Malcolm Ross O ' Neill Malcolm Ross O ' Neill ( born March 25 , 1940 ) was the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition , Logistics , and Technology , having been sworn into office by United States Under Secretary of the Army Joseph W . Westphal on March 10 , 2010 , and resigned June 3 , 2011 . Biography . Malcolm Ross O ' Neill was born in Chicago in 1940 . He was educated at DePaul University , receiving a B . Sc . in Physics . In 1962 , he joined the United States Army and was commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer . Following postings to Fort Sill , Fort Benning , Fort Bragg , Redstone Arsenal , and the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey , O ' Neill began his first tour of duty during the Vietnam War beginning in January 1965 . There , he was posted at the Military Assistance Command , Vietnam . He spent 1966 - 67 as an instructor , and then aide - de - camp at Redstone Arsenal . In 1967 - 68 , O ' Neill was a student at the United States Army Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Ground . He then spent 1968 - 70 completing a Master ' s Degree in Physics at Rice University . He returned to Vietnam in June 1970 , serving as Assistant Chief of Staff of the United States Army Support Command until June 1971 . He then spent 1971 - 72 at the United States Army Command and General Staff College , and then returned to Rice University , completing his Ph . D . in Physics in August 1974 . From 1974 to 1976 , he was posted to the United States Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal . He then spent 1977 to 1980 at DARPA . After studying at the United States Army War College 1980 - 81 , he spent 1981 - 83 in Munich as Deputy Program Manager of the NATO Patriot Management Office . He then spent the second half of 1983 as Chief of Staff of the United States Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal . In 1984 , he was project manager for the Multiple Launch Rocket System , posted at Redstone Arsenal . He spent 1985 - 87 as Director for Kinetic Energy Weapons in the Office of the Secretary of Defense . From 1987 to 1989 , O ' Neill was commanding general of the United States Army Laboratory Command in Adelphi , Maryland . He worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army ( Research , Development and Acquisition ) 1989 - 90 , and was Deputy Director , then Acting Director , of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization 1990 - 93 . From 1993 to 1996 , he was Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization . O ' Neill retired from the Army in 1996 , having achieved the rank of Lieutenant General . In 1996 , O ' Neill joined Lockheed Martin as Vice President for Operations and Best Practices in the Space and Strategic Missiles Division . In 2000 , he became Lockheed Martin ' s Chief Technical Officer , a position he held until 2006 . He left Lockheed Martin in 2006 , becoming Chairman of the United States National Academies ' s Board on Army Science and Technology . President of the United States Barack Obama nominated O ' Neill to be United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition , Logistics , and Technology in 2010 , and O ' Neill was sworn into office by United States Under Secretary of the Army Joseph W . Westphal on March 10 , 2010 and resigned effective June 3 , 2011 .