2023 Redstone Update: Presentations and Bios
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 • Saturn Ballroom l
The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber is pleased to present the 2023 Redstone Update. Here are bios of the panelists and speakers.
AGENDA
Welcome Remarks: Lynn Troy, 2023 Chair, Chamber Board of Directors
Opening Remarks: LTG Chris Mohan, U.S.Army Materiel Command Deputy Commander, Senior Commander of Redstone Arsenal
FBI Overview & Update: Johnnie Sharp, Jr., Assistant Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Division
- View presentation (PDF)
- Introduction by Ronnie Chronister
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Overview & Update: Joseph Pelfrey, Acting Director
- View presentation (PDF)
- Introduction by Lynn Troy
SMDC Overview & Update: Richard De Fatta, Space and Missile Defense Command Deputy to the Commander
- Introduction by Ronnie Chronister
Space Development Agency Overview & Update: William Burke Hare III, Space Development Agency–South Site Director
- View presentation (PDF)
- Introduction by MG (Ret.) Jim Myles
Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO): COL Justin De Armond, Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office Chief of Staff
- View presentation (PDF)
- Introduction by Lynn Troy
Panel Discussion: Redstone Around the World
- View presentation (PDF)
- Facilitated by MG (Ret.) Jim Myles
- Indo-Pacific – COL Shane Upton, Contested Logistics Cross Functional Team Director
- Europe – COL Guy Yelverton, PEO Missile and Space Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management
- South America – Antoine Cheatham, Deputy Director of INDOPACOM / NORTHCOM / SOUTHCOM Regional Operations U.S. Army Security Assistance Command
- Middle East – Michael Patterson, Chief of the Army Contracting Command Strategic Initiatives Group
Luncheon: LTG Chris Mohan, U.S.Army Materiel Command Deputy Commander, Senior Commander of Redstone Arsenal
LTG Christopher O. Mohan
U.S. Army Materiel Command
Deputy Commanding General
Redstone Arsenal Senior Commander
Lieutenant General Chris Mohan assumed duties as the Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Materiel Command on 2 December 2022. In his role, he is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Army’s logistics enterprise. He also serves as the Senior Commander of Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
LTG Mohan is a native of Carthage, NC. He commissioned into the U.S. Army in 1989 from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, where he graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.
His military education includes the Ordnance Officer Basic Course, the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, the Naval College of Command and Staff and the Army War College. He holds a Master of Science in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and a Master’s Degree in Military Strategy from the Army War College.
LTG Mohan’s former command assignments include Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.; 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Kaiserslautern, Germany; 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Fort Bragg (known as Fort Liberty since 2023), NC; Tooele Army Depot, Tooele, Utah; 80th Ordnance Battalion, 593d Sustainment Brigade, I Corps, Fort Lewis, Wash. and OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM, Iraq; Alpha Forward Support Company (Airborne), U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, and OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM; and 664th Ordnance Company, 553d Corps Support Battalion, 64th Support Group (Corps), III Corps, Fort Hood (known as Fort Cavazos since 2023), Texas.
Other significant assignments include Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Logistics, U.S. Army Materiel Command, Redstone Arsenal; Director, Strategic Logistics Integration (G-45/7), Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, U.S. Army; Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, U.S. Army; Executive Officer to the Commander, United States Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; Joint Logistics Plans Officer, J-4, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg; Support Operations Office, Special Operations Support Command (Airborne), U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg.
LTG Mohan has deployed multiple times in support of Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Bronze Star Medal (3 OLC), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (4 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (2 OLC), Southwest Asia Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal and Meritorious Unit Citation, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, Ranger Tab, German Parachutist Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.
Johnnie Sharp, Jr.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Division
In August of 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray named Mr. Johnnie Sharp, Jr. as the Assistant Director of the IT Infrastructure Division at the FBI’s campus in Huntsville, Ala. He most recently served as special agent in charge of the Birmingham Field Office in Alabama. Sharp is the first person to hold an Assistant Director position in Huntsville, where the FBI is locating some of its technical and specialized training activities.
He joined the FBI as a special agent in 1998 and was assigned to the Pittsburgh Field Office to investigate counterintelligence and counterterrorism matters. He also served as a firearms instructor and on the SWAT Team. In 2005, Sharp was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent and transferred to one of the International Terrorism sections in the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In 2008, Sharp was named a Squad Supervisor of the Counterintelligence, Cyber, and Technical programs in the Jackson Field Office in Mississippi. In 2009, he served for several months as the FBI’s Deputy On-scene Commander in Iraq, responsible for leading counterterrorism operations. He returned to Jackson and was promoted in 2013 to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Jackson’s National Security Branch. He managed the Cyber, Counterintelligence, Counterterrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Crisis Management, and Technical programs.
