Michael S. Kearns
Encyclopedia
Michael S. Kearns was a 2010 candidate for Colorado's 6th congressional district
, running on a "Grassroots Leadership" platform, which promotes a Direct Democracy
Self-governance
Consortium
for advancing fully transparent Internet
Socio-political consensus decision-making
functionality for participative legislation at the U.S. Congressional District level. For Kearns, an ex-Assistant Professor of Political Science
at Tiffin University
in Ohio, "The U.S. Constitution dictates a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time" [Article I, section 9, clause 7], and I contend the Internet should function to provide a window on the soul of partisan politics, such that James Madison
's call for creativity in the moderation of political faction
(Federalist No. 10
) can finally be realized." Further, Kearns contends, "Full transparency, accountability, and due diligence in politics is Internet-based self-governance at the Federal level. We are at a stage in modeling and simulation technologies wherein our own learned helplessness in American Politics can begin to transform into the post-Industrial era, and away from the mindless self-aggrandize tyranny of tax and spend we find ourselves in today."
Notably, Michael is a calculated risk-taker. He is the first person to have parachute
d over all seven continents. Uniquely, on December 6, 1997, Kearns was the sole survivor of the world's first four-way skydive over the geographic South Pole. His military and parachuting exploits were chronicled in MAXIM Magazine (May 1999), The Washington Post (Style Section, May 1998), Outside Magazine (Dispatches, February 1998), and Business Inc. (May 1998). Kearns also appeared on National Public Radio's Morning Edition by Bob Edwards (January 5, 1998), and various sports-talk programs in the Washington, DC area. The Washington Post calls Kearns, "...the clean-cut Boy Scout
type who does everything by the book," and Business Inc. notes, [Kearns'] "...professional background reads like the protagonists from best-selling authors Robert Ludlum
or Clive Cussler
."
, home of the U.S. Army's super secret "Spook School" at Fort Holabird, in Dundalk (See:"Super Spook Training in Dundalk during the Vietnam War."). He is the Great Great Grandson of Father Moses "Mogue" Kearns, hero of the 1798 Irish Rebellion, and Grandson of Michael Anthony Kearns, participant in the precursors to the 1916 Irish Rebellion, and WWI combat veteran. He is the son of Richard A. Kearns (1926–2003), a master electrician and general contractor (owner of Bayside Electric Company, and Chief Electrician at Fort Howard Veterans Hospital
), as well as WWII, US Navy combat radioman, and Janet E. (née: Horn) Kearns (1925–2004) a public school administrative secretary and librarian. A 1976 graduate of Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, Kearns performed as one of the Patriot
mascots, often commemorating the State of Maryland Defenders Day
, Battle of North Point
(The turning point of the War of 1812, and name of Michael's junior high school). Whilst in the Boy Scouts of America
's Aviation Explorer Program, Michael learned to pilot glider aircraft in the US Army Reserve's Summer Career Interest Program. He made his first parachute jump in 1976 (against the advice of his parents).
in January 1977 as an Intelligence
Specialist and was trained as an Air Intelligence Operations Specialist at Denver, Colorado's Lowry Air Force Base
, where he received advanced training in Evasion and Escape (E&E) operations. He was initially assigned to the 104th Fighter Squadron
, and later cross-trained as a C-7 Caribou Aircraft Loadmaster
with the 135th Airlift Group
supporting the 20th Special Forces Group and test and evaluation elements of the National Security Agency
. Michael Kearns attained the rank of Sergeant
in 1980. Upon being commissioned in 1982 as a second lieutenant, Michael was assigned to Air Force
Headquarters and served as an Air Staff Map
ping, Charting, and Geodesy
, Targeting (warfare)
Intelligence Officer
where he was responsible for the review and certification of US operational war plans. In 1985 he was selected to be the Aide-de-Camp
to the Director of the Defense Mapping Agency (now the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency). He then completed a brief Joint Chiefs of Staff
assignment in the Joint Special Operations
Agency at The Pentagon
, and was subsequently assigned to the Joint Services SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) Agency (JSSA)[] at Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Washington
where he served as the "Special Survival Training Program" Operations Officer and Master Instructor. During this assignment Michael worked alongside Major (Doctor) John Bruce Jessen (Psychologist) one of the two key architects of the Bush Administration's Torture Program Torture Accountability - Bruce Jessen. His last US military posting was in Washington, DC, where he served on the Headquarter staff of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) providing technical support to operational US forces in the Gulf War Operation Desert Shield. His last assignment in DMA was as Liaison Officer to the Intelligence Community
(IC) Staff where he conducted the Geoscience Intelligence Systems and Requirements Study as part of the design for the IC's Future Imaging Architecture. He was retired from the US Air Force in July 1990 on a service-connected injury.
