s reconnaissance systems shifted focus from collecting against traditional fixed targets—

missiles, bombers, airfields, radars, submarine ports—to smaller, more diffuse, and less visible threats. 

Smaller wars, regional conflicts, weapons proliferation, terrorism, and providing humanitarian assistance 

became the nation’s primary national security concerns. As NRO decision makers began adjusting the 

nation’s security apparatus to meet these new challenges, post-combat analysis of the 1990-1991 Persian 

Gulf War highlighted the need for greater support to the military—a new customer for NRO products. At this 

same time, new nontraditional customers appeared, to include urban planners, law enforcement, and the 

scientific community—the latter interested in space-based monitoring of deforestation, the Arctic ice caps, 

and other environmental phenomena. Faced with shrinking post-Cold War budgets, a growing customer 

base, and greater public and government scrutiny of its mission and budget, the NRO found itself doing 

more with less in a still uncertain national security environment.

Responding to these world events, as well as to internal calls for change, National Reconnaissance 

Office leaders, in conjunction with their Department of Defense and Intelligence Community partners, 

implemented sweeping changes to give NRO greater flexibility to meet customer needs and adapt to 

changing threats. The greatest of these reforms—under consideration since the 1980s—abolished NRO’s 

“alphabetic” programs. Created on 23 July 1962, the alphabetic programs divided NRP management 

between the principal organizations previously responsible for individually developed reconnaissance 

systems: the Air Force operated Program A, the Central Intelligence Agency operated Program B, and 

the Navy operated Program C. Until 1974, the NRO operated Program D for the U-2, A-12, and SR-71 

reconnaissance aircraft. Although one National Reconnaissance Office existed, each individual alphabetic 

program operated quasi-independently at different locations around the country.

However, by the 1980s, it had become clear that this structure raised some organizational challenges. 

The programs often feuded among themselves and engaged in duplicative research and development 

projects. In 1987, Director NRO (DNRO) Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. established a senior NRO advisory group 

to assess NRO operations. Although the group sharply criticized the debilitating competition between 

NRO’s alphabetic programs, then-Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI) Robert M. Gates rejected 

calls to restructure the organization along functional lines. Two years later, in July 1989, the Geiger-Kelly 

Study (named for its chair, retired Rear Admiral Robert K. Geiger, USN, and principal deputy, Barry Kelly) 

concluded that the NRO needed an integrated approach to systems development. The first formal, large-
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LEADERS OF THE NRO

scale effort at NRO reorganization, the Geiger-Kelly team included members from other Department of 

Defense and Intelligence Community organizations. Their most important recommendations were the 

creation of a Plans and Analysis organization to coordinate NRO projects, and a deputy director for military 

support to undertake liaison activities with the military. NRO implemented both proposals, but Programs 

A, B, and C remained. In 1992, following a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) task force on NRO 

management, chaired by former Lockheed CEO Robert A. Fuhrman, NRO leadership decided to disband 

the alphabetic programs and adopt a “one NRO” view.

On 31 December 1992, NRO officially replaced Programs A, B, and C with three, and later four, 

functional directorates to be collocated at NRO’s new headquarters in Chantilly, Virginia. The Signals 

Intelligence (SIGINT) Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate acquired and operated electronic, 

communications, and telemetry-collecting satellites. SIGINT Directorate satellites intercepted foreign 

communications and weapons testing information and provided that data to the National Security Agency 

(NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and other organizations for interpretation and dissemination. 

The Imagery Intelligence (IMINT) Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate acquired and operated 

imagery satellites. Initially, the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC) analyzed the 

images these satellites produced and provided them to the appropriate users in the military, other federal 

agencies, and certain civilian organizations. Those functions transferred to the National Imagery and 

Mapping Agency [renamed the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) on 24 November 2003] 

after its establishment on 1 October 1996.

The Communications (COMM) Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate supervised NRO’s 

information technology and communications systems, and oversaw security for both space-based and 

ground-based communications, providing secure, near real-time, global communications for the military, 

the Intelligence Community, and other government users. In March 1997, the NRO established its 

fourth directorate, the Advanced Systems and Technology (AS&T) Directorate, to oversee research and 

development into new satellite reconnaissance technologies. The AS&T Directorate was responsible 

for creating the next generation of reconnaissance systems, finding new ways of using expertise, and 

advancing space science. Designed to be innovative, and sometimes high-risk, AS&T projects sought out 

new industrial methods, while searching for new mission partners from the military and the Intelligence 

Community that could benefit NRO systems.

Creating functional directorates, and locating them in one headquarters, largely alleviated the costly 

duplication and inter-service disputes between the Air Force, CIA, and Navy reconnaissance programs 

that had plagued the older alphabetic programs.

To supervise the collocation of NRO offices and personnel, the NRO created the Office of Management 

Services and Operations (MS&O). Led by Roger C. Marsh, its first director, MS&O oversaw construction of 

the Westfields headquarters facility, which for the first time in its history centralized all major NRO elements 

in one complex. Following collocation, the National Reconnaissance Office functioned more efficiently 

internally and externally with its mission partners—NSA, CIA, NIMA/NGA—and other government 

organizations. To maintain the headquarters compound, MS&O provided for the physical operation and 

security of the NRO buildings and grounds. However, as MS&O grew, it took on more areas vital to the 

workforce. By 2001, it was responsible for environmental safety, contracting, logistics, employee assistance 

programs, records and property management, material movement, medical and travel services, video 

production and visual design, corporate training, and community outreach.

To meet new post-Cold War threats, the National Reconnaissance Office created several new offices to 

provide policy guidance, liaison, and timely intelligence support to the Federal Government and military 

services. On 28 August 1992, NRO created the Operational Support Office (OSO) to monitor and assess the 

operational status of NRO satellites and ensure that military and national customers received the systems 

tools and information they needed. The Operational Support Office expanded its activities to maintain daily 

contact with national, military, civil, and law enforcement customers through worldwide liaison and theater 

support representatives. These representatives increasingly helped regional commanders and warfighters 
xv

integrate NRO satellite capabilities into their operations and tactics. In May 2001, the Operational Support 

Office came under the authority of the Office of the Deputy Director of Military Support, where it served 

almost exclusively military intelligence needs.

In the mid-1990s, the National Reconnaissance Office established its chief of staff position and three 

deputy director-level offices to enhance the organization’s ability to meet expanding customer needs in a 

more efficient and cost-effective manner: the Office of the Deputy Director for National Support (DDNS), 

the Office of Resource Oversight and Management (ROM), and the Office of the Deputy Director for 

Military Support, mentioned above and described more fully in Volume I.

Established on 15 October 1995, the Office of Resource Oversight and Management served as NRO’s focal 

point for all financial, budgetary, programmatic, and legislative matters. The need for such a centralized office 

became apparent after the reorganization and collocation of the NRO programs into functional directorates 

exposed serious flaws in financial accounting and management used previously in the alphabetic 

programs. In the early 1990s, for example, the “forward funding” and Westfield’s construction controversies 

demonstrated the need for the NRO to more effectively account for its financial resources and inform 

Congress about NRO activities. Responding to these issues, ROM strengthened NRO’s internal resource 

management functions, improved budgetary control, and enhanced external interactions with Congress and 

its constituent intelligence and financial committees. By 2001, ROM developed a comprehensive financial 

accounting, contracting, and disbursement system, as well as a single comptroller’s office and a common 

database to support program management. ROM was responsible for frequent audits and reviews of major 

programs for subsequent reporting to Congress and other federal agencies. The Resource Oversight and 

Management office played a major role in the NRO’s relationship with Congress and handled legislative 

liaison, as well as preparation of the annual budget and executing funding initiatives for NRO systems.

In October 1996, the National Reconnaissance Office established the Office of the Deputy Director for 

National Support to provide support to non-military, non-intelligence domestic or national customers. The 

DDNS supported non-military customers such as the Department of State, Department of Agriculture, 

and Department of Transportation. It developed close relationships with the National Oceanographic and 

Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It provided satellite imagery, 

defined policies, established liaison, and provided guidance on NRO capabilities and information support 

to various federal agencies, environmental offices, and law enforcement. The Office of the Deputy Director 

for National Support developed the framework and policies necessary to provide to national customers 

information and data relating to natural and environmental disasters, crop assessments, habitat and 

wetlands mapping and study, and narcotics and arms trafficking, among many other functions and services.

On 9 December 1998, the Office of Plans and Analysis became the Office of Architectures, Assessments, 

and Acquisition. This office underwent a second reorganization in February 2000 to become the Corporate 

Operations Office (COO). Responsible for implementing NRO’s strategic direction, COO worked with the 

NRO chief systems engineer to maintain an effective corporate decision-making environment. The COO 

director also had responsibilities as NRO’s chief information officer. On 6 July 2001, the NRO Office of 

Corporate Systems Engineering and the Corporate Operations Office became the office of the Deputy 

Director for System Engineering (DDSE). This new office included the NRO Strategic Planning Office, the 

Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the NRO Analysis Center. The DDSE tailored information on 

demand to customers worldwide. According to former NRO Director Keith R. Hall, this office also had as 

one of its main challenges the need to “bridge the gap between thinking strategically and acting tactically,” 

as well as “to focus on the NRO strategic thrust and to make our vision more explicit.”

After NRO abolished its alphabetic programs in favor of functional directorates in December 1992, the 

NRO Launch Program Office fell under the SIGINT and later COMM Directorates, only to be separated 

again as the Office of Space Launch in July 1996. On 1 July 1998, the Office of Space Launch truly 

became an “office,” when its director became the NRO mission director, ending the traditional practice of 

having the senior Air Force officer at the NRO fill the launch director role. On 6 October 2000, the Office 
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LEADERS OF THE NRO

of Space Launch fell under the Corporate Operations Office, where it continued to serve as the focal 

point for integrating all NRO launch activities. On 4 September 2001, when NRO abolished the Corporate 

Operations Office and apportioned its constituent elements throughout the NRO, an independent Office of 

Space Launch stood up, with its leader serving as mission director reporting directly to the DNRO.

The period between 1993 and 2001 witnessed unprecedented changes in NRO’s organization and 

management. The NRO replaced Programs A, B, and C with four functional directorates (IMINT, SIGINT, 

COMM, and AS&T). Moreover, it streamlined decision making; made enormous strides toward adapting to 

the post-Cold War national security environment; created organizations to meet the needs of new military, 

non-military, and non-intelligence customers; and improved resource management controls. As the NRO 

confronts the national security challenges of the 21st century, the organization remains at the forefront of 

joint intelligence operations and information sharing.

Revised by

James D. Outzen, Ph.D.

Director, Center for the Study of National Reconnaissance

National Reconnaissance Office
xvii

PRINCIPAL NRO LEADERS BY OFFICE AND TERM OF SERVICE

DIRECTORS OF THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE Page

Mr. Martin C. Faga 28 September 1989-5 March 1993 29

Mr. Jeffrey K. Harris 19 May 1994-26 February 1996 41

Mr. Keith R. Hall 27 March 1997-13 December 2001 39

Mr. Peter B. Teets 13 December 2001-25 March 2005 81

DEPUTY DIRECTORS OF THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

Mr. Jimmie D. Hill 11 April 1982-26 February 1996 43

Mr. Keith R. Hall 27 February 1996-27 March 1997 39

Mr. David A. Kier 31 May 1997-9 August 2001 45

Mr. Dennis D. Fitzgerald 10 August 2001-30 July 2006 33

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

Mr. Dennis D. Fitzgerald 30 July 2006-27 April 2007 33

CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

Mr. Garnett R. Stowe, Jr. 6 September 1994-1 August 2003 77

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

Rear Adm. Daniel P. March, USN 9 March 1992-31 March 1994 53

Rear Adm. Joseph J. Dantone, Jr., USN 7 April 1994-7 January 1996 19

Brig. Gen. Thomas F. Crawford, USAF 15 June 1999-5 December 2000 17

Brig. Gen. David E. Baker, USAF 8 January 1996-11 September 1997 3

Rear Adm. Richard J. Nibe, Jr., USN 11 September 1997-30 April 1999 63

Brig. Gen. William M. Fraser III, USAF 11 December 2000-29 November 2002 35

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR NATIONAL SUPPORT

Mr. Michael F. Munson 11 October 1996-16 November 1998 59

Mr. Thomas W. Conroy 16 November 1998-9 March 2001 13

Mr. John A. Lauder 26 March 2001-12 July 2004 49

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR RESOURCE OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT

Mr. John F. Nelson 23 October 1995-12 January 1998 61

Mrs. Mary M. Corrado 12 January 1998-4 October 1999 15

Mr. Vincent W. Dennis 4 October 1999-13 February 2004 23

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR SYSTEM ENGINEERING

Dr. William A. “Art” Decker 10 September 2001-12 September 2003 21
 xviii

LEADERS OF THE NRO

OFFICE OF PLANS AND ANALYSIS/OFFICE OF ARCHITECTURES, ASSESSMENTS, AND 

ACQUISITION/CORPORATE OPERATIONS OFFICE

Brig. Gen. Donald R. Walker, USAF January 1990-30 December 1992 85

Mr. Boyd D. Sutton 1 October 1992-5 June 1994 79

Mr. Jeffrey D. Grant 6 June 1994-2 October 1997 37

Maj. Gen. Robert S. Dickman, USAF 5 June 1998-7 July 2000 25

Maj. Gen. Craig P. Weston, USAF 8 July 2000-3 September 2001 89

MANAGEMENT SERVICES AND OPERATIONS OFFICE

Mr. Roger C. Marsh 15 January 1992-16 July 2001 55

Mr. Brian A. Malone 16 July 2001-3 January 2014 51

OFFICE OF SPACE LAUNCH

Brig. Gen. Howard J. Mitchell, USAF 2 July 1996-1 July 1998 57

Col. Wallace A. Beauchamp III, USAF 1 July 1998-15 July 1999 5

Col. Stephen A. Wojcicki, USAF 15 July 1999-17 May 2002 91

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE

Capt. James M. Stephenson, USN 28 August 1992-1 September 1993 75

Col. Dan M. Vannatter, USA 2 September 1993-31 July 1995 83

Capt. Bruce N. Coburn, USN 1 August 1995-8 December 1996 11

Col. Daniel W. Wells III, USA 9 December 1996-18 August 2000 87

Capt. John M. Brownell, USN 19 August 2000-1 June 2002 7

FUNCTIONAL DIRECTORATES

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ACQUISITION AND OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Scanlan, Jr., USAF 1 January 1993-16 July 1995 69

Brig. Gen. Howard J. Mitchell, USAF 17 July 1995-14 August 1998 57

Rear Adm. Rand H. Fisher, USN 1 February 1999-20 August 2004 31

IMINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION AND OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

Mr. Julian Caballero, Jr. 1 January 1993-3 October 1993 9

Mr. Edmund H. Nowinski 17 October 1993-30 July 1995 65

Mr. Robert H. Dumais 30 July 1995-31 October 1996 27

Brig. Gen. Robert E. Larned, USAF 1 November 1996-29 November 1998 47

Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Sovey, USAF 30 November 1998-6 May 2001 71

Ms. Carol A. Staubach 27 August 2001-6 July 2003 73
xix

SIGINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION AND OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

Brig. Gen. Donald R. Walker, USAF 4 December 1992-16 July 1995 85

Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Scanlan, Jr., USAF 17 July 1995-26 August 1996 69

Brig. Gen. Robert E. Larned, USAF 15 August 1996-31 October 1996 47

Mr. Dennis D. Fitzgerald 1 November 1996-11 June 2001 33

Maj. Gen. James B. Armor, Jr., USAF 11 June 2001-15 April 2005 1

ADVANCED SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE

Mr. Robert A. Pattishall 31 March 1997-28 February 2000 67

Ms. Carol A. Staubach 1 May 2000-26 August 2001 73

Maj. Gen. Craig P. Weston, USAF 4 September 2001-19 April 2002 89
 1

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MAJOR GENERAL 

JAMES B. ARMOR, JR., USAF

DIRECTOR OF SIGINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION 

& OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

11 JUNE 2001-15 APRIL 2005
2

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

ames Burton Armor, Jr. was born on 25 September 1950 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On 27 May 

1973, he received his second lieutenant’s commission in the U.S. Air Force through the Air Force 

Reserve Officer Training Corps at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he also 

earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, with honors, in psychology and electrical engineering. 

His first Air Force assignment, from September 1973 until August 1976, was as a deputy missile combat 

crew commander. He then served as senior wing instructor with the 381st Strategic Missile Wing at 

McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. In December 1977, Armor earned a Master of Science in Electrical

Engineering, with a subspecialty in electro-optics, from the Air Force Institute of Technology at WrightPatterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He then became chief of the Laser Signal Intelligence Branch, Foreign 

Technology Division, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he served as a laser signal intelligence 

analyst until 1981. Following completion of the program management course at the Defense Systems 

Management College at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, then-Major Armor was assigned to the Air Force Office of 

Special Projects (OSP) at Los Angeles Air Force Station in California, with the title of assistant deputy 

for mission integration.