Sharp was promoted to Section Chief of the Technical Surveillance Section in the Operational Technology Division at Headquarters in 2015. As Section Chief, he provided management over eight technical units responsible for evidence and intelligence collection capabilities.
During his career, Sharp served temporary FBI assignments in London, Cairo, New Delhi, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was selected to serve as the Special Agent in Charge of the Birmingham Field Office in 2017.
Prior to joining the FBI, Sharp was a deputy sheriff and police officer in Knoxville, Tenn. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee.
Joseph Pelfrey
Acting Center Director
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
Mr. Joseph Pelfrey is acting center director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He leads Marshall’s nearly 7,000 onsite and near-site civil service and contractor employees and oversees its annual budget of approximately $4 billion. He also helps guide Marshall's broad portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology development efforts, which touches nearly every mission NASA pursues. Pelfrey previously served as deputy center director since his appointment in April 2022.
Beforehand, Pelfrey was manager of Marshall’s Human Exploration Development and Operations Office from 2020-2022, overseeing management and implementation of Marshall's work portfolio in the areas of human exploration and transportation projects; habitation systems, payload and mission operations and integration; and International Space Station payload, facility, environmental control and life support systems project development and integration. He also served from 2018-2020 as deputy manager of that organization.
Throughout his NASA career, he has served in multiple technical leadership positions at Marshall. He began his career as an industry partner, supporting development of space station payload hardware, and joined Marshall full-time in 2004 as an aerospace engineer in the Science and Mission Systems Office. He went on to serve in various leadership roles within the ISS Program, overseeing the development, integration, and operations of multiple payload facilities and science experiments.
In 2008, Pelfrey joined Marshall's Engineering Directorate to serve as the design integration lead for the Ares I Upper Stage, the rocket that would inform development of NASA’s Space Launch System. In 2011, he was named engineering task manager for the Space Launch System’s Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office and, subsequently, manager of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project at Marshall.
In 2012, Pelfrey was appointed deputy manager and then manager of the Exploration and Space Transportation Development Office in Marshall’s Flight Programs and Partnerships Office. In 2016, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service post of associate director for operations in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate. The Senior Executive Service is the personnel system covering most top managerial, supervisory and policy positions in the executive branch of the federal government.
A native of Cheraw, South Carolina, Pelfrey received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University in 2000. He resides in Huntsville with his wife Nicole and daughter Adelyn.
Richard P. De Fatta
Deputy to the Commanding General
USASMDC
Mr. Richard De Fatta was selected to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2013 and serves as Deputy to the Commanding General, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC). As the senior civilian in the command, he provides leadership supporting the Commanding General’s priorities, initiatives, and directed areas of responsibilities. Mr. De Fatta provides oversight and direction for USASMDC’s Technical Center and Center of Excellence, Army Space and Missile Defense programs, command acquisition, proponency, contracting, personnel, and resource management.
Additionally, De Fatta has extensive professional leadership experience, in both government and contractor positions, specializing in acquisition: development, testing, production, fielding, sustainment, and life-cycle support of major weapons systems and integration of emerging technologies.
His previous assignment was Director, Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence, USASMDC, responsible for Space, High Altitude, Strategic Missile Defense Doctrine and Training, Concept Development, Decision Support and the Army Capability Managers for Space and High Altitude and Strategic Missile Defense, from March 2017 to February 2022. Previous SES assignments include Director of Capability Development and Integration Directorate, USASMDC’s Future Warfare Center. He also served as acting Technical Center Director and Air and Missile Defense Director; responsible for developing technology and providing support in the areas of directed energy, interceptors, research and advanced concepts, space, advanced hypersonic weapons and the Reagan Test Site.
De Fatta retired from U.S. Army active duty in 2005 and spent more than seven years in senior contractor positions providing systems engineering, integration, test, program management, and technical support to Department of Defense programs. A member of the Army Acquisition Corps since its inception, his military assignments included: Project Manager, Cruise Missile Defense Systems (formerly SHORAD); Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology; Product Manager, U.S. Medium Extended Air Defense System; Director, Kwajalein Missile Range, USASMDC; and Product Manager, Combat Vehicle Signature Management Program. His first acquisition assignment was as a Research & Development Coordinator in the Missile Command’s Pershing Project Office.
