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Paul Odell |
Experimentation, War Games, and Analytic Studies
Paul Odell
October 2006
MITRE's work in support of numerous branches of the U.S. military
has led to the establishment of several corporate sites around the
world. One of the smallest is our office in Newport, Rhode Island,
which consists of one staff member who is co-located with the Navy
Warfare Development Command (NWDC). Paul Odell, a principal multi-discipline
systems engineer, draws knowledge from his 30-year Navy career for
his current work—leading the NWDC project. Through Odell's
leadership, the project taps MITRE expertise in McLean and Norfolk,
Virginia, and Bedford, Massachusetts.
"I've been at the Newport site for the entire four years I've worked
for MITRE," says Odell. "I was hired to take the lead for the site
and work on the Navy Warfare Development Command project. I spend
a significant portion of my time here focused on the development
of Navy and joint warfighting concepts and concepts of operations
through experimentation, war games, and analytic studies.
"The highlight of my work over the past year has been supporting
experiment design and leading the analysis for the Navy in JEFX
'06, the USAF Joint Force Experiment, which was conducted in April
2006. However, my day-to-day responsibilities include project management
work as well as operational experiment design and analysis.
"The nature of my work generally requires that I travel quite a
bit—I'm usually in the Washington, DC, area a couple of times
a month and at other sites like San Diego and Norfolk about once
a month."
Odell brings considerable experience in experimental design and
analytical studies to the NWDC project. He explains, "Immediately
prior to joining MITRE, I worked for a short time for Northrop Grumman
IT [formerly Logicon] in Middletown, Rhode Island. While there,
I did some business development and provided assistance with background
work on a couple of war gaming projects with the Naval War College,
here in Newport."
He was no stranger to the War College. "Before I retired from the
Navy in late 1999, I was the Deputy Dean for Naval Warfare Studies
there. In that position, I was responsible for management of all
student and staff college research and war gaming activities."
Respect for the Company an Attraction
It was during this time that Odell also became aware of MITRE.
"I was very familiar with the work MITRE did in support of NWDC,"
he says. "The high caliber of the staff I met was impressive. I
also appreciated MITRE's commitment to working in the public interest.
I knew this was the type of company I wanted to work for."
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MITRE's Newport, Rhode Island site
The current site in Newport, Rhode Island, is the second
site MITRE has had in the city. The first site was established
several years ago to support of the Naval Undersea Warfare
Center; when this work ended in the mid-1990s, the site
closed. In 2002, MITRE re-established the Newport site
to provide support to the new Navy Warfare Development
Command (NWDC), which is headquartered in Newport. |
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When asked what he enjoys most about his work, Odell replies, "I
most enjoy the never-ending set of unpredictable challenges that
shape my work. For example, a recent briefing to the Chief of Naval
Operations by the Commander NWDC resulted in an additional staff
year of work and re-planning a good portion of planned work in order
to focus our support on the most critical challenges facing our
customer. I also enjoy the people I work with here.
"I feel fortunate to be on-site with the sponsor. My office is
in the NWDC headquarters; it's located in a very old building where
war gaming for the Navy began in 1846. I think the major benefit
of having someone from MITRE co-located with the sponsor is the
ease of effective sponsor communication—it's the foundation
for world-class MITRE work."
Quintessential New England
Settling in Newport after his military retirement was an easy decision
for Odell. After spending the bulk of his career on the West Coast
in California and Washington followed by a position at the Naval
War College, he knew he wanted to remain in Rhode Island for his
post-Navy career.
Originally from the Boston area, Odell says, "Newport is classic
New England living. It has four very different seasons, which I
thoroughly enjoy. Plus, Newport has many amenities including beaches,
mansions, sailing, great seafood, and—most importantly—lots
of fellow Red Sox fans!"
In addition, Odell and his wife appreciate Rhode Island's proximity
to Maine. They have a second home there, which allows them to spend
weekends in the winter with their daughter, who manages the kids'
ski school at Sunday River, Maine. During the other seasons, they
spend their free time working on their 100-year-old house in Newport.
—by Kay M. Upham
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