Prepared for:
Mike Wendel
757-838-4175

Mike,

I apologize for taking so long to respond to your mail. I am currently on the road, working in San Diego. It took me awhile to get your mail forwarded to me (server problems). In any event, I am very interested in continuing our talks concerning employment with your company.

The bold areas are questions/comments made by you in your email to me from two weeks ago. The regular type face paragraphs are my responses to those questions/comments:

An understanding of T&E. Not necessarily be an expert, but be able understand the requirements and work the issues to meet them. Highlighting one's past experiences to establish credibility will be required.

As part of NAVSEA's team, I worked with scientists and engineers, from the OEM (Westinghouse), NRL, NAVSEA, during the T&E phases of the AN/SPS-40E solid state radar transmitter. The transmitter was the first solid state radar transmitter procured by the Navy. The T&E phases which I was involved with included First Article Testing, Maintenance Requirement Card (MRC) evaluation/proof testing, Training Manual Verification/Testing, Physical Configuration Audits, and Functional Configuration Audits. I was involved with this work for more than 3 years as the system was being prepared for fleet deployment.

I have also been the project leader at NSWC Crane for several smaller programs requiring T&E. As part of the execution process for these projects, I have established program objectives, located resources, determined what is required to establish new capabilities for the center, identified and solved problems, determined new training requirements, established backup/alternative plans to meet program objectives, and generated risk assessments.

I understand the work issues involved with T&E. I do not claim to be an expert in T&E. I believe that expertise lies in a well formatted T&E team, rather than one individual.

An understanding of M&S. Not necessarily a techno wizard, but be able to develop plans, understand VV&A, coordinate resources, help people make smart decision and let software engineers put the technicals together. Highlighting one's past experiences to establish credibility will be required.

In the M&S world, I have worked with Ph.D.s who required complete technical data (input and output electronic characteristics) for all subassemblies contained in the AN/SPS-40E radar system. The purpose of the data was so that the programmers could understand and successfully create models that would duplicate the internal points of the radar. I was able to give insight on certain areas of the system which may have been overlooked. If certain areas were overlooked, time would have been added to the Validation/Verification process.

I am very adept at grasping concepts associated with software issues. I have daily experience in HTML programming, have programmed a large number of automated test sets, and am an above average user of a variety of computer programs. I am not an "expert" in the programming arena, but would not be lost when problems arise. I believe I could be a key player in helping others solve problems pertaining to M&S and VV&A. This is mainly due to my experience in managing projects. I have attained unique problem solving skills throughout my 22 year career. I believe the programming task should be left to the experts. My contribution would be when I find resources for the team to solve their problems.

Be able to work closely with a gov't PM and various support contractors to solve problems.

Currently, I work with DoD Program Managers daily (when I am not on the road). Crane has the assignment of Deputy Program Manger for several radar systems. I am called upon to provide data on these radar systems. The data is two-fold (program, financial, timeline, etc.) and technical.

I am comfortable working with contractors as well. Part of my job when I was involved with the T&E experience mentioned earlier, I was required to work side by side with private industry representatives. I understand the rules and can solve problems tactfully when dealing with personnel from either side of the table (contractors or government employees).

Develop briefings, CONOPS, plans, statements of work, etc.

Due to my communications abilities, coupled with my proficiency with a variety of software (project management, graphics, presentation), I develop quarterly briefings on program status. Crane was assigned the task of manufacturing 8 complete radar transmitters in 1994. A task of such a magnitude had never been performed by Crane. I developed EVERY project review for the project. The project is now complete, with the final shipboard radar installation being preformed as of this writing.

The task required many major procurements. I was responsible for the writing of the SOWs for those procurements. I have had more than ten years experience in writing SOWs. I understand the importance of writing SOWs that call out only what is required, not "how to achieve" the acquisition.

I developed the complete manufacturing/test plan for the manufacture of the radar transmitters previously mentioned. This obviously required me to identify and interact with a variety of testing professionals inside and outside the government. With the help of a great team, the project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

BE A SELF STARTER. I need to be able to throw someone at a problem or area of interest, probably not giving theme enough info before they set out, and have them successfully complete the tasks because they have good intuition, common sense, and can determine what the right answer is.

I am a self starter. I am in my current position because of that fact. When I came to Crane in 1983, I was a bench technician. There was new work offered to the shop in which I worked. The problem was, in order for Crane to get this work, everything had to be played by the book. Procedures had to be written, plans generated, alternate parts sources identified, new parts qualified, statements of work written. At the time, Crane did not have a large number of technical writers. I volunteered to write the documents, generate the plans, etc. I quickly went from a bench tech to tech writer/project leader. Any new projects offered to Crane were turned over to me for management/implementation. Instead of being told what to do, I informed branch managers and department heads what had been accomplished. I have received yearly monetary awards for my efforts.

Please feel free to contact any of my references regarding these facts.

Be able to identify opportunities to assist, not sit idle because they haven't been told do something.

This directly relates to the previous paragraph.

Be able to travel when required to support the customer, this could be short notice.

I have been a "traveler" for the past 12 years. Many times my travel is short notice (get a call from a customer at 2:00 p.m. and have a plane ticket in hand by 3:00 p.m). I am currently in San Diego for a 34 day trip. Traveling is something I do regularly as part of my job.

Have an understanding of PM functions and concerns, we routinely advise the PMs.

As I stated earlier, I deal with Program Managers regularly. I am comfortable in that function. I know how to get answers from a variety of resources. I am DAWIA certified (level II, Program Management).

In closing:

I certainly appreciate the opportunity to interact with you. I feel I am well respected within the community at Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. I love my job there. The only reason I am looking elsewhere is so that I can "keep my family together." As I told you before, my wife has been forced to take a job in the New Orleans area. At this point in our lives (kids in college), we cannot afford to do without her income. As a result, I need to make a move to the New Orleans area.

This may be an opportunity for both of us to benefit our customer(s). True, I don't have a sheepskin hanging on my wall, but I do bring with me 22 years experience working on Navy projects. I spent six years in the Navy's advanced electronics program. I followed that with a brief period at Hughes Aircraft. I then went to Crane. I understand the objectives of the new acquisition principles being implemented by the government and private industry.

I am sincerely looking forward to discussing employment with you in the future. You may respond (email) to callahan@theautochannel.com or call me at my hotel 619-291-1300, Room 204

A link to my short resume is located here.

Thanks Again,
Terry B. Callahan

References:

Terry Whitten (Electronics Engineer, Supervisory) 812-854-4790
George Unger (Electronics Engineer, Supervisory) 812-854-5212
Matt Craig (Radar System Dept Head) 812-854-3054