In November 1986, Armor returned to Washington, D.C., where he served until July 1989 as deputy division 

chief for special technology operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations at 

U.S. Air Force headquarters. He went back to the Pentagon after a year as a senior research fellow at 

the National War College and served as deputy chief of the Space Communications Division, Directorate 

of Space and Strategic Defense Initiative Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force 

for Acquisition.

In mid-1992, then-Colonel Armor returned to California to serve as deputy program director of the 

Advanced Systems Program Office and then as director of the Defense Dissemination Program Office 

(DDPO), Space and Missile Systems Center, at Los Angeles Air Force Base. In July 1996, after assisting 

with transition of the DDPO to the newly created National Imagery and Mapping Agency, Armor became 

system program director of the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System (GPS) Joint Program Office at 

Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. As director of this multi-billion-dollar GPS program, 

he was responsible for acquiring advanced replacement satellites for the 24-satellite constellation, as 

well as upgrading ground control stations, multi-service GPS receivers, and support equipment. He 

also managed the exploding worldwide civilian use of GPS for the Department of Defense. In October 

1999, Colonel Armor assumed the position of vice commander at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at 

Robins Air Force Base, one of the Air Force’s five air logistics centers and Georgia’s largest industrial 

complex. Here he was responsible for depot maintenance and worldwide logistics support of most Air 

Force transport aircraft, F-15 fighters, helicopters, air-to-air missiles, surface motor vehicles, and hightechnology airborne electronics.

On 1 January 2000, the Air Force promoted Colonel Armor to brigadier general. After 18 months at Robins 

Air Force Base, he became director of the Signals Intelligence Systems Acquisition and Operations 

Directorate at the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia. He officially assumed these 

duties on 11 June 2001 and served in that capacity until 15 April 2005. He was promoted to Major 

General on 1 September 2004.

Major General Armor earned the Missileman Badge, the Master Space Badge, and the Senior Acquisition 

Badge. In addition to his university degrees, Armor completed the National Security Management 

Course, as well as studies at Squadron Officer’s School and the Air Command and Staff College. 

Among his military awards and decorations are the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious 

Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the Air Force 

Organizational Excellence Award with three oak leaf clusters.
 3

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

DAVID E. BAKER, USAF

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

8 JANUARY 1996-11 SEPTEMBER 1997
4

BIOGRAPHIES 

David Earle “Bull” Baker was born on 30 September 1946 in West Stewartstown, New Hampshire. He 

attended Hofstra University in New York, where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1968. Following graduation, and his commissioning as a second lieutenant in the Air Force on 

15 May 1969, Baker completed pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Texas between June 1969 and June 

1970. He then flew as an EC-121 pilot with Detachment 1 of the 552nd Airborne Early Warning and Control 

Wing at McCoy Air Force Base in Florida before undergoing AT-33 combat crew training at Cannon Air Force 

Base in New Mexico.

Deploying overseas in support of the American war effort in Southeast Asia in January 1972, Captain Baker 

served as an O-2A forward air controller assigned to the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron based at Tan 

Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, Republic of South Vietnam. During this service, Baker’s aircraft was shot down 

by a surface-to-air missile over Cambodia during his 50th combat mission on 27 June 1972. Baker was a 

prisoner-of-war until the conclusion of the American combat involvement in Southeast Asia in February 1973. 

He was the only Air Force prisoner repatriated from Cambodia.

On returning to the United States, Baker attended Squadron Officer School and earned a Master of Science in 

Business Administration at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. Following this, Baker spent the next five years, 

from September 1974 until September 1979, as a T-38 instructor pilot with the 97th Flying Training Squadron 

before becoming a flight commander, then assistant section commander, and then chief of standardization and 

evaluation with the 82nd Flying Training Wing at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. During this time he also 

attended the Air Command and Staff College, completing his studies there in 1978.

Again deploying overseas, Major Baker spent four years as an F-15 fighter pilot, as a cadre instructor in the 

F-15C, and as assistant operations officer and chief of the F-15 Standardization and Evaluation Program with 

the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Camp New Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Following this tour, between 

January 1983 and December 1986 Lieutenant Colonel Baker attended the Armed Forces Staff College in 

Norfolk, Virginia, before spending the next three years as international program manager for Africa and later as 

chief of international programs for Egypt at U.S. Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Returning to work with the F-15, Baker spent four years after December 1986 as an instructor pilot, and later 

as assistant deputy commander for operations of the 405th Tactical Training Wing at Luke Air Force Base in 

Arizona. In January 1991, then-Colonel Baker began eight months combat service as deputy commander 

for operations of a composite fighter wing, consisting of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) and the 

4404th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional) in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Storm. Baker 

flew 20 combat missions over Iraq in the F-15E during this time; he was the only repatriated Vietnam-era 

prisoner of war to fly combat missions during the Gulf War.

After attending the National Defense College of Canada at Kingston, Ontario, Baker served two years, between 

August 1992 and September 1994, as director of operations, plans, and programs at the Air National Guard 

Bureau at U.S. Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C. Following this assignment and his promotion to 

the rank of brigadier general in October 1994, Baker served as vice director of the Operational Plans and 

Interoperability Directorate, J-7, with the Joint Staff in Washington. There, he was accountable to the director 

in providing assistance to the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, by increasing warfighting capabilities of the 

combat commands through improvements in interoperability of the services in all aspects of joint doctrine, 

tactics, and techniques and procedures. Concurrently, Baker served as deputy director for military education 

for the Joint Staff.

From 8 January 1996 until 11 September 1997, in his last active duty assignment, Brigadier General Baker served 

as deputy director for military support at the National Reconnaissance Office. He retired on 1 October 1997.

During his career, Brigadier General Baker logged more than 4,000 flying hours in the EC-121, AT-33, O-2A, 

T-38, and F-15 A/C/E aircraft. Among his numerous awards and decorations are the National Intelligence 

Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, 

the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with “V’ device and oak 

leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal 

with two service stars, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two service stars, the Republic of South Vietnam 

Cross of Gallantry with bronze star, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal. He died on 29 January 2009.
 5

LEADERS OF THE NRO

COLONEL 

WALLACE A. BEAUCHAMP III, USAF

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SPACE LAUNCH

1 JULY 1998-15 JULY 1999
6

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born at Fort Belvoir, Virginia on 5 October 1949, Wallace Adrian “Pat” Beauchamp III received a 

Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Millsaps College and received a second lieutenant’s 

commission in the Air Force following completion of Officer Training School in October 1973. 

Between 1973 and 1975, he underwent pilot and pilot instructor training at Columbus Air Force 

Base, Mississippi and stayed on at that base as a T-38 flight-training instructor until October 1978. He was 

then assigned to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where he was an HH-53 recovery pilot. From October 

1978 until July 1983 Beauchamp served as air operations officer and orchestrated a multi-service effort to 

recover a malfunctioning satellite. Secretary of the Air Force Vern Orr commended him on an innovative 

approach that prevented the loss of a space capsule. During this time he earned a Master of Science in 

Education, Counseling, and Guidance from Mississippi State University in 1980 and completed Squadron 

Officer School.

From September 1983 until August 1985, Beauchamp served at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, 

California, as manager of Space Transportation System (STS) Utilization Planning. He was responsible 

for managing STS utilization planning activities for the deputy of the Mission Integration Management 

Support Office. In 1985 and 1986, he attended the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force 

Base, Alabama, before beginning his first tour of duty with the Office of Special Projects as a launch 

vehicle integration manager. Here he was responsible for development of alternative systems to launch 

small Department of Defense payloads. From June 1987 through June 1989, Beauchamp remained at 

the Special Projects Office as deputy director for expendable launch vehicle integration. He devised and 

implemented a new launch manifesting system for the Titan IV Program that reduced planning time and 

saved federal tax dollars. He also prepared a Titan IV recovery plan for the Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade 

Program that eliminated 12 months from a two-year projected delivery slip.

Colonel Beauchamp moved from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in July 1989 to become deputy for 

launch vehicles at the Pentagon. In this position, he served as the principal liaison on launch issues between 

the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space, NASA, Congress, and other government agencies. He 

was the lead in resolving major issues ranging from launch base security upgrades to conducting a topto-bottom Congressional review of the Titan IV and solid rocket motor upgrade developments.

Following completion of coursework at the Defense Systems Management College in August 1992, 

Beauchamp returned to the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Office of Special Projects as deputy 

director, and then director, of launch integration and operations. Significant accomplishments included 

membership on the Space Launch Modernization Study Team, where he chaired the Requirements 

Panel. In July 1996, he became deputy director, and then director, of the Launch Program Office, 

where he identified ways to reduce expenses of the Titan IV Program; defined day-of-launch roles and 

responsibilities between different agencies; and became focal point for the evolved expendable launch 

vehicle program. On 1 July 1998, Colonel Beauchamp became director of the Office of Space Launch at 

the National Reconnaissance Office, serving in that position until 15 July 1999.

Among Colonel Beauchamp’s awards and decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal, the 

Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, 

three Air Force Commendation Medals, one Air Force Achievement Medal, and the National Defense 

Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster.
 7

LEADERS OF THE NRO

CAPTAIN 

JOHN M. BROWNELL, USN

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE 

19 AUGUST 2000-1 JUNE 2002
8

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

ohn Michael Brownell was born on 10 August 1954 in Walla Walla, Washington. He entered the U.S. 

Naval Academy in 1972 and graduated with merit in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Systems 

Engineering. Designated a naval flight officer in June 1978, Brownell’s first operational assignment 

was with Oceanographic Research Squadron 8, then located at the Patuxent River Naval Air 

Station in Maryland, where he served until May 1981. Going overseas, Brownell next served with Fleet Air 

Reconnaissance Squadron 2 at the Rota Naval Air Station in Spain until May 1984. Following graduation 

in June 1986 from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he received a Master of 

Science degree, with distinction, in systems engineering, he was assigned as electronic warfare officer 

with Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34 at Point Mugu Naval Air Station in California. He then served 

as operations officer of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 in Spain for two more years between June 

1988 and May 1990. Continuing with his professional education, then-Commander Brownell completed a 

Master of Arts in National Military Affairs at the Naval War College in June 1991.

Following his attendance at the Naval War College, Brownell spent 1991 and 1992 serving as executive 

officer of Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 35 at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington. 

Upon that command’s decommissioning in June 1993, he became executive and commanding officer 

of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 at the Agana Naval Air Station in Guam, and then at Whidbey 

Island Naval Air Station when that unit relocated in December 1994. Between July 1995 and July 1996, 

Brownell served as executive officer of the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.

In August 1996, Commander Brownell served as the chief of the Capabilities Division, Deputy Director 

for Operations (Information Operations), Joint Staff, J-39, in Washington, D.C. Promoted to the rank of 

captain in December 1998, he transferred to the National Reconnaissance Office in August 1999 as chair 

of the Navy-NRO Coordination Group. On 19 August 2000, he assumed duties as the director of the 

Operational Support Office at the NRO, where he served until 1 June 2002.

Captain Brownell accumulated over 4,500 flight hours in various types of electronic attack, signals 

intelligence reconnaissance, and oceanographic research aircraft. During his career he served as a 

mission commander, electronic warfare strike lead, senior electronic warfare evaluator, and electronic 

countermeasures officer. He is a member of the Association of Old Crows, and a life member of the Association of Naval Aviation and U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association. He also serves as secretary of the 

National Capital Area Scholastic Rowing Association, and is a U.S. Rowing judge and referee. Among 

his military awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Meritorious 

Service Medal, and various campaign, service, and unit awards.
 9

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JULIAN CABALLERO, JR.

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM B

28 AUGUST 1989-31 DECEMBER 1992

DIRECTOR OF IMINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION 

& OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

1 JANUARY 1993-3 OCTOBER 1993
10

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

ulian Caballero, Jr. was born on 15 September 1930 in Harlingen, Texas. Following his high school 

graduation in 1948, he worked for two years as a radio technician in Texas. He entered the U.S. 

Army in January 1951 and served in the Federal Republic of Germany as a non-commissioned 

officer, radio operator, and technician until December 1952. Melpar Incorporated, a Virginia-based 

electronic research and development firm, employed Caballero the next year as a project engineer and 

technical assistant to the aerospace program manager. During his time with Melpar between 1953 and 

1965, he worked in a series of research and development, engineering, and supervisory positions while 

engaged in the study and development of electronic reconnaissance and countermeasure systems. 

He was manager of the electronic warfare laboratories at Melpar when he resigned to join the Central 

Intelligence Agency in March 1965. His initial assignment with the CIA was as a signals intelligence 

officer with the Office of Special Projects (the later Office of Development and Engineering).

Caballero left the agency in 1967 to serve as vice president of Applied Systems Tech Incorporated, 

in Vienna, Virginia, but rejoined the CIA in April 1968 as chief of the Systems Requirements Division. 

A self-educated expert in electronic and signals intelligence systems, Caballero became director of 

the Special Program Group in November 1978. He served as deputy director and then director of the 

Office of Development and Engineering, Directorate of Science and Technology, from 8 March 1982 to 

3 October 1993.

Caballero served as director of the National Reconnaissance Office Program B between 28 August 

1989 and 31 December 1992, the last agency member to hold that post before it was abolished in favor 

of the functional directorates. The day following abolition of the old Program B, on 1 January 1993, 

Caballero became the first director of the Imagery Intelligence Systems Acquisition and Operations 

Directorate at the NRO and remained in that position until 3 October 1993. While at the NRO, he 

directed the development and operation of new imagery and signals intelligence technical collection 

systems and assisted in establishing a responsive and flexible imagery system that served the needs 

of several U.S. intelligence agencies.

During nearly 30 years of government service, Mr. Caballero received the Distinguished Intelligence 

Medal, the Intelligence Medal of Merit, two CIA Meritorious Unit Citations, the Department of Defense 

Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Security 

Agency Distinguished Service Medal. He died on 5 August 2011.
 11

LEADERS OF THE NRO

CAPTAIN BRUCE N. COBURN, USN

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE

1 AUGUST 1995-8 DECEMBER 1996
12

BIOGRAPHIES 

Bruce Norman Coburn was born in Savannah, Georgia on 27 January 1948. He enlisted in the 

U.S. Navy in October 1968. Selected for the Naval Enlisted Scientific Education Program in 1971, 

he attended the University of Louisville in Kentucky, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 

Engineering and an ensign’s commission upon graduation in May 1974. He completed aviation 

training at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, receiving his naval aviator wings in February 1975.

Coburn served with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 in Agana, Guam between May 1976 and 

February 1978 as senior electronic warfare evaluator and mission commander. Following this tour, he 

attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he earned a Master of Science 

in Systems Technology in April 1980. He next served with the Naval Electronics Systems Command in 

Washington, D.C., between May 1980 and June 1982, where he was attached to the Special Program 

Office of the Navy Space Project Directorate. Coburn then served as maintenance officer with Fleet 

Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 in Rota, Spain between June 1982 and July 1985, before returning 

to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the assistant commander for space technology at the Naval 

Space and Warfare Systems Command. Coburn reported again to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 

1 in January 1989, and served as the executive officer of that unit prior to assuming command of that 

squadron in June 1990. Afterward, he attended the Defense Systems Management College, between 

July and December 1991, en route to assignment at the Systems Application Project Office of the Navy 

Space Technology Program.

Captain Coburn became deputy director of the Operational Support Office at the National Reconnaissance 

Office upon its establishment on 28 August 1992. Three years later, on 1 August 1995, he assumed the 

position of director of the NRO OSO, serving until 8 December 1996. Captain Coburn retired from the 

U.S. Navy in March 1997.

In addition to his university degrees, Captain Coburn graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College in 

December 1985. Among his awards and decorations are the Meritorious Service Medal with one gold 

star, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Expeditionary Medal, the 

Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal. He also 

wears the Meritorious Unit Citation, Battle “E,” and the Sea Service ribbons.
 13

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. THOMAS W. CONROY

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR NATIONAL SUPPORT

16 NOVEMBER 1998-9 MARCH 2001
14

BIOGRAPHIES 

Thomas Ward Conroy was born in Orange, New Jersey on 26 September 1944. Raised in 

Buffalo, New York, he received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical 

engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1966 and 1971, respectively. During 

and following his education, Conroy worked in private industry at TRACOR, Defense Electronics 

Incorporated, B-K Dynamics, and Telcom Incorporated.

