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Carl Reiber |
Supporting Naval Aviation from Lexington Park
Carl Reiber
September 2009
With projects such as airborne networking, antisubmarine warfare, intelligence collection by reconnaissance aircraft, and the Navy's unmanned combat air system, MITRE's Carl Reiber and the Naval Aviation Systems Department support their sponsor, the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and associated Program Executive Offices at the company's Lexington Park, Md., site.
"When I first came to MITRE in 2003, I was working on an assortment of Navy projects here in Lexington Park," says Reiber. "Sometime thereafter, I was asked to form MITRE's Naval Aviation Systems Department. Our group has grown significantly since then, and our impact has expanded dramatically. Our staff consistently provides special value to our customers as judged by the annual survey we do."
MITRE's Lexington Park, Maryland Site
MITRE's Lexington Park site was established in 1996 after the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission resulted in the relocation of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and associated Program Executive Offices from Crystal City, Va., to the Patuxent Naval Air Station in southern Maryland. The site is approximately 80 miles from the company's McLean, Va., campus. |
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Reiber attributes this growth in part to aligning the department to meet the customer's needs. "I've always felt that you must pay close attention to responding to the needs of the customer," he says. "You can't be locked down in thinking about the way things have always been. You should be focused on the way things need to be."
He continues, "Clearly, our priority is to support our Naval Aviation sponsor, NAVAIR. We're involved with a number of different Navy programs, and our work encompasses a wide variety of technical areas including unmanned vehicles, airborne networking, netted sensors, mission assurance, command and control, communications, systems engineering, multi-mission helicopters, anti-submarine warfare, and research and acquisition guidance. Many of our projects rely on staff here in Lexington Park, but we also work with staff from many other MITRE locations."
A Special Interest in Unmanned Aviation
A retired Naval Flight Officer, Reiber has a broad range of experience from his years flying operationally, as a chief test pilot, and as a program manager in research, development, and acquisitions for weapons. Since coming to MITRE, Reiber has also become an integral part of MITRE's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) support to our customers. "It was clear to me as I looked ahead at my department's strategic future, unmanned vehicles would be prominent in that portfolio," he says. "MITRE is in a prime position to be able to support our sponsors and further the development of military UAVs."
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Carl Reiber stands beside a YF-35 Joint Strike Fighter Demonstration aircraft at the Patuxent River, Md., Naval Air Test Museum. |
It is important to note, however, that this support to military UAVs is not limited to MITRE's Navy customers—it includes Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps customers as well. Reiber is one of MITRE's UAV "four musketeers," as they are sometimes called. They are a group of UAV experts with experience from the different branches of the military. Reiber provides the Naval perspective, while Michael Lavine offers the Army viewpoint, Rob Bahnij understands the Air Force requirements, and Don Landing represents the needs of the intelligence community.
"When we first met in April 2008, we talked about what we each thought the needs were in the military UAV field," Reiber says. "When you look at the potential impact of the four of us getting together, with all four having prior military experience in the four different domains—that's very powerful. Not surprisingly, we found that by harnessing all this knowledge and working together, we could better support all our customers."
On the Shores of the Chesapeake
While Reiber spends a significant amount of his time at MITRE headquarters and various other sites, he is happy to call the Lexington Park area his home. "I was living in the area before coming to MITRE, so I did not have to move to take the job. I was willing to, but it was nice not to have to," he says. "My wife, Nancy, and I love living near the Chesapeake Bay. A couple of years ago we bought a 26-foot Sea Ray, and we enjoy spending our free time boating. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be living in such a beautiful area."
—by Kay M. Upham
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