as Chief of the Defense Mapping Agency School's Department of Geophysics
, International Training Division, where he facilitated the migration the DoD's Inter-American Geodetic Survey's Cartographic / Photogrammetric program from Panama
, Central America, to Fort Belvoir
, Virginia
. He also aided expansion of the Defense Department's Geo-sciences International Military Education and Training
Program into Former Soviet Union, Eastern Block Nations, helping create mini ex-Soviet centers of excellence in the mapping sciences.
In 1994 Kearns moved to Coronado, California
and later was employed as the inaugural US Naval Special Warfare Command's Force Historian within the Office of Special Operations Plans. In this position, it is notable, he was supervised by Navy SEAL Captain Everett Greene.
. As a young man, whether selling greeting cards, seeds, or convincing local businesses to promote his Aviation Explorer Boy Scout Post, Michael had a hankering in sales, business development, and marketing. Eventually, in 1997, after establishing the US Naval Special Warfare Command's (Navy SEALs) Office of History within the Special Operations Plans Directorate (NSWC-N5), Michael's life-long experience in business went to good effect, when he joined the $4Billion computer visualization giant, Silicon Graphics, Inc. Kearns was the Senior Marketing and Business Development Manager in Federal Business Development, and was responsible for placing teaming arrangements together for top corporate organisations and SGI.
In 1997 Kearns left public service to work in Silicon Valley
for Silicon Graphics, Inc. as a Senior Marketing Manager in the Modeling and Simulation
and Geospatial
Imaging
(MS&I) areas. Kearns was responsible for not only world-wide marketing and business development in advanced MS&I with major corporations like Space Imaging (the first commercial high-resolution satellite company which Michael helped negotiate place SGI's logo on the launcher—to the 1997 Mars Pathfinder project, where Michael gave briefings on the technological solution JPL employed for the Rover lander). After the dot.com bust of 1999, Michael was part of the initial group of ten employees who started-up a high-tech Silicon Valley corporation, Terrain Experts, Inc. (DBA: TERREX
) with a seed money from Electronic Arts (EA). TERREX was sold in May 2005 to Canadian Simulation giant, CAE Inc. ($1.4B). It's TerraVista software became the core visualization engine for the US Special Operations Command's SOFViz 2/3D Mission Planning software.
Thereafter, Kearns was able to effectively apply his talents as the CEO of his own high-tech consulting company start-up based in McLean, Virginia, Meta-Matics, Inc., working primarily in the Middle East, and within Australia-Asia.
technology, and served as Director of the Air Force's Simulation Agency. After the hideous events of 9/11, Kearns became the deputy director of operations for Australia's Defense Department security transformation, working directly with Australian MI-5 and Federal Police. In 2002, he was promoted into public service as an executive level Defense Strategist, where he was responsible for the initiation of a the concept development and experimentation
/analysis framework, streamlining defense war planning and execution, and contributing directly to the security requirements in the global war on terrorism.
Kearns briefly left active defense service to take an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor of Political Science
at Tiffin University
in Ohio; and in 2004 Kearns re-entered defense service to participate in a Chief of Defence
directed project to articulate and implement a technical solution to operational planning within command and control computer systems at the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (Australia)
. Wing Commander Kearns' most recent posting was as Deputy Director of the Deputy Chief of Air Force's initiative to reform the processes and procedures for professional military education and training
. In this role Kearns was the RAAF's liaison / technologist to Google, Inc. and was a graduate of Google's first Enterprise Professional certification training program in April 2008.