Conroy joined the Central Intelligence Agency in August 1968 and served in the Directorate of Science 

and Technology until December 1993. Initially assigned to its Office of Research and Development, 

he managed technical developments involving ultra-small lithography semiconductors, the use of 

radioisotopes in research, custom-integrated circuits, and special-purpose electronic systems. In 1976, he 

joined the Office of Development and Engineering to direct the development of wide-bandwidth recorders. 

He later helped develop, test, deploy, and operate special-purpose collection systems, and subsequently 

became deputy director, SIGINT Program Group, where he assisted in the development, launch, and 

operation of a significantly enhanced satellite collection system. In 1986, Conroy became director, Data 

Communication Group, to manage the continued acquisition, launch, and operation of a critical national 

satellite constellation.

Beginning in May 1991, Conroy served as deputy director, Office of Special Projects and helped guide 

the development, deployment, and operation of signals intelligence collection systems. During 1993, he 

played a leading role in the creation of the Office of Technical Collection, formed from the merger of the 

Office of Special Projects and the Office of SIGINT Operations within the Central Intelligence Agency. 

In December 1993, he served as the deputy chief of the Technology Management Office, Directorate of 

Operations. In June 1994, Conroy became deputy director of the Office of Scientific and Weapons Research in the Directorate of Intelligence, where he supervised the production of all-source intelligence 

assessments of foreign weapons systems and their technical infrastructures. In 1997 he became deputy 

director of the newly established Office of Transnational Issues, a CIA organization that combined 

the missions, personnel, and budgets of his former office and those of the Transnational Security and 

Technology Issues Office. On 12 October 1998, Conroy was named deputy director for national support 

at the National Reconnaissance Office, a position in which he served until his retirement on 9 March 2001.

Mr. Conroy received the Intelligence Commendation Medal, the Intelligence Medal of Merit, and a Senior 

Intelligence Service Distinguished Officer Award. He has served on, or has led, numerous task forces 

relating to data communications systems within the Intelligence Community, including investigations of 

related counterintelligence issues. In 1990, Conroy was elected to the board of directors for the Northwest 

Federal Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions in the country. He has continued volunteer service 

in that position and served as chairman of the board from 1995 until 2000.
 15

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MRS. MARY M. CORRADO

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR 

RESOURCE OVERSIGHT & MANAGEMENT

12 JANUARY 1998-4 OCTOBER 1999
16

BIOGRAPHIES 

Mary Margaret Corrado was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 8 December 1948. She 

received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia 

in May 1983. A baseball enthusiast, Mrs. Corrado began her professional career as a staff 

member of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. There she worked in the public relations 

office, handling fan mail and publishing daily statistics for the media. She then transferred to the Phillies’ 

comptroller’s office, working on payroll and expense accounts. Moving to Washington, D.C., in May 1969, 

she remained affiliated with baseball, having been hired by the Washington Senators. In Washington, she 

also supported the Senators’ minor league baseball teams and handled publicity for baseball legend Ted 

Williams. When the Senators baseball team moved to Texas in 1970, Mrs. Corrado joined the Central 

Intelligence Agency as a secretary in the Office of Communications. She held similar positions in the 

Office of Legislative Counsel and the Office of the Comptroller before becoming community relations 

coordinator in the newly established Office of Equal Employment Opportunity in 1976.

In 1978, Corrado’s long career in the budget field resumed when she became a budget analyst in the 

Office of the Comptroller. Between 1983 and 1985 she served as a budget officer on the Evaluation and 

Plans Staff in the Directorate of Operations, where she was primarily responsible for review, evaluation, 

and tracking of covert action programs including National Security Council proposals. In 1985, she took 

on responsibility for all aspects of budget planning, formulation, and execution across all programs in 

the Directorate of Science and Technology. In 1987, she served as deputy chief of the Science and 

Technology Group prior to becoming its chief in 1989. Then, in October 1990, she became chief of the 

Resource Management Group, Technology Management, in the Central Intelligence Agency Directorate 

of Operations.

In October 1991, she joined the Office of Special Projects (OSP) as executive officer and became the 

director of management and plans in August 1993 when the OSP merged with the Office of SIGINT 

Operations to become the Office of Technical Collection. In this position, she was responsible for all 

administrative services, as well as the formulation and execution of budget submissions and related 

inquiries by Congress and the Intelligence Community. Her next position was as the deputy comptroller 

for resource management at the CIA.

Corrado became associate deputy director for Resource Oversight and Management at the National 

Reconnaissance Office in December 1996. On 12 January 1998, she became deputy director of Resource 

Oversight and Management at NRO, a position she held until 4 October 1999.

For her significant contributions to resource management at the CIA and at the NRO, Corrado received 

numerous awards including a Meritorious Officer Stipend, a Meritorious Unit Citation, and the NRO Gold 

Medal of Distinguished Service.
 17

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

THOMAS F. CRAWFORD, USAF

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

15 JUNE 1999-5 DECEMBER 2000
18

BIOGRAPHIES 

Thomas Fletcher Crawford was born in Roswell, New Mexico on 30 June 1949. He earned an 

associates degree at the New Mexico Military Institute in 1970 and a Bachelor of Arts in Management 

and Finance at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces in 1972. Crawford received a second 

lieutenant’s commission on 23 May 1972 through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at 

New Mexico State University. Following graduation, he completed pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base 

in Texas, earning his wings in May 1973.

His first assignment in the Air Force, lasting nearly two years, was as an F-111F pilot with the 390th 

Tactical Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. From March 1975 until June1977 he 

continued service as an F-111A pilot with the 429th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in 

Nevada, while also completing Squadron Officer School. An accomplished pilot, Crawford spent the period 

from June 1977 until November 1981 as an F-111A instructor pilot, weapons and tactics officer, fighter 

weapons instructor, and flight commander with the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home Air 

Force Base. During this time, he completed the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course and studies at the Air 

Command and Staff College. In 1981, Crawford served at the 4450th Tactical Group at Nellis Air Force 

Base, Nevada, where he flew the F-117A and A-7D.

In June 1984, then-Major Crawford began a four-year assignment as a special projects officer with the Air 

Staff at U.S. Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C. In June 1988, he resumed duties with F-111F 

squadrons, first as a instructor pilot and chief of weapons and tactics with the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, 

and then as operations officer and commander of the 494th Tactical Fighter Squadron at the Royal Air Force 

base at Lakenheath, England. Between August 1990 and March 1991, then-Lieutenant Colonel Crawford 

commanded Detachment 1 of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing before serving as assistant deputy commander 

for operations of that same unit when it deployed for combat service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert 

Storm. Remaining overseas following the Gulf War, Crawford served for two years between June 1991 

and June 1993 as chief of the Special Weapons Section, and as military assistant to the Supreme Allied 

Commander Europe, at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, in Mons, Belgium.

On returning to the United States in 1993, Colonel Crawford completed a one-year course of studies at the 

Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and then earned a Master of Science in Computer 

Information Systems at Boston University. Between June 1994 and June 1996, he served as an A-10 

pilot and director of combat operations, then deputy commander, and finally commander, of the 607th Air 

Operations Group at Osan Air Base, Republic of South Korea. Subsequently, between July 1996 and May 

1997, Crawford served as inspector general at Pacific Air Force headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base 

in Hawaii. From May 1997 until May 1999 Crawford commanded the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air 

Force Base in Alaska. The 354th Fighter Wing flew the A-10/OA-10 and F-16 aircraft equipped with the low 

altitude navigation and targeting infrared system.

On 1 July 1998, the Air Force promoted Crawford to brigadier general, and in June of the following year 

appointed him deputy director for operations, National Support Systems, J-35, with the Joint Staff in 

Washington, D.C., also serving as deputy director for military support at the National Reconnaissance 

Office. Brigadier General Crawford served in this position at the NRO between 15 June 1999 and 5 

December 2000. Deputy Director Crawford was the principal ensuring national intelligence support to the 

Department of Defense.

A command pilot with over 3,000 flying hours, Brigadier General Crawford has flown the F-111A, F-111D, 

F-111F, the A-7D, the F-117A “Nighthawk,” and A-10/OA-10 aircraft. Among his military awards and 

decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf 

cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak 

leaf clusters, the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation 

Medal, the Combat Readiness Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with 

service star, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with two service stars, and the Kuwait Liberation Medal.
 19

LEADERS OF THE NRO

REAR ADMIRAL 

JOSEPH J. DANTONE, JR., USN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

7 APRIL 1994-7 JANUARY 1996
20

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Baltimore, Maryland on 6 August 1942, Joseph John Dantone, Jr. entered the U.S. Naval 

Academy in July 1960 and graduated with the class of 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Naval 

Engineering. Commissioned as an ensign, he immediately began flight training at the Naval Air 

Station in Pensacola, Florida and became a naval aviator on 24 September 1965.

Following the completion of fleet replacement squadron training in May 1966, then-Lieutenant (j.g.) 

Dantone reported to Fighter Squadron 84, where he flew the F-4 Phantom during Mediterranean Sea 

deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Independence. In March 1967, he served with Fighter 

Squadron 161, where he made two Western Pacific combat deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS

Coral Sea and flew more than 150 combat missions in Southeast Asia in support of U.S. Armed Forces 

then deployed in the Republic of South Vietnam.

In August 1969, Dantone reported to the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where 

he earned Master of Science degrees in aeronautical engineering and management. He joined the F-14 

fleet introduction cadre at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Miramar, California in June 1973. In this position, 

he became a “plank owner” when Fighter Squadron 1 emerged as the U.S. Navy’s first F-14 squadron. 

During this tour he deployed with the squadron once again to the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean 

aboard the USS Enterprise, where he flew fighter cover during the evacuation of Saigon prior to the final 

collapse of the Republic of South Vietnam in April 1975.

In May 1976, Dantone reported to the Naval Air Systems Command as the F-14 Tomcat program 

assistant deputy for training. Returning to the fleet in July 1977, he became the executive officer, and 

then commanding officer, of Fighter Squadron 14, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy. 

After this tour, then-Commander Dantone served as the fighter-training officer for the U.S. Naval Air 

Forces, Atlantic Fleet. This tour was followed by 18 months of nuclear power training, ending in December 

1982, and a further tour as executive officer of the USS Enterprise between January 1983 and February 

1985. Captain Dantone next assumed command of the USS Wichita, before assignment as the commanding officer of the pre-commissioning unit for the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in November 

1987. The following September, he assumed command of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, 

and commanded that vessel in the Red Sea immediately following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait during 

Operation Desert Shield. Leaving the USS Eisenhower in December 1990, Dantone became director 

of the Program Appraisal Division before assuming command of Carrier Group Three from April 1992 to 

March 1994.

In April 1994, Rear Admiral Dantone became the deputy director of military support at the National 

Reconnaissance Office, serving concurrently as deputy director of operations, national system support, 

Joint Staff, and as deputy director of the Defense Support Project Office, Office of the Assistant Secretary 

of the Air Force for Space, in Washington, D.C.

Rear Admiral Dantone’s decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with two gold stars, the 

Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, the Air Medal with combat “V” with Numeral “8” and one 

gold star, and the Navy Commendation Medal with combat “V.”
 21

LEADERS OF THE NRO

DR. WILLIAM A. DECKER

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR SYSTEM ENGINEERING

10 SEPTEMBER 2001-12 SEPTEMBER 2003
22

BIOGRAPHIES 

William Arthur “Art” Decker was born on 25 September 1943 in Rolla, Missouri. He received 

his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1965 from the University of Missouri in 

Columbia, and between that year and 1971 he continued with his education, completing a 

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Doctorate of Science in Electromagnetic

Theory at the same institution.

Dr. Decker started his professional career as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy in June 1966, where 

he carried out research and development projects in Washington, D.C. In September 1968, he accepted 

employment with the Bendix Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked on the Polaris 

missile program.

Three years later, in October 1971, Dr. Decker joined the Central Intelligence Agency and the Directorate 

of Science and Technology. He initially worked as a technical intelligence analyst, examining foreign 

capabilities in communications, antennas, radars, and exotic weapons, publishing his findings as technical 

intelligence reports. Three years later, in February 1974, he joined the CIA’s Office of Development and 

Engineering and began a tour of duty at the National Reconnaissance Office, holding leadership positions 

in precursors of three of the NRO’s present-day directorates, including the Signals Intelligence Acquisition 

and Operations Directorate, the Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate, and the Imagery 

Intelligence Acquisition and Operations Directorate.

During a period of seven years with the Office of Development and Engineering’s SIGINT Programs 

Group, Dr. Decker worked on development of a major block-change system and served as chief 

of program system engineering for four years. In 1982, he was assigned as associate director of the 

Collection Systems Group, where he worked on development of advanced technologies and new 

concepts for intelligence collection. In 1982, he began a two-year assignment as associate director of 

imagery intelligence programs.

In October 1984, Dr. Decker joined The Analytical Sciences Corporation (TASC) as a program manager. 

Six years later, in July 1990, he became vice president and director of the System Engineering Group at 

TASC, supporting NRO programs. In this position he was responsible for supervising several hundred 

employees who supported programs of the four NRO directorates. He was also a key participant in 

all major signals intelligence studies during this time, first in the office of Plans and Analysis and later 

in the Signals Intelligence Acquisition and Operations Directorate. He also actively participated in the 

benchmarking and business practices sub-panels of the Jeremiah Panel.

In October 1995, Dr. Decker was appointed senior vice president and director of the newly established 

System Engineering Division of TASC, which supported National Reconnaissance Office, Central 

Intelligence Agency, and National Security Agency programs. In this position he was responsible for 

leading nearly a thousand TASC employees supporting Intelligence Community systems engineering, 

systems integration, and technical support programs.

Leaving TASC in April 1997, Dr. Decker continued to be active in the Intelligence Community and worked 

as a private consultant providing advanced systems planning for the NRO. For five months in 1999 he 

served as the NRO representative and chairman of the Independent Review Panel in support of the White 

House-commissioned broad area review of launch vehicle failures.

On 6 July 2001, the NRO reorganized the former Office of Corporate Systems Engineering, giving it a 

different name and a deputy director comparable in importance and authority to the other existing NRO 

deputy directors leading military and national support efforts. Two months later, on 10 September 2001, 

Dr. Decker was appointed the NRO’s first Deputy Director for Systems Engineering, a position in which 

he served until 12 September 2003.
 23

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. VINCENT W. DENNIS

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR 

RESOURCE OVERSIGHT & MANAGEMENT

4 OCTOBER 1999-13 FEBRUARY 2004
24

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Washington, D.C., on 21 June 1964, but raised in Durham, North Carolina, Vincent William 

Dennis received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Davidson College in 1986 and a Master of 

Arts in Public Policy from Duke University in Durham in 1990.

He began his federal service as the legislative director to Congressman Alex J. McMillan (R-NC). 

After completing graduate education, he became a presidential management intern in the Office of 

the Secretary of Defense. Dennis joined the Central Intelligence Agency on 19 June 1995 and served 

in several assignments across the Intelligence Community, including the National Security Agency, 

the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Special Operations Command as well as in the Office of 

the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence. Dennis reported to the National 

Reconnaissance Office in 1996 as director of the Office of Legislative Liaison. Following two years in 

that position, he became associate deputy director of Resource Oversight and Management.

After completing Harvard University’s Senior Managers in Government Program, he became deputy 

director of the NRO Resource Oversight and Management Office on 4 October 1999. As NRO’s chief 

financial officer, Dennis was responsible for resource management within the organization, including 

budget formulation and execution, financial operations, financial systems development, cost estimating, 

and Congressional affairs. He principally focused on managerial cost accounting, financial management, 

information systems, strategic resource planning, and corporate budgeting.
 25

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MAJOR GENERAL 

ROBERT S. DICKMAN, USAF

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF 

ARCHITECTURES, ASSESSMENTS 

& ACQUISITION

5 JUNE 1998-7 JULY 2000
26

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Brooklyn, New York on 5 October 1944, Robert Sanborn Dickman grew up in New Jersey. 

He entered the U.S. Air Force in June 1966 as a second lieutenant, after graduating with 

distinction from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Union College in Schenectady, New York 

with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Between June 1966 and June 1968, he studied at the 

U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, where he completed a 

Master of Science in Space Physics.

Dickman first served as the theoretical and high-energy physicist at the Air Force Office of Scientific 

Research in Arlington, Virginia, followed by an assignment at the Directorate of Space, Air Force 

headquarters in Washington, D.C. Between June 1973 and May 1975, Dickman served as systems 

program manager at the Air Force Satellite Communications System Program Office at Los Angeles Air 

Force Base in California. Subsequently, he attended Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff 

College, both at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Returning to Washington, D.C. in June 1976, then-Major Dickman spent the next three years as operational 

manager of military satellite communications with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and 

Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force. In October 1979, he moved to the position of chief of the Space 

Defense Operations Center Implementation Branch, at North American Aerospace Defense Command 

headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. By the time he left that assignment in June 1982, Dickman 

was executive officer to the vice commander in chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command.

