John Hickok is the Knowledge Management Officer for the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and Executive-In-Residence at the Defense Systems Management College, the Fort Belvoir campus of the DAU.

Having spent his formative years in Miami, Florida, Mr. Hickok won an appointment from Senator Claude Pepper to enter the U.S. Naval Academy in 1963. With his eye on nuclear power and submarines, he majored in nuclear physics. During his senior year the Naval Flight Officer (NFO) community was opened to USNA graduates and Mr. Hickok chose aviation over submarines. He reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola for NFO training in the fall of 1967 and after additional training at NAS Glynco and NAS Albany, Georgia, earned his NFO wings in 1968, and was selected to be an A-6 "Intruder" Bombadier/Navigator.

After completing A-6 B/N training with VA-42 at NAS Oceana, Virginia, he was assigned to VA-176 and served two cruises on the aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt. Returning from cruise in 1971, he entered the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and was selected for the dual masters degree program. Graduating in the summer of 1974, he received masters degrees in Aeronautical Engineering and Business Management.

Returning to a flying status, Mr. Hickok was selected for the Personnel Exchange Program (PEP) and served as an attack navigator with the British Royal Air Force's Number Twelve Maritime Attack Squadron, which flew the Buccaneer strike aircraft, home based in Honington, England. During his tour with the Royal Air Force from 1974 to 1977, the squadron was stationed on ready alert in Scotland, Norway, Denmark, West Germany, Malta, Corsica, Gibraltar and Cypress. At the end of his tour he was selected for the rank of Lieutenant Commander and assigned to the Naval Plant Representative Office (NAVPRO) supporting Grumman Aerospace Corporation in Bethpage, New York.

From 1977 to 1980 he served as A-6/EA-6B Project Manager and Flight Acceptance Officer, flying as acceptance officer in the A-6E TRAM and EA-6B aircraft. During his tour at the NAVPRO, he served additional duties as the Department Head for Administration, Department Head for Business Management and Deputy Department Head for Contracts. Having been selected as an Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO), he attended the Defense Systems Management College's Program Management Course and was assigned to the Naval Air Systems Command Headquarters (NAVAIR) in Washington, D.C. in August of 1980.

From 1980 to 1983 in NAVAIR he acted as the Branch Head for Radar and Electro-Optical systems and was responsible for initiating the Infrared Search and Track System (IRST) for the F-14D. He was selected for the rank of Commander in May 1982 and was assigned to the Pentagon in the summer of 1983.

His first two-year Pentagon assignment was on the Chief of Naval Operation's staff for Research and Development as Head of Special Air Programs. His second two-year Pentagon assignment through June of 1987 was in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASNRD&A) as the military Assistant for Air Combat Systems.

He returned to the Naval Air Systems Command and served from July 1987 to March 1989 as Deputy Program Manager for Systems Integration and Advanced Programs for the A-12 Advanced Tactical Aircraft program. As Deputy Program Manager, he was the focal point for the design, development, test and evaluation strategy for the A-12 and responsible for the Milestone II approval process for the A-12's entry into full-scale development. He also served as the Navy's principal member of the tri-service Joint Integrated Avionics Working Group. During his A-12 assignment he was selected for the rank of Captain.

In March of 1989, Captain Hickok was selected as the Navy's Program Manager for Advanced Combat Electronics (PMA-209). He managed multiple avionics programs, including the Navy's standard airborne computer system, UHF/VHF radios, ring laser gyro navigators, altitude heading reference systems, special receivers and processors for search and rescue, and global positioning satellite systems. During this tour he also served as the Chairman of the Tri-Service Joint Service Review Committee on Avionics Standardization.

On 1 September 1991, Captain Hickok retired from active duty and joined the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir, Virginia as an Executive-in-Residence. In this capacity he facilitated program management case studies in the Program Management Course, developed the case study for the A-12 program and lead special studies such as the CNO study on Flight Incidence Recorders in the Navy. In 1994 he was a member of the Executive Program Management Course (EPMC) development team, focused on providing ACAT I and II Program Managers (PM), Deputy Program Managers (DPM) and Program Executive Officers (PEO), job specific education and training. During the initial years of the EPMC Mr. Hickok acted as a learning team mentor to PEOs, PMs and DPMs and served as deputy course director. In 1997 Mr. Hickok was selected to be the Course Director for the EPMC.

In 1998 Mr. Hickok developed an Extranet and web-based on-line performance support and learning modules to support the execution of the EPMC. This effort subsequently developed to be the model for DSMC's and now DAU's Acquisition Support Center knowledge portal and other on-line knowledge assets. In the summer of 2000 Mr. Hickok was selected as the Knowledge Management Officer for the consolidated Defense Acquisition University. In this capacity and in parallel with the Department of Defense Acquisition Knowledge Management System development plan, he developed the DAU Acquisition Knowledge Management System roadmap. Among the many elements of the DAU knowledge management system, Mr. Hickok is presently leading the development of a DoD Program Management community of practice and supporting knowledge portal. This joint service initiative is to be a benchmark for follow-on communities in software acquisition, contracting, logistics, systems engineering, test and evaluation, financial management, and S&T.

Mr. Hickok's military decorations and awards include three Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation medals, Navy Outstanding Unit Award and National Defense Medal with Bronze Star.

050201