RDML Timothy Kuehhas, USN (ret.)
President
Timothy Kuehhas is a native of Sayville, New York and a 1987 graduate of the University of Dallas with a degree in mathematics and was commissioned an ensign in June 1988 through Aviation Officer Candidate School. Kuehhas holds a master’s degree from the Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies and is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School and the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command.
After completing flight training in Pensacola, Florida, he was designated a naval flight officer and transferred to the EA-6B Fleet Replacement Squadron, Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129, at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, where he trained to become an electronic countermeasures officer.
Kuehhas’ shore assignments include VAQ-129 serving as Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization evaluator, carrier qualification instructor and electronic warfare instructor; a tour on the Joint Staff in the Command, Control, Communications and Computers/Cybers, J6, Directorate as spectrum branch action officer and in the Operations, J3, Directorate as briefer to the Joint Staff directors as a member of the Joint Staff Response Cell; a tour on the chief of naval operations staff as EA-6B and EA-18G requirements officer; and a tour as director of Fleet and Joint Training (N7) at U.S. Fleet Forces.
Operational sea assignments for Kuehhas include a junior officer tour with VAQ-138, a tour as electronic warfare officer and flag lieutenant with Cruiser-Destroyer Group 8, a department head tour serving as aviation maintenance officer with VAQ-142, and an executive officer tour with USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Kuehhas served as commanding officer of VAQ-132, USS Gunston Hall (LSD 44) and USS George Washington (CVN 73), his most recent sea tour.
He is authorized to wear the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (four gold stars), Air Medal (four Strike Flight Awards), Navy Commendation Medal (two gold stars) and other organization and personal awards.
Additionally, he was the 1995 Association of Naval Aviation’s Naval Flight Officer of the Year for Tactical Aviation. His commands earned the Battle Efficiency Award while commanding VAQ-132 and Washington and the Meritorious Unit Commendation and Battenberg Cup also while commanding Washington.
Mr. Richard F. Nelson
Past President
Richard Nelson began his professional career working with the department of defense in 1986 at the Naval Air Test Center in PAX River MD working on the E2-C aircraft in target detection & tracking as well as ECM & ECCM systems performance. After many years in flight and laboratory testing along with the development of custom real time data recording systems Rich spent a few years in the commercial world working embedded microprocessor systems in hostile environments in the automotive/heavy truck industry which moved him to the Charleston area in 1990. After BRAC95 brought the high tech industry to Charleston, Rich opened an office for a small company that eventually became a part of the Northrop Grumman Corporation. He spent 12 years there building and running a Charleston office with a heavy SPAWAR customer base as well as expanding into HALE UAVs, international military sales and even some work on the E2-D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. After a successful career at NGC, Rich pursued new challenges and in early 2008 took a position with L-3 Communications Corporation as their Director of Engineering. Most Recently, Richard has joined SAIC to take on new challenges with system design and analysis for employing the P-8A Poseidon MMA aircraft and the BAMS UAS into the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Community in their expanded roles in Maritime Domain Awareness and the Global Information Grid.
Rich currently holds both a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Software Engineering. He is an avid supporter of the engineering profession and the education community. He has been involved in many activities such as chairperson of the Joint Industry Advisory Board for the Citadel and the College of Charleston, member of the CDCA Education committee as well as a founding member and inaugural president of the Palmetto Roost Chapter of the Association of Old Crows.
David Walman
Vice President
David Walman is a Senior Systems Engineer with the Department of the Navy/Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) supporting U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT) and SPAWAR Cyber Initiatives. He joined the Old Crows as a Principal Software Engineer for the Electronic Systems Sector of Northrop Grumman Corporation in Baltimore where he supported F-35 “Lightning II” Electronic Warfare and Countermeasure programs. Additionally, he has served as a technical lead for a number of intelligence-gathering (SIGINT, ELINT, Persistent Surveillance) programs on multiple platforms, from UAV sensors to satellite payloads.