In 1983, Colonel Dickman obtained a Master of Arts in Management from Salve Regina College in 

Newport, Rhode Island, and was a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, also in Newport, that 

same year. In July 1983, he returned to Colorado as director of Space Systems, Deputy Chief of Staff 

for Operations, at the headquarters of the newly formed U.S. Air Force Space Command in Colorado 

Springs. The following year, he served as chief of the Commander’s Group at headquarters of the North 

American Aerospace Defense Command and at Air Force Space Command. Remaining in Colorado 

until June 1987, Dickman served as vice commander, 2nd Space Wing, Falcon Air Force Base, and as 

assistant to the director of operations, U.S. Space Command, and finally as director of missile warning, 

Air Force Space Command.

Returning to Washington, D.C., Dickman then served two years as chief of the Space Systems Division, 

Directorate of Space and Strategic Defense Initiative Programs, and a further three years until June 

1992, as deputy director of Space Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. From July 1992 until June 1993, he was director of plans at the Air Force Space Command. Then, 

between July 1993 and January 1995, now-Major General Dickman served as commander of the 45th 

Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, as director of the Eastern Range and as commander of 

the Cape Canaveral Air Station. Returning once more to Washington, D.C., Dickman served as director of 

Space Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, until September 1995. 

The following month, in October 1995, he became the first Department of Defense Space Architect.

Major General Dickman joined the National Reconnaissance Office on 5 June 1998 as director of the 

Office of Plans and Analysis. When that office was reorganized and renamed in December 1998, Dickman 

remained in his position as director of the new Office of Architectures, Assessments, and Acquisition 

(OAAA), and finally as director of the newly created NRO Corporate Operations Office, serving until 7 July 

2000. Major General Dickman retired from active military duty on 1 August 2000. 

Major General Dickman’s many awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service 

Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the 

Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Air Force 

Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Master Space Badge, and the National Reconnaissance 

Office Gold Medal. In recognition of Major General Dickman’s significant contributions to military space 

programs, the National Space Club awarded him their Astronautics Award in 1998.
 27

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. ROBERT H. DUMAIS

DIRECTOR OF IMINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION 

& OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

30 JULY 1995-31 OCTOBER 1996
28

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Southbridge, Massachusetts on 25 October 1940, Robert Henry Dumais received a Bachelor 

of Arts in Physics from Boston University in 1967 and a Master of Science in Mathematics from 

Northeastern University in Boston in 1976. In 1960, while pursuing his education, Dumais joined 

Itek Corporation in Lexington, Massachusetts, as a physicist working on the Corona imagery 

satellite project. He also worked on coherent optics, spatial filtering, and photographic research studies. 

In 1970, he joined EIKONIX Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts, as a senior staff scientist. Here he 

worked on post-flight analysis of both strategic and tactical reconnaissance systems, and performed 

research on image processing, linear system theory, and estimation theory.

Dumais joined the Central Intelligence Agency in December 1974 and was initially assigned to the Office 

of Research and Development, Directorate of Science and Technology. In this position, he worked on the 

first soft-copy imagery exploitation systems. He transferred to the Office of Development and Engineering 

in 1976 and joined a team working on an advanced program. Three years later, in 1979, he served on the 

Systems Analysis Staff of another program and was appointed its chief in 1983.

From 1984 until 1986 Dumais served as deputy director for system collection before becoming associate 

director of an NRO space program. Two years later, in September 1988, he became director of the 

program. He left the National Reconnaissance Office in January 1994 to become deputy director of the 

CIA’s Office of Technical Collection, serving in this capacity until March 1995. He then returned to the 

National Reconnaissance Office as deputy director for acquisitions, system development, and operations, 

in the IMINT Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate. Three months later, on 1 August 1995, 

Dumais assumed the position of director of the IMINT Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate, 

holding this post until he retired from government service on 31 October 1996.

Dumais received many awards including the Central Intelligence Agency’s Intelligence Medal of Merit, 

awarded in 1985, the Meritorious Officer Award in 1988, the Distinguished Officer Award in 1990, and 

the Distinguished Intelligence Medal awarded in 1991. In 1996 alone, Dumais received a second Distinguished Intelligence Medal, as well as the Intelligence Community Distinguished Service Medal and the 

National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal.
 29

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. MARTIN C. FAGA

DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

28 SEPTEMBER 1989-5 MARCH 1993
30

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on 11 June 1941, Martin Clark Faga received a Bachelor of 

Science degree in 1963 and a Master of Science degree in 1964, both in electrical engineering 

from Lehigh University. At Lehigh, Faga served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers Training 

Corps and received his commission as a second lieutenant upon graduation. Until 1968, he served 

as a research and development officer in the Air Force, working in the field of infrared reconnaissance 

and the application of laser technology to reconnaissance. He then worked briefly for the Perkin-Elmer 

Corporation in customer liaison before joining MITRE Corporation in 1969 as a member of the technical 

staff, working in the field of remote sensors.

In 1972, Faga joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he worked as an engineer on advanced 

systems for intelligence collection. He became a member of the professional staff of the Permanent 

Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives in 1977, assigned to the Program 

and Budget Authorization Subcommittee. In 1984, he became the head of the staff assigned to that 

subcommittee. There his responsibilities included staff oversight of technical collection programs and 

coordination of all subcommittee work.

He became assistant secretary of the Air Force for space in September 1989, in which position he was 

responsible for the overall planning, budgeting, and supervision of Air Force space matters. His duties 

included maintaining cooperative liaison between the Air Force and other military services, the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the executive departments responsible for civil and military 

space activities. Concurrently, between 28 September 1989 and 5 March 1993, Assistant Secretary of the 

Air Force Faga served as director of the National Reconnaissance Office. He declassified the existence 

of the NRO in September 1992, ending more than 30 years in which the organization had been classified 

secret within compartmented channels. A strong proponent for improved support to military operations, 

he appointed the first NRO deputy director for military support and championed increased access by U.S. 

military forces to NRO products. He began re-engineering and upgrading programs for most NRO satellite 

systems during his tenure and acted to combine the NRO’s separate Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Air 

Force, and U.S. Navy satellite programs into functional directorates.
 31

LEADERS OF THE NRO

REAR ADMIRAL

 RAND H. FISHER, USN

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

1 FEBRUARY 1999-20 AUGUST 2004
32

BIOGRAPHIES 

Rand Hilton Fisher was born in Hollywood, California on 21 April 1951. Raised in the San Fernando 

Valley, he entered the United States Naval Academy, along with his twin brother Rory, in June 

1969 and graduated with distinction in 1973. He received a Bachelor of Science in Physics and 

an ensign’s commission, and reported to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida. He earned 

his wings as a naval aviator in May 1975. During this time, he earned a Master of Science in Physics and 

Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida in Escambia County.

As a naval aviator, Fisher first served in Attack Squadron 147, flying the A-7E Corsair II, deployed on 

board the aircraft carrier USS Constellation in the Western Pacific. During this tour, between June 1975 

and October 1978, Lieutenant Fisher became strike flight leader and qualified as an air wing landing 

signal officer. In October 1978, he reported to Training Squadron 4 at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, 

Florida as a flight instructor in the T-2C.

In July 1980, Lieutenant Fisher became an aeronautical engineering duty officer and for the next two 

years attended the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, California, receiving a Master of Science in 

Physics and Ordnance Engineering in October 1982. He then reported as mission avionics officer to the 

commander of Naval Air Forces Atlantic. Following completion of that tour in June 1985, then Lieutenant 

Commander Fisher transferred to the Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu, California, where he 

served as the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program officer, planning and executing successful tests 

and evaluations of the U.S. Navy Pioneer UAV System aboard the battleship USS Iowa.

In October 1988, Commander Fisher reported to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in 

Washington, D.C., where he spent the next nine years as a research and development program manager, 

director of the Systems Program Management Division, lead systems engineer for the U.S. Naval Space 

Technology Program, deputy program manager of the Special Systems Program Office, major program 

manager of the Special Systems Program Office, and finally, as the program manager of the Advanced 

Systems Program Office.

Immediately following his promotion to rear admiral (lower half) on 8 December 1997, Fisher became 

commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, California, where he 

simultaneously served as the assistant commander for test and evaluation, Naval Air Systems Command. 

The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at that time included 7,650 personnel at four locations 

including China Lake and Point Mugu, California, as well as the White Sands Missile Range and 

Albuquerque Detachments in New Mexico.

Rear Admiral Fisher became director of the Communications Systems Acquisition and Operations 

Directorate at the National Reconnaissance Office on 1 February 1999 and served in that capacity until 

20 August 2004. He was also the Naval Space Technology Systems program director and commander of 

the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Space Field Activity. On 1 October 2001, Fisher was 

promoted to the rank of rear admiral.

Rear Admiral Fisher logged over 2,500 career flight hours in numerous aircraft including the T-2C, TA-4J, 

A-7E, F-14, C-12, and C-131. He was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, 

the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation 

Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the National 

Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze star, and the 

Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
 33

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. DENNIS D. FITZGERALD

DIRECTOR OF SIGINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

1 NOVEMBER 1996-11 JUNE 2001

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

10 AUGUST 2001-30 JULY 2006

PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

30 JULY 2006-27 APRIL 2007
34

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born on 28 February 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut, Dennis David Fitzgerald received his 

Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut in June 

1964. Between 1968 and 1980, he earned four Master of Science degrees—in applied physics, 

mathematics, electrical engineering, and space technology—from Johns Hopkins University in 

Baltimore, Maryland.

Fitzgerald started his professional career in private industry, working on the Polaris and Poseidon 

Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile Programs as a field engineer for Sperry Gyroscope, Incorporated. In 

June 1966, he moved to the Vitro Corporation, then located in Silver Spring, Maryland.

In January 1974, Fitzgerald joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Science and Technology. 

During most of his government career he served with the DS&T’s Office of Development and Engineering 

at the National Reconnaissance Office. At the NRO, he held leadership positions in the predecessor 

programs of the current Imagery Intelligence, Signals Intelligence, and Advanced Systems and Technology 

Directorates. In the Office of Development and Engineering’s Systems Analysis Group between 1974 

and 1980, he worked on advanced technologies and new concepts for overhead intelligence collection. 

In 1980, he became involved with collection systems procurement as deputy director of the Technology 

Application Group. In 1982, he served as the deputy director for systems collection with responsibility for 

imagery vehicle procurement.

He served two tours of duty outside of the Office of Development and Engineering: first as associate 

director of the National Photographic Interpretation Center, where he supervised transition of the improved 

NPIC data system from development through operation, and second as deputy director of the Central 

Intelligence Agency’s Office of Research and Development. In October 1994, Jeffrey K. Harris, director 

of the NRO, appointed Fitzgerald to lead the newly established Office of Systems Applications. There 

Fitzgerald coordinated international and commercial affairs and efforts to develop smaller satellites than 

those currently in use. On 1 November 1996, he became director of the SIGINT Systems Acquisition 

and Operations Directorate at the NRO. He also served concurrently as director of the CIA Office of 

Development and Engineering, an appointment made in October 1995. On 11 June 2001, Fitzgerald 

returned to CIA headquarters as associate deputy director of DS&T. On 10 August 2001, he returned 

to the NRO as deputy director. After an Air Force/NRO statement of intent made the deputy director a 

two-star Air Force position on 30 July 2006, Fitzgerald became NRO’s first principal deputy director of 

national reconnaissance, where he served until 27 April 2007.

Fitzgerald’s awards include the Senior Intelligence Service Distinguished Officer Award, the Senior 

Intelligence Service Meritorious Officer Award, the Central Intelligence Agency Medal of Merit, the 

Central Intelligence Agency Intelligence Commendation Award, and the National Reconnaissance Office 

Gold Medal. In addition to his interest in horse racing, Fitzgerald was an avid runner and completed 10 

marathons. He held certificates as a professional engineer (in New York and Virginia) and was a licensed 

master electrician (Virginia). He died on 31 December 2008.
 35

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

WILLIAM M. FRASER III, USAF

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

11 DECEMBER 2000-29 NOVEMBER 2002
36

BIOGRAPHIES 

William McKinley Fraser III was born on 17 August 1952 in Lakeland, Florida. He entered the 

U.S. Air Force in 1974 as a distinguished graduate of the Texas A&M University Reserve 

Officer Training Corps, where he also earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering 

Technology. Commissioned a second lieutenant on 8 November 1974, he underwent pilot 

training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. Until March 1980, Fraser trained as an instructor pilot 

at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. He then served as a T-37 instructor and check pilot with the 

96th Flying Training Squadron and as a T-37 instructor pilot and flight examiner with the 82nd Flying 

Training Wing, both at Williams Air Force Base. During this time, Captain Fraser completed Squadron 

Officer School and earned a Master of Science in Management Information Systems at the University 

of Northern Colorado.

Assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. from March 1980 through May 1981, Fraser served as the 

Operational Support Aircraft Program element monitor and as the worldwide military command, control, 

and communications element monitor with the Air Staff Training Program at U.S. Air Force headquarters. 

Returning to field assignments in October 1981, Fraser underwent training in the B-52H with the 4017th 

Combat Crew Training Squadron at Castle Air Force Base in California before deploying as a commander 

and an instructor pilot in B-52H and B-52G aircraft with the 46th Bombardment Squadron at Grand Forks 

Air Force Base, North Dakota. Later, Major Fraser served as chief of the B-52G Standardization and 

Evaluation Branch with the 319th Bombardment Wing at Grand Forks, an assignment that ended in 

December 1984.

Following completion of U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College by correspondence in 1983 

and attendance at the Armed Forces Staff College in 1985, Fraser served as chief, European Single 

Integrated Operational Plan Tactics with the office of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff at Offutt Air 

Force Base in Nebraska, and then as the executive officer to the chief of staff, Strategic Air Command. 

Between October 1987 and July 1990, he served as chief of the Nuclear Requirements Cell at Supreme 

Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium. Returning to the United States in July 1993, thenColonel Fraser served two years with the 509th Operations Group and 509th Bombardment Wing at 

Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the only U.S. Air Force operational base for the B-2 Stealth bomber. 

He later served as vice commander of the 509th Bombardment Wing before returning to Belgium for an 

additional two years of duty as a special assistant to Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

In February 1997, Fraser became commander of the 28th Bombardment Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base 

in South Dakota, before beginning service in May 1998 as the chief of staff of the U.S. Strategic Command 

at Offutt Air Force Base. One year later in May 1999, Fraser took command of the 2nd Bombardment 

Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, serving in that position until December 2000. There he 

was responsible for maintaining the wing in a state of constant readiness to carry out bombardment 

operations on a global scale by ensuring the organization, training, and equipping of a combined activeduty military and civilian force of more than 5,400 people. Promoted to brigadier general on 1 January 

2000, Fraser became Deputy Director for Military Support at the National Reconnaissance Office on 11 

December 2000, and served until 29 November 2002.

A command pilot with more than 3,800 flying hours, Brigadier General Fraser has flown the B-1B, B-2, 

B-52G/H, the KC-135R, and T-37 and T-38 aircraft. His many awards and decorations include the 

Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the 

Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf 

cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Achievement Medal, the 

Combat Readiness Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, 

the Armed Forces Service Medal, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
 37

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JEFFREY D. GRANT

DIRECTOR OF PLANS & ANALYSIS

6 JUNE 1994-2 OCTOBER 1997
38

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Akron, Ohio on 16 March 1954 and raised in Greenville, South Carolina and Anchorage, 

Alaska, Jeffrey Donald Grant earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Clemson 

University in Clemson, South Carolina in 1973 and a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering 

from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne in 1975.

Grant joined the Central Intelligence Agency on 6 June 1976 as an engineer and initially worked in 

the Office of Scientific Intelligence in the Directorate of Science and Technology. He specialized in the 

study of Soviet undersea radar, sonar, and navigational aids. Grant served in a variety of engineering 

positions within the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology before joining its Office of Development 

and Engineering at the NRO on 13 April 1980. Thereafter, through 1993, Grant served as a project 

management engineer, as the associate director of systems engineering, as the chief of the Systems 

Engineering Division, and as the chief of the Systems Analysis Staff. In July 1993, Grant began a oneyear tour as deputy of the DCI’s Community Management Staff Planning Office. Returning to the National 

Reconnaissance Office on 6 June 1994, Grant became the director of the Office of Plans and Analysis 

where he remained until he retired from government service on 2 October 1997.

Among Grant’s awards are the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the CIA Certificate of Distinction.
 39

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. KEITH R. HALL

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

27 FEBRUARY 1996-27 MARCH 1997

DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

27 MARCH 1997-13 DECEMBER 2001
40

BIOGRAPHIES 

Keith Ralph Hall was born on 30 June 1947 in Rockville Center, New York. He earned a Bachelor 

of Arts in History and Political Science from Alfred University and a Master of Arts in Public 

Administration from Clark University. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Alfred University. 

