REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.--Dr. Charles Lind has become the chief of staff for the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, serving under program executive officer Brig. Gen. Ole Knudson.
“My task is to assist the PEO with day-to-day business operations " budget, personnel, operations, information management and assurance, planning,” Lind said. “In this role, General Knudson can focus on the strategic direction of the PEO and project management.”
Lind’s role also includes engineering, logistics and foreign military sales in highly complex acquisition programs.
A 17-year civil service veteran, Lind joins the organization after receiving a master’s in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, a senior service college in Washington, D.C.
“I feel that ICAF helped me fill some personal gaps in strategic leadership, economics and military strategy and logistics, and national exercises. It’s a great program that has prepared me for the challenges of my new position,” he said.
Lind also served as chief Scientist, the science and technology adviser to the director, and division chief for the Office of Scientific Engagement, for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, which focuses on defeating the improvised explosive device as a weapon of strategic influence.
“That experience was very rewarding,” Lind said. “It taught me the importance of supporting our Soldiers with utmost urgency. Our war fighters must receive the necessary capabilities as rapidly as possible to keep up-to-date with the current fight.”
Prior to JIEDDO, he served as the deputy chief, campaign director and technical director of the Missile Defense Agency’s Test Operations Division.
As the technical director of MDA’s Test Operations Division, Lind was the agency’s technical lead on ground and flight tests and was responsible for the strategic technical direction of the agency’s test program. He also served as the program manager for the MDA Core Lethality Models’ where he was responsible for the planning, budgeting and execution of the program that supported the missile defense community in the prediction of end-game lethality, kill assessment, debris propagation, ground effects, and consequences of intercepted and nominally deployed ballistic and cruise missiles threats.
“My last two organizations have prepared me well for my current position.,” Lind said. “I understand what is needed and why it is needed in addition to the testing and modeling that support the end goal. Our servicemembers are risking their lives to defend our freedom. We absolutely owe them the best capabilities that we can deliver as quickly as possible, while ensuring we are stewards of the public’s trust and funding.”
Lind also has experience with the Navy as a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and a scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory, as well as the Air Force, through a number of MDA programs.
“Through these opportunities, I better understand the perspectives and needs of all the services, as well as the overarching Department of Defense vision,” he said.
Lind received his doctorate in aerospace engineering (hypersonic aerodynamics and computational fluid dynamics) in 1994 from the University of Maryland, and is Level III certified in program management, systems planning, research, development and engineering and test and evaluation.
In his spare time Lind and his wife, Laura, enjoy traveling, boating, camping, sports and cooking, “but not necessarily in that order,” he said. “Laura and I enjoy the outdoors and are excited to be in Huntsville with all that this community has to offer.”
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