In a post last week Jared Serbu of Federal News Radio reported that Terry Halvorsen, Defense Department CIO, will retire by the end of February. While not mentioned in the article, in his role as CIO Halvorsen was the Principle Staff Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) policy. According to a DOD Directive on the duties of the position, the CIO:

“Provides policy, oversight, and guidance for matters related to PNT.  The DoD CIO:

(1) Serves as the lead for PNT policy within the DoD and the DoD representative for all interagency, domestic, and international forums related to PNT.

(2) Develops and maintains the Federal Radio Navigation Plan.

(3) Provides policy, oversight, and guidance on PNT enterprise-wide architecture and requirements.”

So not only was Halvorsen and his staff responsible for PNT issues within the department, but was also part of the national governance structure for PNT established by NSPD-39. We understand that he was always a strong advocate of Protecting, Toughening, and Augmenting GPS.

Mr. Halvorsen was a guest speaker, along with internet pioneer Vint Cerf, at the RNT Foundation’s 2015 annual dinner meeting.

Halvorsen’s duties will be assumed by Dr. John Zangardi, the department’s principle deputy CIO until such time as a permanent CIO is selected.

Knowing how demanding government service can be, especially at senior levels, all of us at the RNT Foundation thank Terry Halvorsen for his service and wish him well in all his new undertakings.