Hanscom welcomes Dennis Miller

  • Published
  • By Justin Oakes
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Hanscom recently welcomed Dennis Miller to base. And no, not the Saturday Night Live comedian, but the installation's newest Life Cycle Management Center Engineering and Technical Management director. 

Miller is no stranger to defense acquisition. He's an engineer by trade who has spent 25 years wearing the Air Force uniform and an additional eight as an Air Force civilian.

Miller is also a member of the Senior Executive Service and comes to New England as the former Engineering and Technical Management director for the Air Force Sustainment Center at Hill AFB, Utah.

"When my wife and I found out we were moving to Hanscom, we were definitely excited," he said. "Coming from my last position in sustainment, I have now touched the complete life cycle of programs from cradle to grave. I look forward to the many opportunities associated with acquiring our weapon systems."

In his current position, Miller provides for and oversees the technical workforce, a task he describes as the "feeding of the workforce to ensure they have the right tools, education and processes to get the job done." 

When asked what he was looking forward to the most about his new role, workforce development was clearly at the forefront.

"I hope to keep our scientists and engineers excited about what we do here, and make sure they understand the difference they're making along with the impact," Miller said. "What really interests me is people and helping them do more than what they think they're capable of." 

He plans to work to build an environment that encourages success by providing opportunities that make the fullest use of the workforce's talents.

"The decision will be theirs, I hope the workforce will take advantage of these opportunities," Miller said. 

One of the first things the new director plans to do is assess how well the science and engineering teams collaborate.

"Collaboration is more important than ever, and technology and infrastructure have become so integrated into our lives that we share knowledge almost effortlessly," Miller said. "The challenge is no longer how to collaborate, but with whom. When we partner with the right folks, we deliver the best support to our warfighters, and they deserve our best support."

Miller is not only looking at current collaboration efforts, but also how the Air Force plans to develop its Airmen for the future.  

According to Miller, the service must continue to develop future scientists and engineers by involving them in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education as well as stress the importance of good decision-making. 

As the new Engineering and Technical Management director, Miller is clear in his priorities.

"I'm a big believer in mission first, people always," Miller said. "I want to ensure we have the right people with the right skill sets and technology to accomplish the mission."