Army swears in new acquisition leader

The U.S. Army announced that the Honorable Malcolm Ross O'Neill was sworn into office March 10, 2010 as the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA (ALT)) by Under Secretary of the Army Dr. Joseph W. Westphal in a private ceremony at the Pentagon.

O'Neill was nominated for the ASA(ALT) position by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 4, 2010. As the ASA(ALT), he will serve as the Army Senior Procurement Executive, Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Army, and Senior Research and Development Executive. He also has principal responsibility for all Department of Army matters related to logistics.

In his new role, O'Neill will provide oversight for the life cycle management and sustainment of Army weapons systems and equipment from research and development through test and evaluation, acquisition, logistics, and fielding.

The retired three-star Army General assumes the duties of the ASA(ALT) as a key next step in a decorated, high-profile career as an Army officer, defense industry executive, and Chairman of the Board on Army Science and Technology for the National Academies.

Prior to his appointment as the ASA(ALT), O'Neill served in a number of high ranking positions, including private consultant; the Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Lockheed Martin Corporation; Director of the Department of Defense Ballistic Missile Defense Organization; and as the Director, Army Acquisition Corps.

Dr. O'Neill's extensive experience in acquisition and program management includes service as the Commander, U.S. Army Laboratory Command; Director of Kinetic Energy Weapons at the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization; and Program Manager of the Army's Multiple Launch Rocket System.

As Commander of the U.S. Army Laboratory Command, O'Neill led 5,000 scientists and engineers in seven corporate laboratories as part of oversight for the $1 billion annual budget of the DoD tech base.

O'Neill holds a Master of Science and a Doctorate in in Physics from Rice University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Physics from DePaul University.