Leadership Academy, the USAF Squadron Officer School
and the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal
, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal (for an act of bravery), the Air Force Combat Readiness Medal
, the Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal
, and the Australian Defence Medal
. Unit awards include the Joint Meritorious Unit Award
(with one oak leaf cluster), the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, and he wore the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge. In 1978, whilst in Air Force ROTC, Cadet Master Sergeant Kearns was awarded the Daughters of Founders and Patriots ROTC Medal, and the American Society of Military Engineers Award. Captain Kearns' official Department of Defense form DD 214 lists the following foreign service awards: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel, China, Hungary, and German Democratic Republic Airborne parachutist wings, China Special Warfare Badge, Republic of China General Staff Badge, Parachutist Badge
, Enlisted Aircrew Badge, Information Management Badge. The DD 214 also lists the following official training courses: Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Officer course (12 weeks, 1983), and Staff Course (2 weeks, 1991), Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course (18 days, 1989), Dynamics of International Terrorism Course (5 days, 1988), DoD High Risk Training Course (5 days, 1987), Hostage Survivor Course (5 days, 1987), Special Survival Training Course (5 days, 1987), Combat Survival Training Course (17 days, 1987), Intelligence Applications Officer Course (680 Hours, 1997), Fundamentals of Intelligence Course (304 hours, 1987), Battle Staff Course (3 weeks, 1984), Modular Architecture for the Exchange of Intelligence Analyst course (40 hours, 1984), Strategic Intelligence Course (5 days, 1984),
, Michael Kearns accepted an AFROTC scholarship
to the University of Maryland, College Park
in August 1980, and he was graduated in 1982 with a BSc
degree in Cartography
and Remote Sensing
. Kearns also earned an Associate of Applied Science degree from the Community College of the Air Force
in Intelligence
and Imagery Analysis
in March 1982.
At the University of Maryland, Michael was inducted into the Gamma Theta Upsilon
honorary Geographical society
, and the Sigma Chi
Social Fraternity. Notably, Michael earned his own living expenses working for Pinkerton's as a private investigator
in an undercover position, and volunteered as a firefighter
at the Mount Rainier, Maryland
, Fire Department
, where he lived in-house.
After being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force as a Mapping
, Charting, and Geodesy
officer, Kearns attended the Defense Intelligence Agency College and Georgetown University
National Security
Studies Program during the period 1982-84. In 1987 Captain Kearns was the class leader for the first class to graduate the Air Force Intelligence Officer training program at Goodfellow Air Force Base, graduating with an 90.4% average. He also was a 1991 graduate of the Gonzaga University
Master of Arts
in Organizational Leadership program, where he specialized in Cognitive Psychotherapy in Resistance to Interrogation Training, as well as Spatial Cognition and map-reading skill. The Gonzaga University Organizational Leadership Program is recognized as one of the first leadership graduate schools in the United States, and employed the Harvard University Case Study Methodology to James MacGregor Burns
' theories of transforming and transactional leadership.
Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the southern part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Littleton, Centennial and portions of Aurora.The district...
, running on a "Grassroots Leadership" platform, which promotes a Direct Democracy
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
Self-governance
Self-governance
Self-governance is an abstract concept that refers to several scales of organization.It may refer to personal conduct or family units but more commonly refers to larger scale activities, i.e., professions, industry bodies, religions and political units , up to and including autonomous regions and...
Consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
for advancing fully transparent Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
Socio-political consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
functionality for participative legislation at the U.S. Congressional District level. For Kearns, an ex-Assistant Professor of Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Tiffin University
Tiffin University
Tiffin University is a university in Tiffin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1888, Tiffin University enrolls over 4,900 students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered at the Tiffin campus in Tiffin, Ohio, at the University of Bucharest in Romania, and at several locations in Ohio,...
in Ohio, "The U.S. Constitution dictates a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time" [Article I, section 9, clause 7], and I contend the Internet should function to provide a window on the soul of partisan politics, such that James Madison
James Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
's call for creativity in the moderation of political faction
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
(Federalist No. 10
Federalist No. 10
Federalist No. 10 is an essay written by James Madison and the tenth of the Federalist Papers, a series arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. It was published on Friday, November 22, 1787, under the pseudonym Publius, the name under which all the Federalist Papers were...
) can finally be realized." Further, Kearns contends, "Full transparency, accountability, and due diligence in politics is Internet-based self-governance at the Federal level. We are at a stage in modeling and simulation technologies wherein our own learned helplessness in American Politics can begin to transform into the post-Industrial era, and away from the mindless self-aggrandize tyranny of tax and spend we find ourselves in today."