De Fatta graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and later earned a Master of Science in Engineering Physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Systems Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He attended the U.S. Army War College resident fellowship at the University of Texas, Austin.
De Fatta’s military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (two oak leaf clusters), Meritorious Service Medal (three oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), the Army Achievement Medal, Army Staff Identification Badge, and Parachutist Badge. He is also the recipient of the Army Space and Missile Defense Association Technical Achievement Award and National Defense Industrial Association Defense Technical Award.
He and his wife Michelle have been married for more than 40 years, have a son and daughter, and four grandchildren.
William Burke Hare III
Site Director, Space Development Agency-South
Space Development Agency
Mr. Burke Hare is the Site Director, Space Development Agency-South, Space Development Agency (SDA). Established in March 2019, SDA is recognized as the Department of Defense's constructive disruptor for space acquisition. SDA will quickly deliver much needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). SDA-South in Huntsville, Alabama is home to the PWSA Space Networking Operations Center-South and represents the second largest personnel footprint for SDA after its Headquarters in Chantilly Virginia. Mr. Hare joined SDA in 2021.
Before assuming his position at SDA, Hare served in Industry as a Department of Defense Contractor supporting the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) primarily within the Directorate of Engineering and Directorate of Innovation, Science and Technology. In this capacity, Hare supported Missile Defense Flight Test Engineering, Missile Defense System Flight Test Failure Review Boards, and the Missile Defense Agency’s Nanosat Testbed Initiative.
A retired US Air Force Officer with an extensive Space and Missile background, Hare previously held leadership roles at MDA, Air Force Space Command, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Hare’s active-duty experience covers a wide range of Space Operations, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Operations, ICBM Maintenance, Joint Nuclear and Missile Defense Duty, along with other key staff and leadership positions.
Hare has a M.S. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota and a B.A. in Political Science from Auburn University. In 2007, he was awarded the US Air Force’s John J. Welsh Award for “Best Acquisition Leadership”. Hare was recognized by Headquarters, Air Force Space Command with the Air Force Space Command Operational Excellence Award in 2008. Hare was a recipient of the Air, Space and Missile Defense Association’s Space and Missile Defense Technical Achievement Award in 2013. In 2018, he was the Directorate of Innovation, Science and Technology’s nominee for the MDA Technical Engineering Contractor Employee of the Year. In 2023, for his role in MDA’s Nanosat Testbed Initiative, Hare was the recipient of the Air, Space and Missile Defense Association’s Award for Technical Achievement, the National Defense Industrial Association’s Technical Achievement Award, and the Missile Defense Agency’s Annual Risk Management Team Award.
COL Justin De Armond
Chief of Staff
Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office
COL Justin De Armond became Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Rapid Capabilities and Technologies Office in July 2023. The RCCTO rapidly and efficiently fields critical enabling technologies like hypersonics, directed energy, and counter-small unmanned aerial systems to units of action.
He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2000 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery in May 2000.
COL De Armond held several command and staff positions of increasing responsibility, including: Firing Platoon Leader, Support Platoon Leader, Executive Officer, Fire Direction Officer, Battalion Logistics Officer for the 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery, Babenhausen, Germany; Fire Support Officer for the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry, Fort Lewis, Washington; Commander, C Battery and Headquarters Service Battery for the1st Battalion 37th Field Artillery, Fort Lewis, Washington. He deployed from both Germany and Fort Lewis to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His Acquisition assignments include Contracting Officer for the United States Army Corp of Engineers, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska; Team Leader of the 644th Contingency Contracting Team, Small Purchase Division Chief, Battalion Operations Officer for the 903rd Contracting Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany; and Administrative Contracting Officer for LOGCAP Task Order 11 and 13 in Entebbe, Uganda under the 414th Contracting Support Brigade, Vicenza, Italy; Brigade S3 for the 409th Contracting Support Brigade, Sembach, Germany; Commander of the 906th Contracting Battalion, Camp Humphreys, South Korea; G3 for Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and the 408th Contracting Support Brigade Commander, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
His military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Field Artillery Captains Career Course, the Army Intermediate Level Education, the Acquisition Intermediate Qualification Course, the Army Acquisition Basic Course, the Army Intermediate Contracting Course, the Advance Contracting for Managers Course, and a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
He also holds a Master of Arts in Management and Leadership from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, and a Master of Business Administration from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
COL De Armond is Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III Certified in Contracting and an Army Acquisition Corps Member.
COL De Armond’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Valorous Unit Award, the Meritorious Unit Award with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Expeditionary and Service Medals, the Combat Action Badge, the Air Assault Badge, the Order of St. Barbara, and the Expeditionary Contracting Medal.