Keith Hall served the U.S. Intelligence Community for over three decades, beginning in 1970 as a 

U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. In 1979, after commanding two overseas Army intelligence units, he became 

a presidential management intern, assigned to the White House Office of Management and Budget as 

the CIA budget examiner. In 1983, he joined the staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 

(SSCI), eventually becoming the deputy staff director. In 1991, he became deputy assistant secretary of 

defense for intelligence and security. In 1995, the DCI selected him to be the Agency’s executive director 

for Intelligence Community affairs.

Keith Hall’s career is highlighted by a series of important contributions to U.S. intelligence capabilities. As 

deputy staff director for the SSCI, he established a panel of experts to advise senators on critical national 

intelligences issues. He also created a separate audit staff to streamline accounting of program budget 

management and execution. As executive director for Intelligence Community Affairs, in the wake of the 

1994 Aldrich Ames spy case he played a central role in identifying and implementing counterintelligence 

and security improvements across the IC. He also became the driving force behind improvements in 

intelligence dissemination capabilities that included creation of the IC’s classified Internet and use of 

commercial broadcast and satellite communications to deliver critical intelligence globally.

While serving as executive director of Intelligence Community Affairs, Hall, together with the vice chairman 

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, led the study that created the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). 

This effort consolidated and coordinated all U.S. imagery and cartographic capabilities. In addition, he 

spearheaded development of the current Space Based Infrared (SBIR) architecture and established the first 

overarching integrated programming and budgeting process across the Department of Defense and the IC. 

In February 1996, the DCI named Hall deputy director and acting director of the National Reconnaissance 

Office. The Senate confirmed him as assistant secretary of the Air Force for space and director of the NRO 

on 28 March 1997. As NRO director, he instituted a series of management reforms while strengthening 

critical mission partnerships to more effectively meet the needs of customers worldwide. His transformation 

of NRO financial management policies, practices, and procedures—after the NRO “forward funding” and 

Westfield’s construction controversies alleged financial mismanagement—served as an example for the 

Federal Government. Keith Hall retired from government service on 31 December 2001.

In addition to numerous military awards and decorations, Keith Hall received the Director of the Office 

of Management and Budget Award for Professional Achievement, the Central Intelligence Agency Gold 

Seal Medallion, the Secretary of Defense Award for Distinguished Civilian Service, and the Air Force 

Exceptional Civilian Service Award. He also earned the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics 

Association’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Intelligence Community, the American Astronautical 

Society’s Military Astronautics Award, and the NRO Medal of Distinguished Performance for outstanding 

leadership. In 2000, the National Space Club recognized him with its most prestigious award, the Robert 

H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, for his pivotal role in the evolution and operation of the national security 

space program.
 41

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JEFFREY K. HARRIS

DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

19 MAY 1994-26 FEBRUARY 1996
42

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

effrey King Harris was born on 28 June 1953 in White Plains, New York. He graduated from the 

Rochester Institute of Technology in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Photographic Science 

and Instrumentation. He began his career with the Central Intelligence Agency in 1975 as a 

photo technologist in the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center. Three years later, he 

transferred to the CIA’s Office of Development and Engineering and joined the National Reconnaissance 

Office. At NRO, he worked on satellite development programs and served as chief of systems analysis 

and as associate director for several system acquisitions. His responsibilities included acquisition and 

operation of several NRO space-based reconnaissance and intelligence systems. During this time, Harris 

also managed research and development for space technologies and identified emerging technologies 

for application to the space reconnaissance and ground processing functions. In June 1993, Harris 

became associate executive director for Intelligence Community Affairs. In that capacity, he advised 

the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) on intelligence space systems and supervised the Community 

Management Staff, which supported the DCI in his role as principal intelligence advisor to the President.

Harris became director of the National Reconnaissance Office on 19 May 1994 and served until 26 

February 1996. In this capacity, Harris supervised the integration of NRO programs into functional 

directorates. Having served as a member of the R. James Woolsey Panel that studied the future of 

National Reconnaissance Office systems, he was a major proponent and architect of consolidating 

signals intelligence systems in a new partnership with the National Security Agency. Harris also directed 

declassification of the Corona imaging satellite program, an action approved by Director of Central 

Intelligence R. James Woolsey and President Bill Clinton in early 1995. Harris also established a public 

affairs program at the NRO.
 43

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JIMMIE D. HILL

NRO STAFF DIRECTOR

12 JUNE 1978-9 APRIL 1982

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

11 APRIL 1982-26 FEBRUARY 1996
44

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born on 28 December 1933 in Fort Worth, Texas, Jimmie Dale Hill enlisted in the U.S. Air Force 

in 1951 and, after receiving a commission through Officer Candidate School in 1960, rose 

through the ranks to major by 1974. He studied business and mathematics at Del Mar College 

between 1955 and 1957, business at the University of Oklahoma between 1957 and 1958, 

mathematics at San Antonio College between 1960 and 1961, and accounting at the University of 

Wichita between 1963 and 1964.

Prior to receiving his Air Force commission, Hill served as an aircraft mechanic and as a training noncommissioned officer. After completing Officer Candidate School, he became involved in several comptroller 

activities related to Air Force weapon systems acquisition. During the next five years, he served at the 

Secretary of the Air Force’s Special Projects Office in El Segundo, California, which comprised Program 

A of the National Reconnaissance Office. In 1971, he transferred to the Office of the Under Secretary of 

the Air Force and the NRO in Washington, D.C. for duty with Program B, the Central Intelligence Agency’s 

element of the National Reconnaissance Program. In 1973, he transferred from Program B to the NRO 

director’s staff, where he remained until his retirement from the U.S. Air Force in February 1974.

On separating from the Air Force, Hill—now an Air Force civilian—became comptroller of the National 

Reconnaissance Office and special assistant to the under secretary of the Air Force. In 1978, he 

directed the Office of Space Systems, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, an assignment that also 

made him staff director of the NRO. He became deputy director of the NRO and deputy under secretary 

of the Air Force for space on 11 April 1982, positions he retained until he retired from government 

service on 26 February 1996.

Beginning in 1967, Hill served a total of 29 years at the National Reconnaissance Office at all levels, 

14 of them as deputy director. During this time he participated in decisions for all new NRO overhead 

reconnaissance systems. At the end of the Cold War, Hill was instrumental in restructuring the NRO 

to replace the separate program elements with functional directorates, collocating them in a new 

headquarters facility.

Jimmie Hill’s Air Force awards include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the 

Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters. As a member of the Air Force senior executive service, 

he received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive in 1981 and 1991; he also received 

the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive in 1980 and 1988. Hill received the Department of 

Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 1977, 1981, 1987, and 1996, and the Air Force Exceptional 

Civilian Service Award in 1988 and 1996. He also received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service 

Medal, the Central Intelligence Agency Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the NASA Distinguished Service 

Medal, the Defense Intelligence Agency Director’s Award, the NRO Distinguished Service Medal, and the 

National Security Agency Bronze Medal. In 1996, the National Space Club awarded him the Goddard 

Memorial Trophy. In 1998, he received the Goddard Astronautics Award from the American Institute of 

Aeronautics and Astronautics. He died on 23 April 2013.
 45

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. DAVID A. KIER

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

31 MAY 1997-9 AUGUST 2001
46

BIOGRAPHIES 

A 

native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, David Allen Kier was born on 15 February 1943. He 

received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Washington and Jefferson College in 

1964. In 1966, after a tour in the U.S. Army, Kier joined the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California as a flight 

test engineer. He provided technical support to several flight research programs such as the X-15, XB70, many Lifting Bodies, and the F-111 fighter-bomber. In 1970, NASA detailed Kier to the Prototype 

Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, responsible for the streamlined acquisition of the 

Light Weight Fighters, the YF-16 and YF-17, and the Advanced Medium STOL Transport, the YC-14 

and the YC-15.

After completing graduate work at the University of Southern California in aerospace systems in 1973, Kier 

entered the government’s Executive Leadership Development Program. This one-year program involved 

special training and rotational assignments to the Science and Technology Committee of the U.S. House 

of Representatives, National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters, and the Department 

of Commerce. At the conclusion of the program in 1974 he accepted a position at NASA headquarters as 

program manager for the High-Speed Vehicles Program, Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology. 

While serving in this position, he attended the National War College in 1977 and 1978.

In 1981, Kier joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Office of Development and Engineering in the 

Directorate of Science and Technology. There he managed several large-budget intelligence programs 

through May 1994, when he accepted a rotational assignment to the U.S. Navy. In March 1996, he 

became technical director at the National Reconnaissance Office, providing oversight and technical 

direction for all NRO programs. A year later, on 31 May 1997, Kier assumed the position of deputy 

director, National Reconnaissance Office, and principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for 

space. He served in this position until his retirement from government service on 9 August 2001.
 47

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL

 ROBERT E. LARNED, USAF

DIRECTOR OF SIGINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

15 AUGUST 1996-31 OCTOBER 1996

DIRECTOR OF IMINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

1 NOVEMBER 1996-29 NOVEMBER 1998
48

BIOGRAPHIES 

Robert Eric Larned was born in Portland, Oregon on 28 July 1946. In 1968, he earned a Bachelor 

of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington at Seattle. He entered 

the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant through Officer Training School that same year. He 

then served as a development engineer on the Minuteman re-entry vehicle heat shield, as an 

Air Force plant representative on the Minuteman Advanced Ballistic Re-entry Systems Program, and as 

the commander’s aide with the U.S. Air Force Contract Management Division in Stratford, Connecticut; 

Wilmington, Massachusetts; and Los Angeles, California.

Larned followed these assignments with a three-year tour, between September 1973 and August 1976, at 

the Air Force Weapons Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. There he worked as a technical 

programs manager and as a project officer improving the survivability of Air Force nuclear command, 

control, and communications systems. In 1972, 1973, and 1977 respectively, Larned completed 

Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, earned a Master of Science in Business 

Administration at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and completed studies at the Air 

Command and Staff College.

In June 1977, Larned began a five-year series of assignments in the Washington, D.C. area. He served for 

two years as a congressional activity specialist with the deputy chief of staff for research and development, 

before working as the executive officer to the Secretary of the Air Force and then as assistant for the 

Defense Space Operations Committee in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. He then became 

the deputy for program control at the Defense Support Project Office in the Office of the Secretary of 

Defense; in this position he wrote the first Congressional Budget Justification Book (CBJB) for the new 

Defense Reconnaissance Support Program. In June 1983, he completed studies at the Industrial College 

of the Armed Forces. 

Moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado, now-Lieutenant Colonel Larned became the plans and programs 

officer at the North American Aerospace Defense Command and at the U.S. Air Force Space Command, 

before moving once again in June 1985 to take a post with the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles. 

While at the Air Force Space Command, he co-authored the Air Force’s innovation task force concept 

for information warfare. Two years later, in 1987, then-Colonel Larned returned to Washington, D.C., as 

director of programming with the Office of Space Systems, before once again returning to Los Angeles, 

this time as vice director of the Office of Special Projects.

Larned served as vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Falcon Air Force Base in Colorado between 

June 1991 and June 1993, then as deputy director of operations at Air Force Space Command. Following 

these assignments and his promotion to the rank of brigadier general on 15 July 1994, Larned commanded 

the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. In 1995, while in command of the 341st 

Missile Wing, the “First Aces” won the Blanchard Trophy as the best missile wing in the U.S. Air Force.

In September 1995, Brigadier General Larned became director of space programs with the Office of the 

Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition in Washington, D.C.; one year later, on 15 August 

1996, he began service as director of the National Reconnaissance Office SIGINT Systems Acquisition 

and Operations Directorate. Staying within the National Reconnaissance Office, Larned next became 

director of the IMINT Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate on 1 November 1996, serving in 

that position until 29 November 1998. As IMINT director, Larned was responsible for acquiring, operating, 

and directing space activities for national space systems supporting the Department of Defense and the 

Intelligence Community. Concurrently with his NRO duties, Larned served as director, Office of Special 

Projects, U.S. Air Force. Brigadier General Larned retired from active military duty on 1 March 1999.

In addition to wearing the Master Space Badge and the Basic Missile Operator’s Badge, Brigadier General 

Larned’s military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of 

Merit, and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service 

Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.
 49

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JOHN A. LAUDER

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR NATIONAL SUPPORT

26 MARCH 2001-12 JULY 2004
50

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

ohn Allfree Lauder was born on 31 August 1946 in Sandusky, Ohio. He received his Bachelor of 

Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio in June 1968, and a Master 

of Arts in International Relations from Yale University in December 1973. He also completed 

courses at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and at the John F. Kennedy School 

of Government at Harvard University.

After finishing his undergraduate studies, Lauder served in the U.S. Army, between May 1969 and 

January 1972, as a sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. When he left the military, he served 

for six months on the staff of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the U.S. House of 

Representatives in Washington, D.C.

Lauder joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1974 through the Career Training Program. He first 

worked in the former Office of Strategic Research, where he conducted analyses on Soviet and later 

Middle Eastern military and conventional arms control issues. He then served as an assistant national 

intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia and in other management positions overseeing 

aspects of Near Eastern, South Asian, and European analysis. In 1985, he became chief of the European 

Assessments Division in the Office of Soviet Affairs. Between August 1987 and June 1991, he served in 

Vienna, Austria, as a senior adviser to several U.S. delegations negotiating various conventional arms 

control issues between the Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. During this time, he 

helped oversee preparation of the verification protocol for the Treaty on Continental Forces in Europe.

Returning to the Central Intelligence Agency, Lauder served as deputy chief for intelligence in the 

director’s Counter-terrorist Center before becoming executive secretary to the DCI. Between April 1994 

and November 1997, Lauder worked as special assistant to the DCI for arms control and also served 

as director of the DCI’s Arms Control Intelligence Staff. Following service in these posts, Lauder served 

as the DCI’s special assistant for nonproliferation, as the Intelligence Community’s and the CIA’s issue 

manager for nonproliferation, and as director of the DCI’s Nonproliferation Center.

On 26 March 2001, Lauder joined the National Reconnaissance Office as the Deputy Director for National 

Support. He also served concurrently as associate head of the NRO Corporate Support Career Service, 

which managed the careers, development, and evaluation of non-engineering CIA employees assigned 

to the NRO.

Lauder received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal for his work in leading the Arms Control Intelligence 

Community during a time of extraordinary change and challenge.
 51

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. BRIAN A. MALONE

DIRECTOR, MANAGEMENT SERVICES 

& OPERATIONS OFFICE

16 JULY 2001-3 JANUARY 2014
52

BIOGRAPHIES 

Brian Andrew Malone was born in Washington, D.C. on 31 August 1958. A third-generation Central 

Intelligence Agency employee, he grew up in Annandale, Virginia and joined the CIA in April 

1977 as a cooperative education student. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Management from the 

Georgia Institute of Technology in June 1981, and six years later completed a Master of Arts in 

Public Administration at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Malone began full-time duty with the Central Intelligence Agency in July 1981 as a contracting officer in 

the Office of Logistics. In February 1983, he became a contracting officer in the Directorate of Intelligence, 

where he remained until being reassigned to the National Reconnaissance Office in March 1985. At NRO, 

he supported a large-scale competitive systems acquisition program. In June 1988, Malone became chief 

of the contracts staff at the National Photographic Interpretation Center. Reassigned to the Procurement 

Management Staff in October 1990, he was responsible for CIA procurement policy, personnel, and 

training. In September 1991, he accepted a rotational assignment to the CIA’s Directorate of Administration 

Management Staff, where he was responsible for budget formulation and implementation.

On 13 June 1993, Malone was reassigned to the National Reconnaissance Office, where he spent two 

and one-half years as deputy chief of support. He was then assigned as chief of acquisition management 

within the Office of Finance and Logistics at the Central Intelligence Agency. Malone returned once more 

to the NRO on 3 January 1997, where he assumed duties as director of the Office of Contracts. On 16 

July 2001, he became the second director of the NRO Management Services and Operations Office, 

where he served until 3 January 2014. Malone is a recipient of the NRO Director’s Circle Award and the 

NRO Gold Medal for Distinguished Service.
 53

LEADERS OF THE NRO

REAR ADMIRAL 

DANIEL P. MARCH, USN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

9 MARCH 1992-31 MARCH 1994
54

BIOGRAPHIES 

Daniel Peter March was born in La Jolla, California on 7 August 1939. Raised in California, Texas, 

and Florida, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in July 1957 and graduated with the class 

of 1961 with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Science. March trained as a naval aviator at the 

Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida, earning his wings in May 1962 before beginning a fiveyear series of assignments with training and attack squadrons—during his career he served with Training 

Squadrons 2 and 30, Fighter Antisubmarine Squadron 1, and Attack Squadrons 27, 66, 122, 125, 152, 

165, and 174. Following a shore assignment and completing Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, 

California—where he earned a Master of Science in Financial Management in December 1969—thenLieutenant Commander March continued his service as a pilot in attack squadrons, flying 167 combat 

missions in A-1H, A-4B, and A-7E aircraft aboard the USS Coral Sea and the USS Enterprise in Southeast 

Asia during the Vietnam War.