Notably, Michael is a calculated risk-taker. He is the first person to have parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
d over all seven continents. Uniquely, on December 6, 1997, Kearns was the sole survivor of the world's first four-way skydive over the geographic South Pole. His military and parachuting exploits were chronicled in MAXIM Magazine (May 1999), The Washington Post (Style Section, May 1998), Outside Magazine (Dispatches, February 1998), and Business Inc. (May 1998). Kearns also appeared on National Public Radio's Morning Edition by Bob Edwards (January 5, 1998), and various sports-talk programs in the Washington, DC area. The Washington Post calls Kearns, "...the clean-cut Boy Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
type who does everything by the book," and Business Inc. notes, [Kearns'] "...professional background reads like the protagonists from best-selling authors Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum
Robert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...
or Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
."
Early biography
Michael Shawn Kearns was born and raised in Dundalk, MarylandDundalk, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,689.5 people per square mile . There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 1,985.9 per square mile...
, home of the U.S. Army's super secret "Spook School" at Fort Holabird, in Dundalk (See:"Super Spook Training in Dundalk during the Vietnam War."). He is the Great Great Grandson of Father Moses "Mogue" Kearns, hero of the 1798 Irish Rebellion, and Grandson of Michael Anthony Kearns, participant in the precursors to the 1916 Irish Rebellion, and WWI combat veteran. He is the son of Richard A. Kearns (1926–2003), a master electrician and general contractor (owner of Bayside Electric Company, and Chief Electrician at Fort Howard Veterans Hospital
Fort Howard Veterans Hospital
Fort Howard Veterans Hospital was a hospital in Fort Howard, Maryland, located at the end of North Point Road.-Public transportation:During most of Ft. Howard's days of operation, it was served by public transportation, including streetcars and buses on various lines .In 1993, MTA eliminated all...
), as well as WWII, US Navy combat radioman, and Janet E. (née: Horn) Kearns (1925–2004) a public school administrative secretary and librarian. A 1976 graduate of Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, Kearns performed as one of the Patriot
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
mascots, often commemorating the State of Maryland Defenders Day
Defenders Day
Defenders Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Maryland It commemorates the successful defense of the city of Baltimore on September 12, 1814 from an invading British force during the War of 1812, an event which would lead to the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the national anthem...
, Battle of North Point
Battle of North Point
The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although tactically a British victory, the battle delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying valuable time for the defense of...
(The turning point of the War of 1812, and name of Michael's junior high school). Whilst in the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
's Aviation Explorer Program, Michael learned to pilot glider aircraft in the US Army Reserve's Summer Career Interest Program. He made his first parachute jump in 1976 (against the advice of his parents).
Early Military career
Michael Shawn Kearns enlisted in the Maryland Air National GuardMaryland Air National Guard
The Maryland Air National Guard is the air force component of the militia of the U.S. state of Maryland. As a dual-status organization, it is also considered a reserve component of the United States Air Force.-Mission:...
in January 1977 as an Intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
Specialist and was trained as an Air Intelligence Operations Specialist at Denver, Colorado's Lowry Air Force Base
Lowry Air Force Base
Lowry Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base located in the cities of Aurora and Denver, Colorado. Its primary mission throughout its existence was Air Force technical training and was heavily involved with the training of United States Army Air Forces bomber crews during World...
, where he received advanced training in Evasion and Escape (E&E) operations. He was initially assigned to the 104th Fighter Squadron
104th Fighter Squadron
The 104th Fighter Squadron is an attack squadron equipped with the A-10 Thunderbolt II. It is a unit of the Maryland Air National Guard. Its parent unit is the 175th Wing.-Mission:...
