GPS World, September 2010

Space Warfighter DEFENSE commercial receiver developers potential fee for service type model Don I highly recommend we continue to develop the four efforts I just mentioned but also dedicate significant time to critical thinking events to ensure we have minimized the risk of a widespread receiver issue delays in delivering modernized capabilities or sub optimized weapon system performance Manufacturers of equipment adversely affected by recent GPS upgrades have significantly stepped up their interactions with the GPS program office to resolve the compatibility issue and are playing a major role in providing an upgrade to their affected receivers to correct the issue To date no operational weapon systems have had to be grounded or civil capability degraded I encourage the GPS community to treat recent events as a call to arms GPS has become a critical national and international utility but it is much more complex than the electric or telephone services How military or civil GPS receivers are designed developed and integrated into systems has a significant impact on the overall performance or lack of performance of the system Dont let recent events be a lesson not learned lets lead and solve the risk before it becomes an issue DJ What advice would you give Colonel Bernie Gruber as he assumes command of the GPS Wing DM First and foremost listen to your people we have a great team They are skilled professionals who really care about GPS Second keep the MGUE program focused and moving forward DJ When will the GPS Wing transition back to a joint program office and what affect will this have on the military personnel working on GPS Will this re designation be detrimental to their careers and future plans for the JPO Will it lessen the Wings influence in the GPS community and with other services DM Don we are scheduled to complete the transition and stand up as the GPS Directorate on October 1 2010 The center is having one inactivation ceremony for all the Wings in SMC on September 8 The transition will be seamless and have a minimal effect on our military personnel Our senior leadership is working on ensuring our materiel leader positions have group or squadron commander equivalency and will also be commandscreened and boarded There will not be very much difference within the Wing on a day to day basis For the most part the work responsibility and accountability will remain intact The re designation will have very little detriment upon the careers of the officers within the Wing The officers records will show a transition and re designation to explain the change and that it is no cause of their own As far as future plans for the organization the strength of the leadership here in the Wing will still be in place and will be just as effective as it is now to lead each individual in our organization and to move forward and progress in GPS capabilities into the next era Other services will still look to us to continue to forge advancements in GPS satellites so that our influence in the worlds GPS community will remain the standard stronger than ever Our organization will continue to acquire and sustain global navigation positioning and timing services for our warfighters and civil users Well still be the Green Monsters everyone knows and loves DJ What message would you like to leave with our readers as you move on from GPS to the MILSATCOM community DM GPS is in great hands I look forward to the challenges ahead DJ Any final comments Dave DM It has truly been a pleasure leading the GPS team my best job in 30 years of service And you Don have also been a welcome friend GPS improves the quality of life for everyone on the planet It saves lives both on the battlefield and in our cities and towns across the globe The U S Air Force and Air Force Space Command have been the diligent stewards of GPS since program inception in the 1970s and continue its commitment to this critical component of our national infrastructure The current GPS constellation has the most satellites and the greatest capability ever We are committed to maintaining our current level of service as well as ÅSHADOWBOX presented to Col Madden on his retirement The quote reads in part The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errs and comes up short again and again because there is no effort without error or shortcoming but who knows the great enthusiasms the great devotions who spends himself for a worthy cause who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat Theodore Roosevelt 1910 striving to improve service and capability through ongoing modernization efforts The Air Force will continue to pursue an achievable path maintaining GPS as the premier provider of positioning navigation and timing for military and civilian users around the world DJ Dave everyone at GPS World wishes you the best of luck in your future endeavors and thank you for your honesty and candid responses to our inquiries through the years You were the leader the GPS Wing needed for the last three plus years and you have left a legacy of which you can be justly proud In my opinion if the GPS Wing Directorate or JPO thinks they have seen the last of Dave Madden they should think again Best of luck in MILSATCOM DAVE MADDEN retired as a colonel after almost 30 years in the U S Air Force Two weeks later he came back as a government civilian SES 1 Senior Executive Service brigadier general equivalent running MILSATCOM at SMC just as he did the GPS Wing but as a civilian www gpsworld com September 2010 GPS World 49