Between November 1974 and March 1976, Commander March led Attack Squadron 66 aboard the USS

Independence, and following a further shore assignment, commanded Carrier Air Wing One aboard the 

USS John F. Kennedy between June 1978 and April 1980. Between April 1981 and December 1982, 

Captain March commanded the USS Ponce, and between March 1984 and December 1985, commanded 

the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal.

In addition to his multiple sea and combat commands, March served in various shore assignments 

including two tours at the Navy Bureau of Personnel, from December 1966 to December 1968 and from 

March 1976 to June 1978, respectively. In these assignments, he served as the aviation lieutenant and 

below shore assignment officer, then financial assistant, and finally executive assistant to the assistant 

chief of naval personnel for officer development and distribution. March also served in the Strategic 

Plans and Policy Division of the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff as tactical air forces objectives plans 

officer between July 1972 and April 1973. Additionally, he served as deputy chief of staff, Commander 

Operational Test and Evaluation Force, between December 1982 and March 1984, and as assistant chief 

of staff for operations, commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet, between December 1985 and June 1987. 

Following his promotion to rear admiral (lower half) in June 1987, he served in a shore assignment as 

director of the Programs Resources Appraisal Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

An experienced naval officer with a varied combat and administrative background, March returned to 

sea in January 1989 as commander of Carrier Group Three, a post he held until June 1990, when he 

took command of Carrier Group Five. While serving with Carrier Group Five on 1 February 1991, the 

U.S. Navy promoted March to rear admiral. During this period, March commanded Task Force 154 in the 

Persian Gulf for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, leading the largest carrier force deployed 

since World War II. Following his assignment as deputy director of space and electronic warfare with the 

Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, between January and March 1992, Rear Admiral March served 

as the deputy director for operations, National Systems Support, J-3, also known as Deputy Director for 

Military Support at the National Reconnaissance Office; he held this position until 31 March 1994.

Rear Admiral March’s military decorations and awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, 

the National Intelligence Community Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the 

Legion of Merit with four gold stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal with 

one gold star, the Air Medal with Numeral “14,” the Navy Commendation Medal with combat “V” and one 

gold star, the Navy Unit Commendation with one bronze star, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, the 

National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with one 

bronze star, the Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze stars, the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal with 

one bronze star, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with three bronze stars, the Republic of Vietnam 

Cross of Gallantry, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, and the Republic of Vietnam 

Campaign Medal.
 55

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. ROGER C. MARSH

DIRECTOR, MANAGEMENT SERVICES 

& OPERATIONS OFFICE

15 JANUARY 1992-16 JULY 2001
56

BIOGRAPHIES 

The first director of the Management Services and Operations Office at the National 

Reconnaissance Office, Roger Carroll Marsh was born on 22 December 1945 in Charlottesville, 

Virginia. Raised and educated in Virginia, Marsh entered the U.S. Army in December 1965 and 

served in South Carolina, Maryland, and the Republic of South Vietnam.

In November 1967, Marsh joined the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Intelligence. In 1971, 

he moved to the Directorate of Science and Technology, Office of Development and Engineering. During 

the next ten years, he held a series of management positions of increasing responsibility within the 

directorate. In 1977, he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from George Mason 

University in Fairfax, Virginia, and in March 1982, he became special assistant to the director of the 

Office of Development and Engineering.

On 15 January 1992, Marsh became the first director of the newly formed Management Services and 

Operations office at the NRO. As the senior administrative officer, he became responsible for providing 

all support services, which included facilities development and operations, headquarters security, 

human and personnel resources, information management, program services, logistics, and employee 

assistance programs. He retired on 16 July 2001 after nearly 36 years of government service. He died 

on 16 April 2006.

During his career, Marsh received numerous awards and commendations. Of special significance was 

the National Reconnaissance Office Gold Medal for Distinguished Service, recognizing his contribution 

in the consolidation and collocation of NRO headquarters in the Westfields facility in Chantilly, Virginia 

between 1992 and 1996. He also received the Central Intelligence Agency’s Intelligence Medal of Merit 

in 1977 for his outstanding service in the development, acquisition, deployment, and operation of a 

sophisticated space-based technical intelligence collection system. The NRO recognized Marsh as a 

Pioneer of National Reconnaissance in 2005.
 57

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

HOWARD J. MITCHELL, USAF

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

17 JULY 1995-14 AUGUST 1998

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SPACE LAUNCH

2 JULY 1996-1 JULY 1998
58

BIOGRAPHIES 

Howard John “Mitch” Mitchell was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on 28 March 1951. He entered 

the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant on 6 June 1973 after graduating from the Air Force 

Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Mechanics. From November 1973 until 

July 1976, he served as a deputy missile combat crew commander and, later, as a senior 

instructor and deputy commander with the 321st Strategic Missile Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base 

in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Mitchell next served as mechanical systems manager, then chief of the 

Spacecraft Operations Branch, and later as chief of satellite and launch vehicle integration with the 

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program at Space Division headquarters at the Los Angeles Air Force 

Station in California. He completed a Master of Science degree at the Air Force Institute of Technology 

at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1977 and a Master of Arts in Business Administration at the 

University of North Dakota at Grand Forks in 1980, as well as Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air 

Force Base in Alabama in 1978.

Following a further year of study at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in 1983, 

Major Mitchell served as the space shuttle acquisition manager with the Directorate of Space Systems, 

Command, Control and Communications, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development, 

and Acquisition at Air Force headquarters in Washington, D.C. Following two more years as chief of the 

Legislative Liaison Space Branch, Directorate of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air 

Force in Washington, D.C., Mitchell attended the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia, and completed studies at the Air War College by correspondence. Between December 1986 

and June 1988, he served as director of special activities with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for 

Systems at the Air Force Systems Command headquarters at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He 

attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, earning a Master of Arts in National Security 

Affairs in 1989 and then another Master of Arts in International Relations that same year at Salve Regina 

College, also in Newport.

In 1989, Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell became deputy director of engineering for the B-2 Systems Program 

Office at Aeronautical Systems Division headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. 

Between December 1990 and July 1992, he next served as program director for the Small Intercontinental 

Ballistic Missile System Organization at Norton Air Force Base in California. He was then assigned as 

program director in the Air Force Ballistic Missile Defense Systems Program Office at the Space and 

Missiles System Center headquarters at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, later serving there as director 

of developmental planning.

On 17 July 1995, Mitchell moved to the Office of Space Systems, Office of the Assistant Secretary of 

the Air Force for Space in Washington, D.C., serving as staff director, director of space launch, and then 

as director of the Communications Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate, all at the National 

Reconnaissance Office. During his time at the NRO, Mitchell also completed CAPSTONE at the National 

Defense University at Fort Lesley J. McNair. He was promoted to brigadier general on 1 February 1997.

General Mitchell earned the Master Space Badge, the Master Acquisition Badge, the Master 

Communications Badge, and the Senior Missile Badge. In addition to his many military awards and 

decorations, he earned the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Defense 

Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, 

the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Achievement Medal, and the 

Combat Crew Readiness Medal. The Gen. Bernard A. Schriever Chapter of the U.S. Air Force Association 

named Mitchell an outstanding program director. He received the National Reconnaissance Office Gold 

Medal for Distinguished Service and the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal.
 59

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. MICHAEL F. MUNSON

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR NATIONAL SUPPORT

11 OCTOBER 1996-16 NOVEMBER 1998
60

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in San Luis Obispo, California on 10 October 1944, Michael Frederick Munson received a 

Bachelor of Arts in History in 1967 from the University of Wisconsin. He began his professional 

career with the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., on 15 May 1967. The early 

stages of his career included positions in intelligence information systems management, 

culminating with his assignment as the chief of the Intelligence Production Systems Division. He earned 

a Master’s degree from The American University in 1975, and later completed a course of studies at 

the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington, D.C. in 1981. Soon 

thereafter, Munson became the chief of the Intelligence Production Functional Management Office at DIA.

From 1981 until 1985, Munson served as assistant to the director for Defense Agency Programs, General 

Defense Intelligence Program staff. In this role, he supervised the development, implementation, 

review, and evaluation of intelligence programs and activities managed by DIA. In 1986, he became 

special assistant to the executive director of the DIA, responsible for policy direction, management, and 

administration of DIA resources and support operations. In 1987, he became a member of the defense 

intelligence senior executive service, assuming responsibilities as deputy director for resources. This 

position entailed day-to-day policy guidance, management, and operations of DIA personnel, contracting, 

training, photographic laboratory, library, printing, graphics, logistics, travel, and building services. In 

1990, he also attended the Harvard University Executive Seminar on National Security.

In 1991, Munson established the Intelligence Program Support Group, becoming its first director. This 

support activity provided the assistant secretary of defense for command, control, communications, 

and intelligence with program analysis and evaluation of national and tactical intelligence programs and 

budgets, defense intelligence product reviews and evaluations, and management of defense intelligence 

architecture programs. Following this assignment, from January 1995 until March 1996 he served as 

deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

On 11 October 1996, Munson became the first Deputy Director for National Support at the NRO. Previously 

he had served as study director for the 1992 Jeremiah Panel that reviewed the NRO organization and 

provided recommendations for the nation’s reconnaissance needs in the 21st century. He held this 

position until 16 November 1998 and retired from government service on 31 December.

During his career, Munson received several awards, including the Director of Central Intelligence’s 

National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction in 1986, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious 

Civilian Service in 1993, and Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank in 1994.
 61

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. JOHN F. NELSON

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR RESOURCE 

OVERSIGHT & MANAGEMENT

23 OCTOBER 1995-12 JANUARY 1998
62

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

ohn Frederick Nelson was born on 12 August 1952 in Niskayuna, New York. In 1975, he received a 

Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Northeastern University in Boston and in 1977, he 

earned a Master of Arts degree in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Moving to Washington, D.C., Nelson worked in the Congressional Budget Office between October 1977 

and October 1978, before serving as senior budget analyst with the Senate budget committee between 

July 1978 and April 1984. He also earned a Master of Science degree in accounting at Georgetown 

University in 1983.

Nelson joined the Central Intelligence Agency on 29 April 1984 as a program manager in the Directorate 

of Science and Technology’s Office of Development and Engineering but left one year later, on 9 March 

1985, to serve as a senior staff member and director of audits for the Senate Select Committee on 

Intelligence. He spent five years with that Committee during which time he established and directed the 

audit and investigations staff. Leaving government service on 1 June 1990, Nelson served briefly as 

vice president of HM Technologies, Incorporated in Sterling, Virginia, and then as treasurer and chief 

financial officer of Zeta Associates, a systems engineering firm in Fairfax, Virginia. He returned to the CIA 

on 23 October 1995 and became deputy director of the Office of Resource Oversight and Management 

at the National Reconnaissance Office. Until 12 January 1998, he served as the NRO’s chief financial 

officer and supervised all financial, accounting, and budgetary operations in addition to restructuring and 

modernizing the NRO’s financial management system, making it a model for other departments of the 

Federal Government.

Nelson received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and the National Reconnaissance 

Gold Medal in 1998, and the Director’s Medal in 1999.
 63

LEADERS OF THE NRO

REAR ADMIRAL 

RICHARD J. NIBE, JR., USN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR MILITARY SUPPORT

11 SEPTEMBER 1997-30 APRIL 1999
64

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Boone, Iowa on 17 February 1946, Richard Jerome Nibe, Jr. entered the U.S. Naval 

Academy in June 1964, earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission as an ensign with 

the class of 1968. Following completion of pilot training at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida 

in June 1971, and postgraduate work in aeronautical engineering at Princeton University, Nibe 

was assigned to Training Squadron 21. In November of that year, he was assigned to Attack Squadron 

127 as an instructor pilot flying the A-4F Skyhawk. He subsequently served in three carrier-based light 

attack squadrons flying A-4F and A-7E Corsair II aircraft; these assignments included Attack Squadron 

164 from April 1973 until October 1975, Attack Squadron 147 from June 1979 until January 1982, and 

Attack Squadron 83 from August 1984 until August 1987, where he served as squadron executive officer 

and commanding officer.

During these years, Nibe also completed two assignments in Washington, D.C. Between October 1975 

and October 1978, he served as a research and development project officer at Defense Nuclear Agency 

headquarters, and between March 1983 and April 1984, as a staff officer in the Office of the Chief of Naval 

Operations, Plans and Policy Division, Strategic Concepts Branch. In 1984, he completed studies at the 

Naval War College.

After a brief assignment between December 1987 and May 1988 with Carrier Group Four as air operations 

officer, then-Commander Nibe entered nuclear propulsion training. He served as executive officer aboard 

the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz from December 1989 to May 1991, before taking command of the Third 

Fleet command ship USS Coronado. Under his leadership, the Coronado received the Battle Efficiency 

“E.” In August 1993, Captain Nibe assumed command of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while 

on deployment to the Arabian Gulf. During this tour, the vessel won the Battle Efficiency “E” and earned 

an unprecedented second “Excellent” for the operational reactor safeguards examination.

From September 1995 until August 1997, Nibe directed intelligence, J-2, at the North American Aerospace 

Defense Command and U.S. Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, 

Colorado. During this tour, on 1 March 1996, the U.S. Navy promoted him to rear admiral (lower half). 

On 11 September 1997, Rear Admiral Nibe became Deputy Director for Military Support at the National 

Reconnaissance Office, serving concurrently as deputy director for operations, Joint Staff J-3, and as 

deputy director of the Defense Support Project Office. Rear Admiral Nibe retired from active military duty 

on 1 May 1999.

Rear Admiral Nibe flew over 3,300 hours in tactical jet aircraft during his career, including the F-18 

Hornet, and completed over 750 carrier landings. Among his many awards and decorations are the 

Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with one gold star, the Meritorious Service Medal 

with one gold star, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Unit Commendation Medal, the Meritorious 

Unit Commendation with one bronze star, the Navy Expeditionary Medal, and the Armed Forces 

Expeditionary Medal.
 65

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. EDMUND H. NOWINSKI

DIRECTOR OF IMINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

17 OCTOBER 1993-30 JULY 1995
66

BIOGRAPHIES 

Edmund Henry Nowinski was born on 2 August 1944 in Newark, New Jersey. He received a 

Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1967 from the Newark College of 

Engineering. Nowinski began his career as a research engineer with the Central Intelligence 

Agency on 11 June 1967, assigned to the Office of Special Projects, predecessor organization 

to the Office of Development and Engineering within the Directorate of Science and Technology. From 

1967 through 1969, as a member of the Design and Analysis Division of the Office of Special Projects, 

he engaged in several research and development projects supporting early satellite reconnaissance 

systems for the National Reconnaissance Program. In late 1969, Nowinski moved to the system analysis 

staff, where he was responsible for overall system product quality. During the period 1969 through 1977, 

he held positions of increasing responsibility and played a significant role in the design and development 

of several satellite systems. In 1978, he became chief of the system analysis staff and, in 1980, was 

promoted to deputy director of the Program Group.

In August 1981, Nowinski became director of the newly formed Data Communications Group within the 

Office of Development and Engineering. In this capacity, he had responsibility for the development and 

operation of several satellite-based communications systems. In August 1985, he became deputy director 

of the Office of Development and Engineering, with overall management responsibility for imagery and 

signals intelligence and communications systems under the NRO’s Program B. In December 1992, 

following the reorganization of the National Reconnaissance Office into functional directorates, Nowinski 

served as NRO’s chief systems engineer. He was named the director of the Office of Development and 

Engineering in the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology and director of the IMINT Systems 

Acquisition and Operations Directorate at the NRO on 17 October 1993, serving in the latter position until 

30 July 1995. He retired from the Central Intelligence Agency on 31 October 1995.

During his career, he received two CIA Intelligence Medals of Merit, the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence 

Medal, and the National Reconnaissance Office Medals for Exceptional and Superior Accomplishments. 

He died on 19 January 2014.
 67

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. ROBERT A. PATTISHALL

DIRECTOR, ADVANCED SYSTEMS 

& TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE

31 MARCH 1997-28 FEBRUARY 2000
68

BIOGRAPHIES 

Robert A. Pattishall graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1969 with a 

Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering. He went to work for the McDonnellDouglas Corporation as a structural design engineer on the F-15 and also worked for Fairchild 

Space and Electronics Company as a dynamicist and attitude-control engineer on NASA’s 

Advanced Communications Technology Satellite Program.