, and later cross-trained as a C-7 Caribou Aircraft Loadmaster
Loadmaster
A Loadmaster is an aircrew member on military transport aircraft. Loadmasters serve in the Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Navy of many nations...
with the 135th Airlift Group
135th Airlift Group
The United States Air Force's 135th Airlift Group is an airlift unit located at Warfield Air National Guard Base on the north side of the Martin State Airport in Middle River, Maryland.-Mission:...
supporting the 20th Special Forces Group and test and evaluation elements of the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
. Michael Kearns attained the rank of Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in 1980. Upon being commissioned in 1982 as a second lieutenant, Michael was assigned to Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Headquarters and served as an Air Staff Map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
ping, Charting, and Geodesy
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
, Targeting (warfare)
Targeting (warfare)
Targeting is the process used to select objects or installations to be attacked, taken, or destroyed in warfare.Technologically advanced countries can generally select their targets in such a way as to minimize collateral damage and civilian casualties. This can fall by the wayside, however, during...
Intelligence Officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
where he was responsible for the review and certification of US operational war plans. In 1985 he was selected to be the Aide-de-Camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Director of the Defense Mapping Agency (now the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency). He then completed a brief 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...
assignment in the Joint Special Operations
Special operations
Special operations are military operations that are considered "special" .Special operations are typically performed independently or in conjunction with conventional military operations. The primary goal is to achieve a political or military objective where a conventional force requirement does...
Agency at The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, and was subsequently assigned to the Joint Services SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) Agency (JSSA)[] at Fairchild AFB, Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
where he served as the "Special Survival Training Program" Operations Officer and Master Instructor. During this assignment Michael worked alongside Major (Doctor) John Bruce Jessen (Psychologist) one of the two key architects of the Bush Administration's Torture Program Torture Accountability - Bruce Jessen. His last US military posting was in Washington, DC, where he served on the Headquarter staff of the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) providing technical support to operational US forces in the Gulf War Operation Desert Shield. His last assignment in DMA was as Liaison Officer to the Intelligence Community
Intelligence community
Intelligence community may refer to* Bangladeshi intelligence community* Croatian intelligence community * Israeli intelligence community* Italian intelligence community, see SISMI...
(IC) Staff where he conducted the Geoscience Intelligence Systems and Requirements Study as part of the design for the IC's Future Imaging Architecture. He was retired from the US Air Force in July 1990 on a service-connected injury.
Early Public Service career
Subsequent to his military career, Kearns joined the US Civil ServiceCivil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
as Chief of the Defense Mapping Agency School's Department of Geophysics
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
, International Training Division, where he facilitated the migration the DoD's Inter-American Geodetic Survey's Cartographic / Photogrammetric program from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Central America, to Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir
Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. He also aided expansion of the Defense Department's Geo-sciences International Military Education and Training
International Military Education and Training
International Military Education and Training is the title of a United States security assistance program, a type of student exchange program. The policies underlying this program are directed by the United States Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and the constituent...
Program into Former Soviet Union, Eastern Block Nations, helping create mini ex-Soviet centers of excellence in the mapping sciences.
In 1994 Kearns moved to Coronado, California
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
and later was employed as the inaugural US Naval Special Warfare Command's Force Historian within the Office of Special Operations Plans. In this position, it is notable, he was supervised by Navy SEAL Captain Everett Greene.
Corporate career
From the time he was old enough to pull wires, Michael Kearns worked as an apprentice electrician in his father's sole proprietorship, Bayside Electric in Dundalk, MarylandDundalk, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,689.5 people per square mile . There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 1,985.9 per square mile...
. As a young man, whether selling greeting cards, seeds, or convincing local businesses to promote his Aviation Explorer Boy Scout Post, Michael had a hankering in sales, business development, and marketing. Eventually, in 1997, after establishing the US Naval Special Warfare Command's (Navy SEALs) Office of History within the Special Operations Plans Directorate (NSWC-N5), Michael's life-long experience in business went to good effect, when he joined the $4Billion computer visualization giant, Silicon Graphics, Inc. Kearns was the Senior Marketing and Business Development Manager in Federal Business Development, and was responsible for placing teaming arrangements together for top corporate organisations and SGI.
In 1997 Kearns left public service to work in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
for Silicon Graphics, Inc. as a Senior Marketing Manager in the Modeling and Simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
and Geospatial
Geospatial
Geospatial analysis is an approach to applying statistical analysis and other informational techniques to geographically based data. Such analysis employs spatial software and analytical methods with terrestrial or geographic datasets, including geographic information systems and...
Imaging
Geophysical imaging
Geophysical imaging is geophysical technique that investigates the subsurface. There are many different kinds of imaging techniques, all which are based on applied physics.Types of geophysical imaging include:...
