Commander, NSWC - Rear Admiral Jim Shannon

Rear Admiral Jim Shannon, a native of San Francisco's Noe Valley District, attended St. Phillip's Grammar School, completed studies at St. Ignatius College Preparatory, and graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1981.

RDML Shannon's operational experience spans across the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th Fleets and seven afloat commands with his early assignments primarily in engineering billets including two chief engineer tours (USS Pegasus and USS O'Brien). He was also the Material and Engineering Readiness Officer on the staff of COMDESRON 31. He served as Executive Officer onboard the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and commanded the guided missile frigate USS Estocin. He deployed with Estocin to South America in support of Operation UNITAS (XLII). He also commanded the guided missile frigate USS Samuel Eliot M orison (FFG-13) for a brief period and coordinated the transfer of that ship to the Turkish Navy.

RDML Shannon is a member of the Acquisition Corps. He served as the Director of Development, Test, and Acceptance of the Evolved SEASPARROW Missile (ESSM) and later became the Project Manager for the NIFC-CA Project (Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air). He helped lead the ESSM project through its final developmental tests, operation evaluation, and the Full Rate Production Decision. As a Major Program Manager, he commanded the Future Combat Systems Open Architecture program (PEO IWS 7.0).

RDML Shannon has significant experience ashore on the following staffs: Surface Warfare Officer's School as a tactics instructor; The Joint Staff as a communication systems analyst in support of the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC); and the Navy Secretariat as the Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary (Research, Development, and Acquisition).

Education beyond the Naval Academy includes a Master of Science degree from the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, California, and a Master of Arts degree from the College of Naval Warfare, Newport, Rhode Island. RDML Shannon is also a National Security Management Fellow of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. He is Level III certified in Program Management from the Defense Acquisition University, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

RDML Shannon is assigned additional duties as the Chief Technology Officer for the Surface Warfare Enterprise.

RDML Shannon's Biography

Technical Director, NSWC - Stephen Mitchell

Stephen E Mitchell was appointed as the Technical Director (TD) of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in March 2007. He manages and directs eight NSWC Divisions across the United States, with approximately 14,000 employees.

He is responsible for ensuring that the Fleet, the Joint Forces, U.S. Allies, Program Managers and other customers receive systems engineered technical products supporting acquisition programs, as well as in-service and deployed systems. As TD, he oversees the safety and effectiveness of surface ship weapons, combat systems, ship and ship systems, and products that support the Global War on Terrorism.

Prior to this assignment, Mr. Mitchell served as the Product Area Director for Ordnance. In that position, he was responsible for Energetics and Ordnance programs and infrastructure for NAVSEA's Warfare Centers. Prior to that position he served as Executive Director for NSWC's Indian Head Division (IHDIV) where he encouraged collaboration between Navy laboratories to sustain core capability in Energetics, workforce development, and the reengineering of business and technical processes.

Mr. Mitchell's began his Navy career in 1968 as a junior propellant chemist at IHDIV and held senior technologist positions at Indian Head and the U. S. Army Ballistics Research Laboratory for gun propulsion research programs. Accomplishments included low vulnerability ammunition gun propellants, solventless propellants for use in gun propelling charges and cartridge actuated devices, and propelling charges for several Navy gun systems.

Mr. Mitchell also directed the IHDIV divisions responsible for cartridge and propellant actuated devices and gun propulsion programs, headed the Sea Weapons and Manufacturing Technology Departments and also held the position of IHDIV Chief Scientist. As Deputy Director for Technology he had the responsibility for ensuring the high quality of the technical work at IHDIV. He also provided direction of the Science and Technology program, and coordinated scientific and engineering work among internal organizations and with other Navy laboratories.

Mr. Mitchell's awards include the Dr. George W. Patterson Award for Technical Excellence, the U. S. Army R&D Award, the Navy Meritorious and Superior Civilian Service Awards, and the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive. He also authored coauthored 38 technical papers and reports.

Mr. Mitchell graduated from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana with a Bachelor of Science Degree in chemistry.

TechDir Mitchell's Biography