Pattishall joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1975, serving initially in the Office of Development and 

Engineering, Directorate of Science and Technology. There he served in a wide variety of engineering 

management positions involving development of state-of-the-art reconnaissance satellite systems. 

While in the Office of Development and Engineering, he also performed two rotational assignments. 

The first was between 1978 and 1980, as a national collection program element monitor at the National 

Reconnaissance Office. The second assignment, between 1985 and 1987, was at an NRO field site, 

where he served as chief of engineering for operations and maintenance of a major satellite system.

Between 1987 and 1992, Pattishall served as associate director of a program, while concurrently 

serving as a key member of the intelligence architecture advanced development team that assisted with 

development of future sigint satellite architecture. With broad experience in these systems, Pattishall 

became director of a program group within the NRO SIGINT Directorate, from its inception as a functional 

directorate on 1 January 1993.

On 31 March 1997, Pattishall became director of the newly formed Advanced Systems and Technology 

Directorate at the NRO. In this role he was responsible for conducting an aggressive customerfocused research and development program that provided advanced technologies for global satellite 

reconnaissance. He served as AS&T director until 28 February 2000, when he retired from the CIA.

During his long career with the Intelligence Community, Pattishall received numerous awards including 

the Certificate of Merit in 1978, the National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction in 1981, the Intelligence 

Medal of Merit in 1985, and selection as the Central Intelligence Agency Engineer of the Year in 1986. In 

1991, Pattishall received a unit citation for his work on the Telemetry Denial Working Group that supported 

the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks between the United States and the former Soviet Union on critical 

data denial provisions.
 69

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

THOMAS J. SCANLAN, JR., USAF

DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

1 JANUARY 1993-16 JULY 1995

DIRECTOR OF SIGINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

17 JULY 1995-26 AUGUST 1996
70

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Albany, Georgia on 24 March 1946, Thomas Joseph Scanlan, Jr. received a Bachelor of 

Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque in 

1969. He also graduated with distinction from the University of New Mexico Reserve Officer 

Training Corps program.

Between February 1969 and December 1971, Second Lieutenant Scanlan served as space systems 

manager for the 4754th Radar Evaluation Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Later, he served as 

aide-de-camp to the commander at the Air Force Logistics Center, also at Hill Air Force Base. In 1973, he 

went to Turkey, where he served as chief of the space object identification section with the U.S. Logistics 

Group, Detachment 8. Returning to the United States, then-Captain Scanlon completed Squadron Officer 

School before transferring to California, where he spent three years as chief of data systems operations, 

Detachment 1, at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, Sunnyvale Air Force Station. Between July 1977 

and August 1978, Scanlan served as chief of the Data Systems Operations Branch and then as the RealTime Systems program manager, also at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility.

In 1979, Scanlan completed a Master of Science degree in systems management at the Air Force 

Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, before becoming program manager of 

the Program Management Assistance Group, Air Force Systems Command headquarters, at Andrews Air 

Force Base in Maryland, between December 1979 and July 1981. He also completed studies at the Air 

Command and Staff College in 1981. Between July 1981 and July 1986, Scanlan served at the Pentagon 

as program element monitor for the Air Force Satellite Control Facility; then in research, development 

and acquisition; then as the special assistant for plans, research, development and acquisition; and 

then as the executive officer with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Research, Development and 

Acquisition, at U.S. Air Force headquarters. Between July 1984 and June 1985, then-Lieutenant Colonel 

Scanlan completed further studies at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Returning to California in July 1986, Scanlan spent the next four years as program director of advanced 

systems with the Space Systems Division at Los Angeles Air Force Base, before becoming program 

director for space surveillance and tracking systems, also at Los Angeles Air Force Base. After finishing 

studies at the Defense Systems Management College in 1989, Brigadier General Scanlan took command 

of the 1st Wing, Air Force Space Command, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. Two years later, in 

October 1992, he became the vice director of plans at the U.S. Space Command.

In January 1993, Scanlan returned to Washington, D.C., where he served at the Pentagon in the Office 

of Space Systems, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space, as both staff director of 

the National Reconnaissance Office and as director of the NRO Communications Systems Acquisition 

and Operations Directorate until 16 July 1995. On 17 July 1995, Scanlan became director of the NRO 

Signals Intelligence Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate, while also serving as director of 

the NRO Office of Space Launch, and served in that position until 1 July 1998.

In addition to holding the Master Space Badge and the Master Acquisition Badge, Brigadier General 

Scanlan’s awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, 

the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service 

Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Air 

Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, 

and the Air Force Systems Command Junior Officer of the Year.
 71

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

JOSEPH B. SOVEY, USAF

DIRECTOR OF IMINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

30 NOVEMBER 1998-6 MAY 2001
72

BIOGRAPHIES 

J

oseph Bert Sovey was born in Cleveland, Ohio on 25 August 1951. Admitted to the U.S. Air Force 

Academy in 1969, Sovey graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management with 

the class of 1973. Commissioned as an Air Force second lieutenant in June of that year, Sovey 

first worked as a project manager with the Satellite Test Program at the U.S. Air Force Space 

Systems Division located at the Los Angeles Air Force Station in California. During his four-year tour 

at the Space Systems Division, he completed a Master of Science in Systems Management at the 

University of Southern California.

Between March 1977 and January 1983, Sovey served as a staff officer for command, control, and 

communications with the Developmental Plans Office of the Air Force Systems Command at Andrews 

Air Force Base in Maryland. While at Andrews, he also served as assistant for officer evaluation 

management in manpower and personnel and then as aide-de-camp to the commander of Air Force 

Systems Command. After completing studies at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia in 

July 1983, Sovey became program control chief and class II program manager for the Joint Tactical 

Information Distribution System Program Office at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. This was 

the first in a series of assignments at Hanscom that lasted until July 1988. During this time, Lieutenant 

Colonel Sovey served as program director for the Joint Services Imagery Processing System for the 

Deputy Commander for Intelligence, then as deputy base commander of the 3245th Air Base Group, 

and finally as deputy system program director for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System.

Sovey’s next assignments were in Washington, D.C., where he served between July 1988 and July 1992 

as deputy chief of Congressional affairs and then as chief of the Program Integration and Congressional 

Affairs Division, both with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. While in 

Washington, D.C., Sovey studied at both the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir, 

Virginia, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort Lesley J. McNair. In August 1992, 

Colonel Sovey began a new series of assignments with the Space and Missile Systems Center at the 

Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. First he served as director of the Satellite Communications 

Program Office, and then as deputy director and director of the Titan Systems Program Office. 

With broad experience in acquisition, Sovey transferred back to Washington, D.C. in July 1995 to serve 

as associate deputy assistant secretary for management policy and program integration with the Office 

of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. In April 1996, Colonel Sovey returned to the 

Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles and became program director of the Military Satellite 

Communications Joint Program Office. In this assignment, he was responsible for integrated systems 

management of satellites, mission control systems, and communication terminals for Department of 

Defense space communication programs.

On 1 August 1998, the Air Force promoted Sovey to brigadier general and, on 30 November 1998, 

appointed him director of the Imagery Intelligence Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate at 

the National Reconnaissance Office. Brigadier General Sovey served as IMINT director until 6 May 

2001. His responsibilities included acquiring, operating, and directing space activities for national space 

imagery systems supporting the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. 

Among Brigadier General Sovey’s many military awards and decorations are the Defense Superior 

Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Defense 

Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Air Force 

Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster.
 73

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MS. CAROL A. STAUBACH

DIRECTOR, ADVANCED SYSTEMS 

& TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE

1 MAY 2000-26 AUGUST 2001

DIRECTOR, IMINT SYSTEMS ACQUISITION 

& OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

27 AUGUST 2001-6 JULY 2003
74

BIOGRAPHIES 

Carol Annice Staubach was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on 1 February 1947. She graduated 

from the University of Pittsburgh in June 1968 with Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics 

and physics. She did graduate work in mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh, while teaching 

high school in the Pittsburgh school system from January 1968 until April 1970. Staubach joined 

the Central Intelligence Agency in April 1970, serving in several positions in the Office of Joint Computer 

Services, Directorate of Administration, while continuing graduate studies at The George Washington 

University in Washington, D.C. In 1984, she transferred to the Office of Communications and led the 

New Building Communications Program, at that time the second largest procurement program in Central 

Intelligence Agency history.

In 1988, Staubach joined the National Reconnaissance Office as a deputy division chief assigned to 

assist development of advanced technology to support the NRO’s imagery satellite collection programs. 

Three years later, in October 1991, she managed a leading-edge supercomputer development program 

within one of NRO’s operational program offices. In June 1992, she became associate director, and then 

director, of the IMINT Systems Operations sector. In November 1996, Staubach served as director of the 

Geosynchronous Special Programs Office in the NRO SIGINT Directorate, and in October 1997, after a 

directorate-wide reorganization, as director of the Ground Systems Program Office. In the course of these 

assignments she ran NRO’s largest signals intelligence program office.

On 1 May 2000, Staubach became director of the NRO Advanced Systems and Technology Directorate, 

where she served until being reassigned as director of the NRO Imagery Intelligence Systems Acquisition 

and Operations Directorate on 27 August 2001. She retired from government service in 2003. She died 

on 3 June 2019.

Staubach entered the Senior Intelligence Service in July 1985. She received the Distinguished Officer 

Award in January 1987, the Meritorious Officer Award in January 1993, and a National Intelligence 

Distinguished Service Medal in August 1997. She received the NRO Director’s Circle Award in 2001. She 

died on 3 June 2019.
 75

LEADERS OF THE NRO

CAPTAIN 

JAMES M. STEPHENSON, USN

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE

28 AUGUST 1992-1 SEPTEMBER 1993
76

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born on 9 August 1946, James Mell Stephenson earned a Bachelor of Science in Business 

Administration from Valdosta State University in 1968. Following flight training at the U.S. Naval Air 

Station, Pensacola, Florida between March 1969 and March 1970, Stephenson began his career 

as a naval flight officer in an EC-121M aircraft conducting reconnaissance missions in support 

of military operations in the Republic of South Vietnam, as well as national priority collections throughout 

the Western Pacific as part of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1. Stephenson remained with this unit 

from August 1970 until March 1973; he also qualified as a senior evaluator and accumulated over 3,000 

flight hours in various aircraft, including the EC-121, EP-3E and EA-3B. Between March 1973 and March 

1976, he served in the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff at Strategic Air Command headquarters at 

Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska, where he was responsible for special targeting operations 

in support of the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). Additionally, he was singly responsible for 

threat and route analysis for all planned manned bomber sorties.

In April 1976, then-Lieutenant Stephenson began a 13-year association with the EA-6B “Prowler” 

community. During this period, he served in two operational squadrons and with the Fleet Replacement 

Training Squadron. His first operational squadron tour was with Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 

130 from 1976 until 1979. Then from 1979 until 1982, he served as head of the Electronic Warfare 

Department in Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 129. In 1982, he served at the Naval Air (NAVAIR) 

Systems Command in Washington, D.C. During this assignment, Lieutenant Commander Stephenson 

was responsible for development and deployment of the Tactical EA-6B Mission Support System, as well 

as the advanced tactical jammer and exciter for the Improved Capability II (ICAP II) ALQ-99 System. While 

assigned to NAVAIR, Lieutenant Commander Stephenson was one of the key managers in the integration 

of the High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) on the EA-6B aircraft. Promoted to commander, the U.S. 

Navy selected Stephenson for aviation command, and he returned to the Naval Air Station at Whidbey 

Island, Washington with Squadron 140.

Commander Stephenson subsequently worked at the U.S. Navy’s Space Technology Program Office 

between May 1989 and August 1992, managing evolution and deployment of the Tactical Receive and 

Related Applications Broadcast Program and the multi-mission advanced tactical receiver. In 1990, he 

established and directed the Systems Application Program Office, which provided crucial support to 

the joint U.S. and multinational coalition forces later deployed against Iraq during Operations Desert 

Shield and Desert Storm. On 28 August 1992, Captain Stephenson became director of the newly formed 

Operational Support Office at the National Reconnaissance Office. Established after the Gulf War, this 

office provided closer liaison between the NRO and its customers and mission partners. He served in this 

position until 1 September 1993, when he retired from the U.S. Navy.

During his 25 years of active military duty, Captain Stephenson engaged in tactical and strategic 

strike operations, tactical reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. Besides attending Valdosta State 

University, he completed courses of study at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and at the 

Defense Management College. In recognition of his service, Captain Stephenson received the Defense 

Superior Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with three gold stars, the Navy 

Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and numerous other 

awards and citations.
 77

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. GARNETT R. STOWE, JR.

NRO CHIEF OF STAFF

6 SEPTEMBER 1994-1 AUGUST 2003
78

BIOGRAPHIES 

Garnett Reedie Stowe, Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York on 4 April 1949. Raised in the New 

York City metropolitan area, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Howard 

University in the District of Columbia in June 1972, where he also graduated with distinction 

from the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. Stowe also holds a graduate certificate in 

aerodynamics, and attended the Harvard Intelligence and Policy Seminar.

Commissioned as second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after graduating from Howard University, Stowe 

served in the armor branch. During his military career he held command and staff positions from platoon 

to brigade level. Beginning in 1990 in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, he commanded an aviation 

task force that participated in combat operations against Iraqi forces. After the First Gulf War, then-Colonel 

Stowe commanded Aviation Brigade, 2nd Armored Division, at Fort Hood, Texas. Starting in January 

1992, and until his retirement from the military that December, Stowe conducted special projects and 

intelligence analyses and reviews for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Stowe joined the Central Intelligence Agency on 26 April 1993, initially serving with the Director of Central 

Intelligence Staff Group. After several months he moved to the Community Management Staff as a senior 

planning and policy officer, responsible for coordinating strategic planning efforts and policy positions 

for senior-level decision makers across the Federal Government. Appointed director of the Systems and 

Architectures Office, Community Management Staff in March 1994, he was responsible for coordinating 

the full spectrum of intelligence collection programs across the U.S. Intelligence Community and other 

Federal Government agencies for Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey. With this broad 

perspective, Stowe became the executive assistant to the director of the National Reconnaissance Office 

in August 1994. On 6 September 1994, he became the NRO chief of staff. In this position, he directed staff 

functions and provided advice and counsel to the director and deputy director, NRO on key topics ranging 

from Congressional issues to senior staffing decisions.

Stowe is a member of the Senior Intelligence Service and is a Director of Central Intelligence Fellow. 

A decorated combat aviator, Stowe received several civilian awards including the NRO Distinguished 

Service Medal.
 79

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. BOYD D. SUTTON

DIRECTOR OF PLANS & ANALYSIS

1 OCTOBER 1992-5 JUNE 1994
80

BIOGRAPHIES 

Boyd Davis Sutton was born in Phoenix, Arizona on 29 July 1941. He lived overseas with his 

parents from 1947 to 1959 while his father served with the Central Intelligence Agency in various 

posts in Europe and the Middle East. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from 

Pennsylvania Military College in 1964. On graduation, he received a commission as a second 

lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Following infantry officer basic and airborne training, he served with the 

25th Infantry Division stationed in Hawaii. He deployed overseas with the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 

5th Infantry, for combat duty in the Republic of South Vietnam, where he served as a platoon leader, 

assistant battalion logistics officer, and battalion intelligence officer.

When he returned to the United States, then-Captain Sutton attended the Area Officers Intelligence 

Course at Ft. Holabird, Maryland. He then accepted an assignment with the 513th Military Intelligence 

Group in the Federal Republic of Germany, where he specialized in human intelligence collection. 

He completed a second tour of duty in South Vietnam in mid-1968 and served with the 525th Military 

Intelligence Group, then working on a clandestine project with the Central Intelligence Agency. He 

received two Bronze Star medals during this tour.

Returning from South Vietnam, Captain Sutton worked at the Defense Intelligence College, then moved 

to the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he created a new branch of analysis to study Soviet command 

and control systems. He subsequently joined CIA in a military capacity before resigning his commission 

to accept a permanent CIA position. He served in various analytic assignments studying Soviet military 

forces. As an estimate manager, he worked on the annual assessments of Soviet strategic forces. He 

then became the chief of the Soviet and Warsaw Pact Ground Forces Branch, serving in that capacity 

during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 and the Polish crises of 1981 and 1982.

Sutton was selected for attendance at the National War College in 1982 and received first prize from 

the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John W. Vessey, Jr., for his essay on “Strategic and 

Doctrinal Implications of Deep Attack Concepts for the Defense of Central Europe.” Sutton then served 

in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, where he managed 

production of papers on the use of advanced technologies to improve NATO’s conventional defenses, 

working closely with the Secretary of Defense and U.S. Congress. For his work in this position, which 

led to changes in U.S. and NATO strategies, Sutton received the Defense Superior Service Medal from 

Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger.