(MS&I) areas. Kearns was responsible for not only world-wide marketing and business development in advanced MS&I with major corporations like Space Imaging (the first commercial high-resolution satellite company which Michael helped negotiate place SGI's logo on the launcher—to the 1997 Mars Pathfinder project, where Michael gave briefings on the technological solution JPL employed for the Rover lander). After the dot.com bust of 1999, Michael was part of the initial group of ten employees who started-up a high-tech Silicon Valley corporation, Terrain Experts, Inc. (DBA: TERREX
TERREX
Terrain Experts, Inc. is now .TERREX was a developer of software tools for 3-D terrain database generation and visualization. The Terra Vista terrain generation product line is used extensively for real-time 3-D image generation, battlefield visualization, mission rehearsal and planning, gaming,...
) with a seed money from Electronic Arts (EA). TERREX was sold in May 2005 to Canadian Simulation giant, CAE Inc. ($1.4B). It's TerraVista software became the core visualization engine for the US Special Operations Command's SOFViz 2/3D Mission Planning software.
Thereafter, Kearns was able to effectively apply his talents as the CEO of his own high-tech consulting company start-up based in McLean, Virginia, Meta-Matics, Inc., working primarily in the Middle East, and within Australia-Asia.
Australian Military career
After a successful employment in the fields of high-technology business development and marketing, Kearns was recruited for, and accepted a reserve military appointment in the Australian Air Force in February 2001. He helped initiate Defense Policy in modeling and simulationModeling and simulation
Modeling and simulation is the use of models, including emulators, prototypes, simulators, and stimulators, either statically or over time, to develop data as a basis for making managerial or technical decisions. The terms "modeling" and "simulation" are often used interchangeably.The use of...
technology, and served as Director of the Air Force's Simulation Agency. After the hideous events of 9/11, Kearns became the deputy director of operations for Australia's Defense Department security transformation, working directly with Australian MI-5 and Federal Police. In 2002, he was promoted into public service as an executive level Defense Strategist, where he was responsible for the initiation of a the concept development and experimentation
Concept Development and Experimentation
Concept Development & Experimentation is the application of the structure and methods of experimental science to the challenge of developing future military capability....
/analysis framework, streamlining defense war planning and execution, and contributing directly to the security requirements in the global war on terrorism.
Kearns briefly left active defense service to take an academic appointment as an Assistant Professor of Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Tiffin University
Tiffin University
Tiffin University is a university in Tiffin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1888, Tiffin University enrolls over 4,900 students in undergraduate and graduate degree programs offered at the Tiffin campus in Tiffin, Ohio, at the University of Bucharest in Romania, and at several locations in Ohio,...
in Ohio; and in 2004 Kearns re-entered defense service to participate in a Chief of Defence
Chief of Defence
The Chief of Defence is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The term CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position within the NATO and EU member states, rather than the actual term used for...
directed project to articulate and implement a technical solution to operational planning within command and control computer systems at the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (Australia)
Headquarters Joint Operations Command (Australia)
The Australian Headquarters Joint Operations Command is the Australian Defence Force's operational level headquarters responsible for the command and control of ADF operations worldwide...
. Wing Commander Kearns' most recent posting was as Deputy Director of the Deputy Chief of Air Force's initiative to reform the processes and procedures for professional military education and training
Military education and training
Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles....
. In this role Kearns was the RAAF's liaison / technologist to Google, Inc. and was a graduate of Google's first Enterprise Professional certification training program in April 2008.
Education and Awards
Kearns is a graduate of the US Air Force's (USAF) NCONon-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
Leadership Academy, the USAF Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School , is a five-week long Professional Military Education course for U.S. Air Force Captains. It fulfills the U.S. Air Force's requirement for primary developmental education . SOS is based at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and the in-residence version of the course is taught there...
and the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
The Defense Meritorious Service Medal is the third-highest award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense...
, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal (for an act of bravery), the Air Force Combat Readiness Medal
Combat Readiness Medal
The Combat Readiness Medal is an award of the United States Air Force which was first created in 1964. The original Combat Readiness Medal was an award senior to the Air Force Commendation Medal and was awarded for superior and meritorious duty to the United States Air Force...
