Boeing [BA] formed a new Intelligence and Security Systems (I&SS) division to provide ground-based and other integrated intelligence and security solutions for U.S. government customers, the company said yesterday.
Retired Navy Rear Adm. Steve Oswald, a former astronaut who has served for six years as a Boeing executive, was named vice president and general manager of the new division.
He will report to Roger Krone, president of the Network and Space Systems unit in Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
Oswald possesses extensive experience in national security and the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) field. I&SS will be based in the Washington, D.C., area, with about 2,000 employees at nine locations nationwide. The I&SS unit will be divided into four program areas: Advanced Information Systems, Mission Systems, Security Solutions (including the SBInet, or Secure Border Initiative, program), and Advanced I&SS.
“The new Intelligence and Security Systems division enables increased focus on the complex challenges faced by our homeland security and intelligence community customers,” Krone said.
Oswald most recently was vice president and program manager of the Boeing space shuttle program, a position he has held since joining Boeing in November 2001.
A veteran of three space shuttle missions, he commanded mission STS-67 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in March 1995, after piloting two missions aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1992 and 1993.
Oswald also served as NASA associate administrator for space operations at the space agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., where his responsibilities included oversight of the space shuttle, Expendable Launch Vehicle and space communications programs.
Oswald’s military service spanned 34 years until his retirement from the Navy Reserve as a rear admiral in October.
His most recent assignments include service as the deputy commander of the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations in 2000-01 and then as the reserve assistant deputy chief of naval operations for communications and networks. Oswald holds a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of the Boeing Space Exploration division and also a former astronaut, will serve as the interim space shuttle program manager and provide leadership to the program throughout the transition period to ensure continued focus on space shuttle mission assurance.