REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (December 3, 2021) – The U.S. Army appointed a new member to its Senior Executive Service (SES) during a ceremony on Redstone Arsenal Dec. 3.
Robert E. Stone, executive director of White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC), took the oath of office during an SES induction ceremony hosted by Brig. Gen. Eric Little, commanding general of White Sands Missile Range.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve met a leader in my 28 years who displays such a level of humility, while at the same time being completely comfortable and having the confidence to make a correction to anyone, at any time, if something is not right. And he does this in a fashion that makes the recipient of his counsel, understand, value, and truly appreciate that correction. It really is a gift,” Little said during the ceremony.
Since 2017, Stone served as the technical director and deputy commander of the U.S. Army Redstone Test Center (RTC). RTC is also a subordinate organization under ATEC.
Stone brings 35 years of experience in lifecycle test and evaluation, or T&E, to the senior civilian position at WSMR. His experience spans aviation and aviation systems, missiles, and sensor systems across the T&E domains of modeling and simulation, hardware‑in‑the‑loop, and open-air test.
“The Army identifies three attributes of leadership: character, presence and intellect. One could easily argue that intellect is probably the most important leadership attribute necessary to perform the SES duties of an executive director. I would not disagree with that,” Little said. “Anyone who knows Rob Stone clearly knows that he is a leader with superior intellect, and without question the right selection to serve our Army and our nation as a senior executive. What makes Rob special is that along with his intellectual talents, he is equally gifted with his character and his presence. In fact, I would go as far as saying character is his strongest attribute.”
Stone entered federal service in May 2000 with the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC), at Fort Rucker, Alabama. He served as the lead engineer in the Data Processing Division and was responsible for experimental flight test data collection.
Much of Stone’s early work at ATTC paved the way for the capabilities currently in use for aviation flight test at RTC. Stone later served in ATTC as the chief of the Integrated Systems Test Division and of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Division.
Stone transitioned back to Redstone Arsenal in 2010 when ATTC and the Redstone Technical Test Center were combined to make RTC as a part of base realignment and closure.
In September 2017, Stone was selected as the technical director and deputy commander of RTC with responsibilities for leading the full spectrum technical test mission in the areas of aviation, small missiles and weapon sensors. Additionally, he was responsible for managing the center's test capability portfolio as well as technical and leadership development of a 1,300-person workforce for the Center.
In April of 2021, Stone was selected as the interim executive director of White Sands Missile Range. In this position, he supports all aspects of the commanding general's roles as both WSMR senior mission commander and ATEC deputy commanding general for developmental testing.
Stone’s efforts on behalf of ATEC and RTC have been instrumental in enhancing the test capabilities for new Army weapons systems.
Stone is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. He has been married to his wife Kay for 32 years, and they have three children.
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