He is married to the former Ms. Kara Friis and has three children: Burke (13), Livvy (11), and Ingrid (7).
Colonel Shane M. Upton
United States Army Futures Command
Director, Contested Logistics-Cross Functional Team
COL Upton assumed the duties as the first Director for the newly established Contested Logistics Cross-Functional Team, U.S. Army Futures Command, on 27 June 2023.
COL Upton is originally from Gibson City, Illinois and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Ordnance in 1997 upon his graduation from the University of Illinois (Urbana- Champaign) with a Bachelor of Science. His military education includes the Ordnance Ammunition Officer Basic Course at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, the Combined Logistics Captains Career Course at Fort Lee, Virginia, CAS3 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Command and General Staff College. COL Upton earned his master’s degree in strategic studies from the Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies War College program at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in June 2018.
COL Upton has served across the spectrum of tactical, operational and strategic assignments in the United States and overseas. He formerly served as the USAREUR-AF Deputy Chief of Staff, G4, where he was responsible for the coordination and synchronization of supplies and equipment from across the global US Army area of operations in support of the Ukrainian effort.
Other significant assignments include Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer for the 529th Modular Ammunition Company in Vilseck, Germany; Support Operations Supply and Service Officer with the 7th Corps Support Group in Bamberg, Germany; Brigade Plans Officer-in-Charge, Support Operations Officer, Maintenance Officer to the 101st Corps Support Group, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Commander, 227th General Supply Company where he deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 1; Officer Basic Course instructor and Course Director at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland; 4th Infantry Division G4, where he deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan as the Support Operations Officer for the 43rd Sustainment Brigade CENTCOM Materiel Recovery Element. Commander, Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, in Independence, Missouri; Division G4, 3d Infantry Division; commander of McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma.
COL Upton’s awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Service Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (1 Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, 1 Oak Leaf Cluster), NATO Medal Afghanistan, NATO Medal Kosovo, Parachutist Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.
COL Guy Yelverton III
Program Manager
Integrated Fires Rapid Capabilities Office (IFRCO)
Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management (DASM) (Acting)
Colonel Guy Yelverton, III was commissioned a Field Artillery Officer upon graduation from Texas A&M University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering.
After completion of the Field Artillery Basic Course, COL Yelverton was assigned as the Fire Support Officer for Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 9th US Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, Ft. Hood, Texas. He next served as the Fire Direction Officer and then Platoon Leader for Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, after which he was selected to serve as the Aide-de-Camp for the Commanding General, Test and Experimentation Command, Ft. Hood, Texas. After attending the Captain’s Career Course, he served as the Battalion Fire Direction Officer for 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery. Colonel Yelverton then assumed command of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery on 19 June 2001. Bravo Battery was recognized as runner-up for the 2002 Henry Knox Award (best battery in the Army). Upon relinquishing command in 2003, he moved to Fort Belvoir to serve as the Battalion S3 for the USAG Headquarters Battalion.
In 2005, he was selected to join the Army Acquisition Corps and attend Advanced Civil Schooling where he earned a Master of Arts degree with Honors in Computer Resource Information Management from Webster University. He was then assigned as the Strategic Planning Division Chief for the Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency, Army Evaluation Center, Army Test and Evaluation Command. Colonel Yelverton next served as an Assistant Product Manager for Soldier Precision Targeting Devices in PEO Soldier. He next deployed to Afghanistan as the Executive Officer and Chief of Acquisition and Contracts for Task Force Biometrics, Combined Joint Interagency Task Force 435. Colonel Yelverton was next selected as a Department of the Army Systems Coordinator for Program Executive Officer Missiles and Space and the Space and Missile Defense Command in the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. He was next selected as a Special Assistant to the Director of the Army Staff in the Executive Communications and Control for the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army and later selected to serve as a Special Assistant and Acquisition Advisor to the Vice Chief of Staff, Army. Colonel Yelverton was the Product Manager of the Re-designed Kill Vehicle program at the Missile Defense Agency. He previously served as the Project Manager for Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles at PEO Missiles and Space. He is currently assigned as the Project Manager for Integrated Fires and Rapid Capability Office at PEO Missiles and Space, and he also serves as the acting Deputy for Acquisition and Systems Management.
COL Yelverton’s military education includes the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course (Commandant’s List), Field Artillery Captain’s Career Course (Honor Graduate), Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Army Acquisition Basic Course (Distinguished Graduate), Intermediate Contracting Course (Honor Graduate), Intermediate Level Education, the Acquisition Intermediate Qualification Course, the DAU Program Manager’s Course, and the Air War College with Academic Distinction.