David graduated from the U.S. Naval War College, holds three Masters Degrees in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, and Business, completed his Doctoral coursework in Software Engineering, is a CISSP-ISSEP, and holds postgraduate certifications in Electronic Warfare from Georgia Tech and Cyber Warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School. He resides in Charleston, South Carolina, with his daughter Samara, son Jake, and his dog Molly.
CAPT Al Kolpacke, USN (ret.)
Secretary
Al Kolpacke is a retired Navy Captain with a proven record of success in both civilian and military disciplines. From 2006 through 2009, he was the Joint Combined Training Capability (JCTC) Liaison Officer (LNO) deployed to Canberra, Australia. He orchestrated HQJOC and USPACOM to establish and stand up the JCTC Combined Management Organization to provide effective day to day operations.
Upon relocating to Charleston from LNO duty in Australia, he worked delivering SOA-based solutions to a number of DoD and Federal organizations. He served as the Project Manager for the Virtual Integrated Support for Information Operations Environment (VISION) program, designed to provide situational awareness and mission planning capabilities for Information Operations (IO) across all commands. He led IO Subject Matter Experts in incorporating changes in doctrine, force structure and elaborated IO planning, analysis and assessment requirements. He is currently leading the TacMobile effort to provide Tactical Operation Centers and Mobile Tactical Operation Centers to the Royal Australian Air Force to support the P-8 Poseidon.
Al received his Bachelor Degree in Naval Architecture and Engineering from the US Naval Academy and has 4,000+ hours in helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Navy Battle E.
Valerie Sessions, PhD
Director
Valerie Sessions serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Charleston Southern University. She is also employed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Atlantic as a computer scientist. Her research interests include data quality, video management systems, and video analytics. She received her doctorate in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of South Carolina. She serves on several advisory committees including the Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group (GPIQWG) of the US Department of Justice, Charleston Digital Corridor Board, and the Program Committee for the International Conference on Information Quality. She was honored in 2014 by the Charleston Regional Business Journal as a Forty under Forty Award recipient for her work with in the community including First Baptist School Lego League, JR League of Charleston, Women in Tech, and CodeON.
Col Chris Glaze, USAF (ret.)
Director
Chris Glaze has over 30 years of Electronic Warfare and Information Operations experience in positions at the United States Air Force Headquarters Staff, Joint Staff, Major Command, and squadron level. A qualified Air Force Master Navigator, F-111 Weapon Systems Officer, and EF-111 Electronic Warfare Officer, Mr. Glaze has participated in the planning, execution, and control of electronic warfare operations in combat (OPERATION ELDORADO CANYON, DESERT SHIELD, DESERT STORM, OPERATION NORTHERN WATCH and SOUTHERN WATCH, DENY FLIGHT, and ALLIED FORCE), within NATO, and in a multi-service environment. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross (with Valor), and the Air Medal with 5 devices.
He has served as a Deputy Director for Information Operations to the Headquarters Air Staff, as the Joint Chiefs of Staff Electronic Warfare Officer in the Deputy Directorate for Information Operations, and as the Chief, Electronic Warfare/Survivability Division at Air Combat Command. Twice selected for USAF Command, his expertise spans strategy, policy, doctrine, PPBS, acquisition, requirements development and operational test.
Following his retirement from the United States Air Force in 2004, Mr. Glaze entered the defense industry and has worked for Titan Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and L-3 Communications in the areas of Program Management and Business Development. In 2009, he formed Third Wave Strategies, a defense consulting company specializing in strategic planning, decision management, and program management. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. A recognized expert in EW/IO policy, doctrine, and TTPs and he has been invited to speak at many national conventions and conferences.
Mr. Glaze was born in Cambridgeshire, England and was schooled in the United Kingdom and in the United States. A certified Program Management Professional (PMP), Chris obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina and holds Master of Arts degrees from the Naval War College and Troy State University. In July 2008, Mr. Glaze was elected as the President of the Association of Old Crows, an international professional EW/IO organization consisting of over 13,000 members in 47 countries. He is married to the former Rebecca Tanner of St. Matthews, South Carolina and they have three daughters, Kathryn, Erin, and Emma.