John W. Douglass
Encyclopedia
John W. Douglass is a retired Brigadier General
in the United States Air Force. He served as United States
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
from 1995 to 1998. He is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Frank Wolf in Virginia's 10th District.
.
Douglass earned an associate of arts degree in 1961 and a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1963, both from the University of Florida
. He earned a master of science degree in industrial engineering
from Texas Tech University
in 1967 and a master of science degree in management science from Fairleigh Dickinson University
in 1972. Douglass has done postgraduate work at the Cornell University
Center for International Studies, where he was an Air Force research fellow with the peace studies program.
and was posted to Norton Air Force Base
, where he worked as a production officer for the LGM-25C Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile
.
He was then posted to Mactan Air Base
in the Philippines
as base procurement officer. In 1968, he was posted to the F. E. Warren Air Force Base. The next year, he was appointed deputy chief of the Defense Contract Administration Office for Curtiss-Wright
, where he worked with the Navy
nuclear propulsion
program and various Air Force jet engine
overhaul programs. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University
in this period, receiving an M.S. in Management Science in 1972. In 1973, he became a procurement
office at the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base
.
In 1975, he joined the staff of Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
David Charles Jones
as a procurement office, and later served in a procurement capacity in the Program Management Assistance Group at Air Force Systems Command
at Andrews Air Force Base
. In 1977, he was named deputy program manager for business and acquisition of the Joint Cruise Missile Project in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.
Douglass spent 1980-81 doing postgraduate work at Cornell University
.
He was named special assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in Washington, D. C. in 1981. He joined the United States National Security Council
in 1984 as director of defense programs. There, he was responsible for the president's strategic modernization program, Department of Defense
research and development
issues, weapon system
acquisition issues, and management and execution of certain high technology programs. In March 1988, he became director of program planning and integration, and acting director of science and technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.
In August 1989, he became deputy U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels
, Belgium
. In this capacity, Douglass was the highest ranking U.S. military official at NATO and was directly responsible to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
.
Douglass retired from the United States Air Force in 1992, having attained the rank of Brigadier General
.
and served as lead minority staff member for the Senate Armed Services Committee defense conversion and technology reinvestment programs.
Douglass served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
from November 1995 to August 1998.
From 1998 to 2007, Douglass served as president and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association, which represents the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft; helicopters; UAVs; space systems; aircraft engines, materiel, and related components; equipment services; and information technology.
In 2007, Douglass became President and CEO of The Douglass Aerospace Group. During the 2008 Presidential election campaign, Douglass was a member of President Obama’s Aerospace and Defense Industry advisors group and campaigned on behalf of the President.
Douglass has lectured in the United States and Europe on aerospace and national security issues and has taught at the Florida Institute of Technology
, Cornell University
, and the National Defense University
. He served on the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, which issued its final report in November 2002.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the United States Air Force. He served as United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy...
from 1995 to 1998. He is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Frank Wolf in Virginia's 10th District.
Early life and education
John W. Douglass was born on May 2, 1941 in Miami, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Douglass earned an associate of arts degree in 1961 and a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1963, both from the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
. He earned a master of science degree in industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in 1967 and a master of science degree in management science from Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
in 1972. Douglass has done postgraduate work at the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Center for International Studies, where he was an Air Force research fellow with the peace studies program.
Military career
During his time at the University of Florida, he joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, and upon graduating, he joined the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and was posted to Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base
Norton Air Force Base is a former front-line United States Air Force facility located east of downtown San Bernardino, California in San Bernardino County.-Overview:...
, where he worked as a production officer for the LGM-25C Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile
Intercontinental ballistic missile
An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...
.
He was then posted to Mactan Air Base
Mactan Air Base
Mactan Air Base was a facility of the United States Air Force located on Mactan Island in Cebu, Philippines.-Location:Mactan Air Base is located on Mactan Island, off Cebu City in the province Cebu in the south central Philippines...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as base procurement officer. In 1968, he was posted to the F. E. Warren Air Force Base. The next year, he was appointed deputy chief of the Defense Contract Administration Office for Curtiss-Wright
Curtiss-Wright
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States at the end of World War II, but has evolved to largely become a component manufacturer, specializing in actuators, aircraft controls, valves, and metalworking....
, where he worked with the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
nuclear propulsion
Nuclear propulsion
Nuclear propulsion includes a wide variety of propulsion methods that fulfil the promise of the Atomic Age by using some form of nuclear reaction as their primary power source.- Surface ships and submarines :...
program and various Air Force jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
overhaul programs. He attended Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
in this period, receiving an M.S. in Management Science in 1972. In 1973, he became a procurement
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
office at the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base
Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It was named in honor of Major General Mason Patrick. An Air Force Space Command base, it is home to the 45th Space Wing...
.
In 1975, he joined the staff of Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...
David Charles Jones
David Charles Jones
David Charles Jones is a retired U.S. Air Force general and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Jones was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota and raised in Minot, North Dakota, where he graduated from Minot High School....
as a procurement office, and later served in a procurement capacity in the Program Management Assistance Group at Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command
Air Force Systems Command is a former United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland...
at Andrews Air Force Base
Andrews Air Force Base
Joint Base Andrews is a United States military facility located in Prince George's County, Maryland. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 11th Wing, Air Force District of Washington ....
. In 1977, he was named deputy program manager for business and acquisition of the Joint Cruise Missile Project in Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.
Douglass spent 1980-81 doing postgraduate work at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
He was named special assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in Washington, D. C. in 1981. He joined the United States National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
in 1984 as director of defense programs. There, he was responsible for the president's strategic modernization program, Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
issues, weapon system
Weapon system
Weapon System is a United States military term that designated, along with a weapon system number , military experimental systems prior to official naming Weapon System is a United States military term that designated, along with a weapon system number (e.g., WS-110), military experimental (MX)...
acquisition issues, and management and execution of certain high technology programs. In March 1988, he became director of program planning and integration, and acting director of science and technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition.
In August 1989, he became deputy U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. In this capacity, Douglass was the highest ranking U.S. military official at NATO and was directly responsible to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
.
Douglass retired from the United States Air Force in 1992, having attained the rank of Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
.
Post-military career
Following his retirement from the Air Force, Douglass served as a foreign policy and science and technology advisor to Senator Sam NunnSam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...
and served as lead minority staff member for the Senate Armed Services Committee defense conversion and technology reinvestment programs.
Douglass served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions)
The Assistant Secretary of the Navy is a civilian office of the United States Department of the Navy...
from November 1995 to August 1998.
From 1998 to 2007, Douglass served as president and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association, which represents the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft; helicopters; UAVs; space systems; aircraft engines, materiel, and related components; equipment services; and information technology.
In 2007, Douglass became President and CEO of The Douglass Aerospace Group. During the 2008 Presidential election campaign, Douglass was a member of President Obama’s Aerospace and Defense Industry advisors group and campaigned on behalf of the President.
Douglass has lectured in the United States and Europe on aerospace and national security issues and has taught at the Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Institute of Technology
Florida Institute of Technology, also known as Florida Tech, is an independent private technical research university located in Melbourne, Florida, United States. Founded in 1958 as Brevard Engineering College, the institute has been known by its present name since 1966. Florida Tech's curriculum...
, Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, and the National Defense University
National Defense University
The National Defense University is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level training, education, and the development of national security strategy. It is chartered by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with Navy Vice Admiral...
. He served on the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry, which issued its final report in November 2002.