COL Yelverton’s decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Joint Service Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the ISAF NATO Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Basic Space Badge, and the Army Staff Identification Badge. He has also received the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara and the Noble Patron of Armor awards."
Antoine “AC” Cheatham
Deputy Director,
INDOPACOM/SOUTHCOM/NORTHCOM
United States Army Security Assistance Command
Mr. Antoine Cheatham joined the United States Army Security Command (USASAC) Redstone Arsenal, Ala. in November 2012 and currently serves as Deputy Director, INDOPACOM/SOUTHCOM/NORTHCOM.
He also served at USASAC as EUCOM Division Chief from November 2012 to July 2018, during which time he was selected as the command’s 2016 Supervisor of the Year.
Previous assignments in the security assistance enterprise include his December 2009 to November 2012 tenure at the Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Security Assistance Management Directorate (SAMD), Redstone Arsenal, where he served as a Country Program Manager for Taiwan.
Cheatham received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Alabama A&M University and Master of Science in Management from Florida Institute of Technology. He has completed DAU Level III certifications in Life Cycle Logistics and Program Management, Level III certification in the DoD’s International Affairs Certification Program (IACP) and Intermediate certification in Security Cooperation Workforce Development (SCWD). He is a 2019 graduate of the U.S. Army War College Distance Education Program.
Cheatham served 27 years on active duty (Army) and retired in March 2007. He is married and has two sons and two grandsons. His hobbies include rabbit hunting, fishing, and reading.
Michael L. Patterson
Director, Strategic Initiatives Group
U.S. Army Contracting Command
Mr. Michael L. Patterson serves as the Director, ACC Strategic Initiatives Group. He helps oversee strategic long-term initiatives for the US Army Contracting Command. These duties include optimization of organization structure and alignment, development of processes to enhance enterprise operations and identification of efficiencies. The Army Contracting Command provides global contracting support to the operational Army across the full spectrum of military operations and in garrison. The Army Contracting Command consists of over 6000 military and civilian personnel worldwide who award and manage over 150,000 contractual actions valued at more than $100 billion per fiscal year.
Prior to this assignment, he served as the Deputy to the Commander of the 414th Contracting Support Brigade in Vicenza, Italy where he assisted the Brigade Commander in overseeing the Regional Contracting Offices and served as the Senior Contracting Official (SCO) in the Commander’s absence.
Patterson has 30 years of Department of Defense (DoD) contracting experience and has held positions around the world with various DoD activities. Prior to serving with Army Contracting Command, he served as the Principle Assistant Responsible for Contracting (PARC) at the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command at Scott AFB, IL. He also served as Chief, Internationally Scheduled Transportation Services Division, US Transportation Command, at Scott AFB, IL. Patterson began his career as a contracting intern with the Navy at the Naval Regional Contracting Center, Washington, DC. He has served as a warranted contracting officer with the Naval Supply Systems Command, the Naval Facilities Command, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, USTRANSCOM and the Defense Contract Management Agency.
He proudly retired from the Army Reserves in 2009. As a Field Artillery and Acquisition Corps officer, Patterson was mobilized twice and held numerous command and staff positions during his 20-year reserve career.
Patterson holds a master’s degree from Indiana University and a bachelor’s from the University of Houston, as well as professional designations from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a graduate certificate from George Washington University.
SPONSORS:
PRESENTING SPONSOR
GOLD SPONSORS
- Accenture Federal Services
- Akima
- COLSA Corporation
- deciBel Research, Inc.
- MartinFederal
- Torch Technologies
- Tyonek Native Corporation
- University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)
SILVER SPONSORS
- Aerojet Rocketdyne, An L3Harris Technologies Company
- Arcfield
- Avion Solutions
- The Boeing Company
- Butler Snow LLP
- Deloitte LLP
- Dynetics, Inc.
- Intrepid, LLC
- Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation
- IronMountain Solutions
- Lockheed Martin Corporation
- Modern Technology Solutions, Inc. (MTSI)
- PeopleTec, Inc.
- Radiance Technologies, Inc.
- Raytheon, An RTX Business
- SAIC
- Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc.
- Trideum Corporation
BRONZE SPONSORS
- 4M Research, Inc.
- Axient
- BDO
- Davidson
- Huntsville Hospital
- Integration Innovation, Inc. (i3)
- Port of Huntsville
- PPG
- Redstone Federal Credit Union
- T&W Operations, Inc.
