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Steve Hofmann |
Tackling Challenges—At Home and On the
Road
Steve Hofmann
September 2004
Steve Hofmann describes himself as a change agent and a troubleshooter—solving
problems is his vocation. So when he found himself traveling almost
continuously for MITRE over the last couple of years, he solved
the problem of being away from home so often the Steve Hofmann way.
He brought his home with him.
Not the brick-and-mortar house he shares with wife Karan back in
O'Fallon, Illinois, of course, but a 40-foot-long motor coach. Hofmann,
a lead multi-discipline systems engineer who's normally found at
MITRE's site at O'Fallon, admits that
he created a bit of a dilemma for the company's travel department.
"They couldn't quite figure out how to reimburse me for my expenses
because I wasn't in a hotel, and I was living in my own vehicle,"
he says with a smile.
His colleagues and customers appreciate his flexibility. Since
2000, Hofmann has assisted on numerous programs involving the Air
Mobility Command (AMC) and U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM)—work that has required frequent trips to other MITRE
sites, such as our main offices in McLean, Virginia, and Bedford,
Massachusetts. Hofmann assists our Center for Integrated Intelligence
Systems, working with sponsors at the Air Force Research Laboratories
(AFRL) in Rome, New York, and in Dayton, Ohio.
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Hofmann (second from
left) demonstrates the Global CONOPS Syncronization prototype. |
One of his projects has been helping AFRL develop technology solutions
that support AMC's main goals. These involve big challenges. USTRANSCOM,
for instance, is responsible for all global defense transportation
needs, from people to equipment. AMC, meanwhile, provides the Air
Force's mobility support to the Command. MITRE has been developing
the command and control architecture for USTRANSCOM for several
years, and since September 11, the work has grown even more complex.
Although Hofmann is used to traveling for his job, this last year
he used his home-away-from-home more than ever. He has spent more
than 300 nights on the road demonstrating the value of Global CONOPS
Synchronization, or GCS. (CONOPS is short for "concept of operations.")
A MITRE-developed prototype, GCS will enable the Air Force to share
information among combat and mobility forces and civil air authorities,
improving situation awareness for long-distance bombers and their
refueling tankers. This will save resources by reducing the number
of redundant tankers and aborted missions. The work dovetails with Hofmann's special interest in solving problems.
"Working with different centers is one of the best parts of being
here," he says. "With programs like GCS, I get the chance to
help create new partnerships and get people to work together in
a positive way." The Air Force community has received GCS enthusiastically—thanks
in no small part to Hofmann's tireless ability to explain the technology's
usefulness to a wide variety of potential users. As an illustration
of its early success, the Air Force chose GCS for a full-fledged
real-time demonstration at this year's JEFX 04, the annual Joint
Expeditionary Force Experiment. The corporation also recognized
Hofmann (and his fellow GCS teammates) for their hard work with
an Officer Award, one of MITRE's highest honors.
Doing What's Best Comes Naturally
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Hofmann's home away from
home. |
Traveling is nothing new to Hofmann. He's a self-described "Air
Force brat," who followed his father around to different assignments
throughout his childhood. Hofmann joined the service as a young
man, holding a variety of positions over more than two decades,
including lengthy stints as a trainer, transport, and helicopter
pilot. He met Karan during college ROTC training at the University
of Maryland in College Park. (After a career in the Air Force as
a meteorologist, she now works for a software firm in St. Louis.)
Karan often accompanies Hofmann on his longer trips, sharing the
drive to his asignment and flying home afterwards.
Hofmann was already familiar with MITRE and its people when he
came aboard, since he was stationed at Scott during active duty
in the mid 1990s. Even then, he had the opportunity to apply his
talents to challenges for AMC and USTRANSCOM. "After leaving the
Air Force, I worked for a while in the private sector, which wasn't
as satisfying to me," he says. "When a position came open at MITRE,
it seemed like a good match. I already had a house nearby and my
wife was working in St. Louis. But mainly, I thought I could add value.
"Growing up in a military family, I always want to do what's best
for the government. At MITRE, I can do that. We have some brilliant
people here solving some giant problems. There's a lot
of information sharing and networking, a lot of enthusiasm and devotion
to duty." And a lot of challenges to unravel—just the way
he likes it.
—by Alison Stern-Dunyak
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