New vice commander on board and eager to help

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Col. Mark Spillman, who came aboard last week as the Electronic Systems Center's new vice commander, said he's eager to serve the needs of Hanscom Air Force Base and all of ESC.

"The Program Executive Officers' missions are the highest priorities for ESC, so I want to do everything I can to support them and their efforts," he said.

While he's never been assigned to ESC or Hanscom before, Colonel Spillman has served in several assignments that familiarized him with Air Force Materiel Command and its acquisition mission. That includes a stint as chief of B-1 Test and Evaluation for the B-1 System Program Office at Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

He comes to Hanscom from the Pentagon, where he served as director of the Air and Space Warfare Division of the Special Programs Directorate within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L). The colonel describes his three-year tenure there as a "tremendous opportunity."

"It was really eye opening to see how it all comes together at that level," he said. Colonel Spillman also spoke of having had the opportunity to coordinate several forums at which the secretary and deputy secretary of defense were key participants and that it was very educational to get a first-hand look at their decision-making processes.

It was also interesting to be serving in AT&L at a time when acquisition reform has been such a hot topic, he said. The colonel lauded Dr. Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of defense for AT&L, saying: "The acquisition workforce is in extremely capable hands."

He also praised the center leaders who are charged with helping implement many of the Air Force acquisition reform tenets.

"I've been very impressed by all the leaders I have met at ESC," Colonel Spillman said.

As vice commander, it goes without saying that priority one is helping accomplish the priorities of the commander, Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds. Accordingly, Colonel Spillman is ready to help wherever he's needed, and is clearly ready to apply his energies to many of the most significant challenges facing the center.

"I like to have some strategic challenges to tackle," he said, suggesting that the bigger the better.

Even before arriving at Hanscom, the colonel began to familiarize himself with ESC. He sought information from several sources, including Air Staff members, about their continuing needs and requirements.

"One of the key things is the need for even more integration on our information-based programs, more common architectures and common databases," he said. An engineer by training, with bachelors and masters degrees in engineering and with program office and test assignments on his résumé, Colonel Spillman knows how formidable these challenges can be and is well suited to take them on.

The colonel, who also possesses an MBA, is equally prepared to take on other key management matters and is always looking for a fresh, more efficient approach.

"I always try to identify and eliminate inefficiencies," he said, noting that he generally waits till he's sure there's a better way before suggesting or directing change.

Colonel Spillman, a Seattle native, is looking forward to his first New England assignment and to becoming familiar with the area, especially once his wife, Kathy, and three children, 13-year-old daughter Emma and twin 10-year-old sons, Aaron and Collin, join him here later this summer.

"We're a little apprehensive about the winters," he said, "but otherwise we're definitely excited and happy to be here."