Past General Manager of AFCEA Europe Dies

AFCEA is saddened to announce the death of Rear Adm. Dr. Sigurd Hess, GE N (Ret.), general manager of AFCEA Europe from 1998 to 2000. He passed away on June 14 in Rheinbach, Germany.

Prior to his time at AFCEA, the admiral served in the German Navy (Bundesmarine) for 41 years, including as commanding officer of the guided missile destroyer Mölders from 1975-1977, and in 1979 as commander of the Naval Task Force SEF 792. From 1993-1998 he served as chief of staff of the NATO-Headquarters Baltic Approaches in Karup, Denmark.

Adm. Hess received undergraduate and graduate education at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He completed his studies in December 1970 with a Ph.D. in information and control systems.

During his later years, Adm. Hess was a consultant on sea security and counterpiracy for the EU Commission. He also served as honorary president of the German Society for Maritime and Naval History and was a board member of the German Maritime Institute and International Intelligence History Association.

In a way, his life mirrored that of the Federal Republic of Germany. Having lost his father during World War II, he spent his early childhood amid the rubble of that war. Yet he rose above and embarked on a career of service in the name of freedom. By the time he retired from the Bundesmarine, Germany had reunified and the Cold War had ended. Adm. Hess later served the cause of a unified Europe maintaining international security with NATO.