AFCEA International Chapter News
HUNTSVILLE CHAPTER CHAPTER - May 12, 2014

Maj. Gen. Brown Talks Testing at MDA

The chapter was proud to present Maj. Gen. Heidi V. Brown, USA, of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as the speaker for its May luncheon. As director of test for the MDA, Gen. Brown is responsible for planning, budgeting, staffing and managing a comprehensive Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) test program that characterizes the BMD capabilities of the United States. Gen. Brown graduated from West Point in 1981, and has since served in a variety of positions, from platoon leader to the first female general officer in the Air Defense Artillery Brigade. She also has the distinction of being the first female officer to command and lead a brigade into combat. Gen. Brown presented luncheon attendees with a sobering example of how Redstone Arsenal and MDA are closely involved with real-world events. She discussed how a new Iranian missile with sufficient range to reach Israel is nearing completion. Gen. Brown then informed the group of advancements in technology at the MDA and countermeasures to thwart the Iranian threat, specifically, the continued development of Aegis ashore, a land-based adaption of the very successful Navy system that uses a highly scalable architecture with distributed sensor systems to detect and destroy enemy missiles. Gen. Brown added, "We have 30 AEGIS BMD ships currently, with 33 planned by 31 December 2015." She also familiarized the attendees with current technological developments at the MDA. The Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) is performing well during testing at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). Touted by Raytheon as the "world's only ballistic missile killer deployable on land or sea," it will be deployed in both original Naval version and new "Ashore' version of AEGIS. Gen. Brown also discussed enhancements to another element of the MDA's layered defense. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, a highly successful anti-ballistic missile system designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles, is undergoing an upgrade as well. In other chapter news, Chapter President Mike Schexnayder was presented a lifetime membership award. Ted Henrich, chapter treasurer, was honored at the annual Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS) award dinner. He was the chapter's Person of the Year HATS selection.

Event Photographs:

Gathered at the May luncheon are (l-r) Kathy Broad, Women in Defense president; Cindy Kurt, chapter secretary; Maj. Gen. Heidi V. Brown, USA; and Mike Schexnayder, chapter president.
Gathered at the May luncheon are (l-r) Kathy Broad, Women in Defense president; Cindy Kurt, chapter secretary; Maj. Gen. Heidi V. Brown, USA; and Mike Schexnayder, chapter president.
Col. Bob Bell, USA (Ret.) (l), presents Schexnayder with an AFCEA lifetime membership award in May.
Col. Bob Bell, USA (Ret.) (l), presents Schexnayder with an AFCEA lifetime membership award in May.
Ted Henrich, chapter treasurer, is honored in May at the Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS) award dinner.
Ted Henrich, chapter treasurer, is honored in May at the Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS) award dinner.

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