, the Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
, and the Australian Defence Medal
Australian Defence Medal
The Australian Defence Medal is an Australian military decoration which recognises current and former Australian Defence Force personnel who completed an initial enlistment period, or four years service...
. Unit awards include the Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...
(with one oak leaf cluster), the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, and the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, and he wore the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge. In 1978, whilst in Air Force ROTC, Cadet Master Sergeant Kearns was awarded the Daughters of Founders and Patriots ROTC Medal, and the American Society of Military Engineers Award. Captain Kearns' official Department of Defense form DD 214 lists the following foreign service awards: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel, China, Hungary, and German Democratic Republic Airborne parachutist wings, China Special Warfare Badge, Republic of China General Staff Badge, Parachutist Badge
Parachutist Badge
The Parachutist Badge or Parachutist Brevet is a military badge awarded by the Armed Forces of most countries in the world to soldiers who receive the proper parachute training and accomplish the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was the first to introduce such award...
, Enlisted Aircrew Badge, Information Management Badge. The DD 214 also lists the following official training courses: Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Officer course (12 weeks, 1983), and Staff Course (2 weeks, 1991), Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course (18 days, 1989), Dynamics of International Terrorism Course (5 days, 1988), DoD High Risk Training Course (5 days, 1987), Hostage Survivor Course (5 days, 1987), Special Survival Training Course (5 days, 1987), Combat Survival Training Course (17 days, 1987), Intelligence Applications Officer Course (680 Hours, 1997), Fundamentals of Intelligence Course (304 hours, 1987), Battle Staff Course (3 weeks, 1984), Modular Architecture for the Exchange of Intelligence Analyst course (40 hours, 1984), Strategic Intelligence Course (5 days, 1984),
Post-secondary education and academics
While he was SergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, Michael Kearns accepted an AFROTC scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in August 1980, and he was graduated in 1982 with a BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
degree in Cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
and Remote Sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
. Kearns also earned an Associate of Applied Science degree from the Community College of the Air Force
Community College of the Air Force
The Community College of the Air Force is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force which grants two year Associate of Applied Science degrees in association with Air University....
in Intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
and Imagery Analysis
Imagery analysis
Imagery analysis is the extraction of useful information from bi-dimensional graphic formats, including screen shots. This includes color and black-and-white photographs, infra-red photographs and video, radar screens and synthetic aperture radar formats, ultrasound, EKG, EEG, MRI, echo...
in March 1982.
At the University of Maryland, Michael was inducted into the Gamma Theta Upsilon
Gamma Theta Upsilon
Gamma Theta Upsilon is an international honor society in geography.-History:On May 15, 1928, a local professional fraternity by the name of Gamma Theta Upsilon was formed at Illinois State University under the guidance of Dr. R. G. Buzzard. Before that is was the Geography Club at Illinois State...
honorary Geographical society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
, and the Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Social Fraternity. Notably, Michael earned his own living expenses working for Pinkerton's as a private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
in an undercover position, and volunteered as a firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
at the Mount Rainier, Maryland
Mount Rainier, Maryland
Mount Rainier is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 8,498 at the 2000 census. Bordering Washington, DC, Mount Rainier got its start as a streetcar suburb. According to local tradition, surveyors from the Pacific Northwest named the town, giving the...
, Fire Department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
, where he lived in-house.
After being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force as a Mapping
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
, Charting, and Geodesy
Geodesy
Geodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
officer, Kearns attended the Defense Intelligence Agency College and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
National Security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
Studies Program during the period 1982-84. In 1987 Captain Kearns was the class leader for the first class to graduate the Air Force Intelligence Officer training program at Goodfellow Air Force Base, graduating with an 90.4% average. He also was a 1991 graduate of the Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Organizational Leadership program, where he specialized in Cognitive Psychotherapy in Resistance to Interrogation Training, as well as Spatial Cognition and map-reading skill. The Gonzaga University Organizational Leadership Program is recognized as one of the first leadership graduate schools in the United States, and employed the Harvard University Case Study Methodology to James MacGregor Burns
James MacGregor Burns
James MacGregor Burns is an historian and political scientist, presidential biographer, and authority on leadership studies. He is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the of the School of Public Policy at the University...
' theories of transforming and transactional leadership.