Sutton returned to the CIA in 1985 and created a new staff to analyze collection program investments. 

In this capacity, he became a principal advisor to Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey and 

was instrumental in guiding several major investment decisions in the late 1980s. During this time, he 

entered the Harvard University program for senior government executives. When Director of Central 

Intelligence William H. Webster established a panel in early 1989 to examine potential restructuring of 

the National Reconnaissance Office, Sutton was the CIA member. This effort led to creation of the NRO’s 

office of Plans and Analysis, with Sutton as its first deputy director. Sutton served in that capacity until 

becoming director of the NRO Office of Plans and Analysis on 1 October 1992, serving in that position 

until 5 June 1994.

He continued to work at the CIA until his retirement in 1996. He died on 17 April 2018. 
 81

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MR. PETER B. TEETS

DIRECTOR OF THE 

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

13 DECEMBER 2001-25 MARCH 2005
82

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Denver, Colorado on 12 February 1942, Peter Burritt Teets earned Bachelor of Science 

and Master of Science degrees in applied mathematics in 1963 and 1965 at the University of 

Colorado at Boulder and Denver, respectively.

Teets joined the Martin Marietta Corporation in Denver in 1963 as an engineer in flight control analysis. 

From 1970 until 1975, he managed the integration of a new inertial guidance system in the Titan IIIC 

launch vehicle. Between 1975 and 1980, he served as program manager for the Transtage Project and 

as director of space systems at Martin Marietta. In 1978, he earned a Master of Science in Management 

from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Between 1980 and 1982, he served as vice president of 

business development for Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace and, from 1982 until 1985, as vice president 

and general manager of the Aerospace Strategic and Launch Systems Division of Martin Marietta.

In 1985, Teets became president of Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace. While in this position, he received 

an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Colorado at Denver. For two years prior to 

the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta in 1995, Teets served as president of the Martin 

Marietta Space Group and of the Martin Marietta Astronautics Group in Bethesda, Maryland. Following 

the merger, Teets worked until 1997 as president and chief operating officer of the new corporation’s 

information and services sector in Bethesda. Teets became president and chief operating officer of the 

Lockheed Martin Corporation in July 1997. He remained in these positions until his retirement in 1999. 

In fall 2001, he left retirement to become under secretary of the Air Force and director of the National 

Reconnaissance Office, where he served until 25 March 2005.

Teets is a Sloan Fellow and a fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and 

the American Astronautical Society. In 1999, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering. 

Teets served on the Council of Trustees of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and was 

a member of the board of directors of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering and the 

Ethics Resource Center.
 83

LEADERS OF THE NRO

COLONEL 

DAN M. VANNATTER, USA

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE 

2 SEPTEMBER 1993-31 JULY 1995
84

BIOGRAPHIES 

Anative of Muncie, Indiana, Dan Mathias Vannatter was born on 15 September 1946. He received 

a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana in May 1968. 

Following graduation, Vannatter was drafted into the U.S. Army that December. An Engineer 

Officer Candidate’s School graduate, Sergeant Vannatter received a second lieutenant’s 

commission at Fort Belvoir, Virginia in October 1969.

Beginning in January 1971, he served nearly two years as an intelligence officer in the Republic of South 

Vietnam during the war in Southeast Asia. In October 1973, he returned to the United States as a special 

security officer at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Following completion of the Military Intelligence 

Advanced Course at Fort Huachuca, Arizona in June 1974, and the Special Forces Qualification Course 

at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, then-Captain Vannatter was assigned to the U.S. Army 10th Special Forces 

Group (Airborne). He next attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he 

earned a Master of Science in Operations Research/Systems Analysis in May 1979. Soon thereafter, he 

served as the operations research officer for combat developments at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center 

and School at Fort Huachuca.

In October 1982, Major Vannatter returned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, 

North Carolina, where he served as deputy chief of intelligence for the U.S. Army 1st Special Operations 

Command, as intelligence officer of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), and as commander of the 

7th Special Forces Group Military Intelligence Company. Following attendance at the Foreign Area Officer 

School and Spanish-language instruction at the Defense Language Institute at Fort Bragg in 1986, he 

was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Southern Command, located at Quarry Heights outside Panama City, 

Panama as chief of the Intelligence Plans Division. In July 1988, Lieutenant Colonel Vannatter became 

the intelligence officer of the U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division (Light) and, while in this position, deployed 

to Panama with the initial entry forces of Operation Just Cause on 20 December 1989. He remained in 

Panama until the 7th Infantry Division redeployed to Fort Ord, California in March 1990.

Selected for battalion-level command in May 1990, Lieutenant Colonel Vannatter took command of the 

102nd Military Intelligence Battalion, U.S. Army 2nd Infantry Division, in the Republic of South Korea, in 

July 1990. He returned to the United States in June 1992 to attend the Air War College in Montgomery, 

Alabama, graduating in June 1993. That July, Colonel Vannatter became director of the NRO’s Operational 

Support Office. He reported to Washington, D.C., and assumed direction of the OSO on 2 September 

1993. He held that position until 31 July 1995.

Among Colonel Vannatter’s awards and decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the 

Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal 

with seven oak leaf clusters, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal 

with two oak leaf clusters, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with palm, 

the Vietnam Service Medal with four stars, the Master Parachutists Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
 85

LEADERS OF THE NRO

BRIGADIER GENERAL 

DONALD R. WALKER, USAF

NRO STAFF DIRECTOR

6 FEBRUARY 1989-30 NOVEMBER 1992

DIRECTOR OF PLANS & ANALYSIS

JANUARY 1990-30 DECEMBER 1992

DIRECTOR OF SIGINT SYSTEMS 

ACQUISITION & OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE

4 DECEMBER 1992-16 JULY 1995
86

BIOGRAPHIES 

Donald Robert Walker was born on 26 April 1944 in Buffalo, New York. He entered the U.S. Air 

Force Academy in 1962 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science in 

1966. Walker’s first active-duty assignment was as a propulsion project engineer in the Titan III 

Systems Program Office of the Space and Missile Systems Organization at the Los Angeles Air 

Force Station in California. From September 1969 until February 1971, he continued his education at the 

University of Southern California through the Air Force Institute of Technology Program, earning a Master 

of Science in Mechanical Engineering, while at the same time completing Squadron Officer School.

Walker next served as a project engineer in the Engineering Division at Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill 

Air Force Base, Utah, before transferring in June 1974 to the Sunnyvale Air Force Station in California, 

serving as deputy commander for satellite operations and mission director with the Air Force Satellite 

Control Facility. In 1980, he completed a Master of Arts in Business Administration at Auburn University 

and studies at the Air Command and Staff College, before assignment to the National Reconnaissance 

Office, Office of Space Systems, with the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. There he served as 

director of national space systems planning and as deputy director for systems and technology. Five 

years later, in June 1985, he returned to the Los Angeles Air Force Station as director of operations with 

NRO Program A. At the same time, Walker completed studies at the Air War College and was designated 

a distinguished graduate in 1985.

In July 1986, Walker returned to Sunnyvale, California to serve as the last commander of the Air Force 

Satellite Control Facility and as the first commander of the Consolidated Space Test Center at Onizuka Air 

Force Station. There he was responsible for the worldwide satellite control network and mission control 

center that provided on-orbit support to NRO and Department of Defense spacecraft. In November 

1987, Walker became program director for the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) and 

deputy commander for defense surveillance at the Los Angeles Air Force Base. He was responsible for 

acquisition and operation of the DSCS, NATO III, Fleet Satellite Communications, and Air Force Satellite 

Communications programs.

On 6 February 1989, Walker became director of the Office of Space Systems within the Office of the 

Secretary of the Air Force in Washington, D.C., as staff director of the National Reconnaissance Office. 

Promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 1 May 1990, Walker became director of the NRO Office 

of Plans and Analysis, a position he held until 30 December 1992. That same year, on 4 December, 

Brigadier General Walker became director of the Special Projects Office, Office of the Secretary of the Air 

Force, at the Los Angeles Air Force Base in California, as well as the first director of the newly created 

NRO Signals Intelligence Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate, remaining in the latter position 

until 16 July 1995. 

Among Brigadier General Walker’s military awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious 

Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Outstanding 

Unit Award with oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with two oak leaf clusters, 

and the National Defense Service Medal. He was a member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering 

Honorary Fraternity and was chosen as an Honorary Chief Master Sergeant in 1987.
 87

LEADERS OF THE NRO

COLONEL 

DANIEL W. WELLS III, USA

DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT OFFICE

9 DECEMBER 1996-18 AUGUST 2000
88

BIOGRAPHIES 

Daniel William Wells III was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 24 April 1949. He attended the 

University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, where he was a member of the Reserve Officer 

Training Corps. Commissioned a second lieutenant on graduation with a Bachelor’s degree in 

physics in June 1971, his first U.S. Army assignment was in the Federal Republic of Germany. 

From June 1972 to October 1975, he served as a signals intelligence officer, electronic maintenance 

officer, and company executive officer. He next reported to the National Security Agency at Fort George 

G. Meade in Maryland, where he participated in the Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program between 

September 1975 and December 1978. Then, until June 1982, Captain Wells served as a company 

commander and tactical intelligence officer at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort 

Huachuca, Arizona. He was then assigned to the Army Staff in Washington, D.C., where he served as an 

operations research officer from July 1982 until June 1985. Following this assignment, then-Major Wells 

served between July 1986 and August 1992 as a battalion operations officer, battalion executive officer, 

and brigade operations officer at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Between November 1990 and August 1992, 

Lieutenant Colonel Wells commanded the 732nd Military Intelligence Battalion at Schofield Barracks. This 

unit received the NSA Travis Trophy as the top cryptologic field station in the world for 1992.

Following battalion command, Lieutenant Colonel Wells was again assigned to the Army Staff at the 

Pentagon, where he served as chief of the Intelligence Support Military Operations Branch from August 

1992 to July 1995. In this position, he also served as program director for the Trojan Spirit Program 

in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence. Colonel Wells was assigned to the National 

Reconnaissance Office in August 1996, where his initial assignment was in the Imagery Intelligence 

Systems Acquisition and Operations Directorate. Here he led the Directorate’s study of the future ground 

architecture required for the Future Imagery Architecture program. On 9 December 1996, Colonel Wells 

became director of the NRO’s Operational Support Office, a position he held until 18 August 2000.

Colonel Wells earned a Master of Science in Quantitative Analysis for Decision Making from The George 

Washington University in Washington, D.C., in December 1978. He also attended the Air War College 

in 1996, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1986, the 

Military Intelligence Advanced Course at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, 

Arizona in 1979, and the Infantry Office Basic Course in 1971.

Among Colonel Wells’ awards and decorations are the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of 

Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Commendation 

Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Army General Staff Badge.
 89

LEADERS OF THE NRO

MAJOR GENERAL 

CRAIG P. WESTON, USAF

DIRECTOR, CORPORATE OPERATIONS OFFICE

8 JULY 2000-3 SEPTEMBER 2001

DIRECTOR, ADVANCED SYSTEMS 

& TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE

4 SEPTEMBER 2001-19 APRIL 2002
90

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in Tokyo, Japan on 27 February 1950, but raised in Sacramento, California, Craig Pickering Weston 

graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in June 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering 

mechanics and a commission as a second lieutenant. His first Air Force assignment was as a project 

engineer for air-launched munitions at the Armament Development and Test Center at Eglin Air Force 

Base, Florida. During this time, he also completed Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.

In April 1977, then-Captain Weston began a four-year assignment as a flight test and research engineer for highenergy lasers at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. In July 1981, he 

resumed his education at the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. He earned 

a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1982, followed by further studies at the Defense Systems 

Management College and the Air War College. Between 1983 and 1988, Major Weston completed assignments as 

development manager for space systems in NRO Program A, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force for Special 

Projects at the Sunnyvale Air Force Station in California, and as mission director for space operations with the Office 

of the Secretary of the Air Force for Special Projects, also at Sunnyvale, which was renamed Onizuka Air Force 

Base in 1986.

After graduating from the Air War College in 1989, Weston became the program element monitor for Milstar with 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. From June 

1991 until February 1993, then-Colonel Weston remained at the Pentagon and served first as acquisition planner 

for communications satellites with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, and then as 

executive officer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.

Returning to California in 1993, Weston spent one year as deputy program director of the Military Satellite 

Communications Joint Program Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, and then 

an additional three years as program director of the Space-Based Infrared Systems Program Office, Space and 

Missile Systems Center. Coming once again to Washington, D.C. in August 1997, Weston spent 16 months as 

program executive officer for warning, surveillance, and control programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the 

Air Force for Acquisition at the Pentagon, before taking the position of program executive officer for command and 

control programs. On 1 July 1998, the Air Force promoted Weston to brigadier general.

In July 2000, Brigadier General Weston resumed service at the NRO as director of the NRO Corporate Operations 

Office and as the organization’s chief information officer. In this position, Brigadier General Weston led a multiagency team that provided a broad spectrum of services—ranging from space launch, to acquisition milestone 

reviews, to space war games—to the nation’s space reconnaissance program. His organization performed studies 

and analyses to improve current operations and determine the utility of future space systems to meet the Intelligence 

Community and the Department of Defense reconnaissance needs. As NRO chief information officer, Weston 

defined and implemented policies, standards, processes, metrics, and decision forums to improve the efficiency 

and effectiveness of space reconnaissance information systems within the larger Intelligence Community and 

Department of Defense information architectures.

On 4 September 2001, Brigadier General Weston became director of the NRO’s Advanced Systems and Technology 

Directorate. Here he led a multi-agency team of futurists, scientists, and engineers engaged in advanced research, 

applied technology, and technology demonstration programs to further state-of-the-art technology for the nation’s 

space reconnaissance program. He orchestrated a broad-based program to explore new concepts; to create 

breakthroughs in phenomenology, materials, and information processing; to develop next-generation space-qualified 

components and subsystems; and to flight and ground test systems to validate new concepts. The Directorate 

collaborated extensively with industry, academia, and the national and service laboratories in partnerships, alliances, 

and fora on thrust areas and specific projects that contribute to meeting the space reconnaissance needs of the 

Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. 

Brigadier General Weston was also director of the Air Force-NRO Planning Integration Group, a task force dedicated 

to cooperative projects that provide NRO capabilities to significantly enhance Air Force acquisition and operations. 

Additionally, Weston was senior officer for the Air Force element of the NRO overseeing the training, education, and 

career management of Air Force officers, enlisted, and civilian personnel assigned to the organization. On 1 January 

2002, Weston was promoted to the rank of major general.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 

the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Air Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. He has 

also received the Lt. Gen. John W. O’Neill Award for outstanding system program director, and the Douhet-Mitchell 

International Airpower Trophy at the Air War College.
 91

LEADERS OF THE NRO

COLONEL

STEPHEN A. WOJCICKI, USAF

DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF SPACE LAUNCH

15 JULY 1999-17 MAY 2002
92

BIOGRAPHIES 

Born in St. Louis, Missouri on 6 April 1953, Stephen Alexander Wojcicki received a Bachelor 

of Science in Engineering Sciences from the U.S. Air Force Academy in June 1975. Between 

March 1976 and June 1980, he served as chief of the Historical Data Section, Space 

Computation Center, Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. Wojcicki earned a Master of Science in 

Systems Management from the University of Southern California in May 1980, and that July became 

chief of spacecraft operations at the Sunnyvale Air Force Station in California. 

Following six months in the Defense Systems Management College Program Manager’s Course in 

1984, Wojcicki served between July 1984 and January 1987 as the manager of Space Shuttle/Centaur 

Command and Data Systems at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Lewis Research 

Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He then became chief of the Launch Vehicle Operations Branch at the 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After attending the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, 

Virginia from July 1989 to January 1990, he served as space operations staff officer at U.S. Space 

Command, Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado from August 1989 to April 1992.

From May 1992 to May 1993, Wojcicki commanded the 19th Space Surveillance Squadron at the 

Pirinclik Air Station in Turkey, before taking the position of chief, Space Control and Force Applications 

Branch at U.S. Air Force headquarters until June 1997. Following one year as a member of the Secretary 

of Defense Strategic Studies Group between July 1997 and June 1998, Wojcicki was assigned to the 

National Reconnaissance Office, where he initially served as deputy director of imagery development 

programs, managing research and development efforts for the next generation of imaging satellites. 

On 15 July 1999, he became director of the Office of Space Launch at the NRO, where he served until 

17 May 2002.

Colonel Wojcicki received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the 

Air Force Achievement Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF

NATIONAL RECONNIASSANCE

JULY 2019