Ken HamiltonCAPT Ken Hamilton, USNR (ret) is a Senior Fellow of the Institute. He has had a distinguished career both as a naval officer and as an expert in DoD acquisition management. He is the founder and President of the KENTIA Management Group, Inc (KTMG) a private engineering management consulting firm supporting various major DoD Acquisition Programs and industry clients. He has served the principle strategic management advisor to ACAT I acquisition programs and served as a founding member and acquisition management subject matter expert for OSD’s Systems of Systems Center of Excellence (SOSECE). The SOSECE’s charter was to apply the latest tenets of systems science to the development of methodologies for streamlining the DoD acquisition process. Mr. Hamilton is also the co-founder and President of Mission Technology Systems, LLC (MTS) which is the manufacturer of small tactical unmanned aerial systems (STUAS).

From 1984 to 1997, Mr. Hamilton specialized in rapid acquisition and mission support first for the U.S. Navy SEALs and later for the Joint Special Operations Forces (SOF) as the first senior technical advisor for maritime special operations to the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Tampa, FL. During this period, he attained DAWIA Level III certifications for Acquisition Program Manager and Systems Engineer. He led the design, development and fielding of numerous unique systems for the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community including the Mk 8 Mod I SEAL Delivery Vehicle, the Mk5 Special Operations Craft, the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS), the Dry Deck Shelter (DDS), the NSW Submersible Boat, the Marine Amphibious Reconnaissance System (MARS), the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB), and numerous other smaller programs. As the senior advisor to the Commander, USSOCOM, Mr. Hamilton was responsible for finding and evaluating new and innovative technologies that were relevant to special operations missions and either adding them to existing acquisition programs or creating new programs to allow their most rapid introduction into the operating forces. Mr. Hamilton also served as a senior reviewer for USSOCOM Acquisition Review Boards where he judged the progress and quality of the command’s major acquisition programs. He served as the sole Special Operations representative to an OSD technology review team seeking improvements in our ability to defeat hard and deeply buried targets for more than three years. Mr. Hamilton also led an emergency program which resulted in the design, development and fielding of a previously non-existent capability against these targets in less than a year.

In 1998, Mr. Hamilton was detailed to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to lead a program aimed at eliminating the Navy’s time critical targeting shortfalls. He also led a family of research projects for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) supporting the Navy’s “Command Center of the Future” and co-chaired the National Technology Alliance (NTA). The NTA was a joint ONR/NIMA research program aimed at attracting leading edge technology developments from industry that the DoD would otherwise have no access to.

In 2003, Mr. Hamilton founded the KENTIA Management Group (KTMG), and he co-founded Mission Technology Systems (MTS) in 2011. He currently supports the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, MD in the rapid development and fielding of ISR technologies aimed at total integrated domain awareness for the war fighter. Special emphasis is on the development of concepts of operations (CONOP) for both manned and unmanned aerial ISR capabilities and the subsequent development of the most expeditious methods for fielding these capabilities.

CAPT Hamilton’s military career included 30 years of active and reserve service following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978. A Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) by trade, his assignments included 30 years of progressive experience in a succession of line and staff positions of increasing responsibility, including shipboard Division Officer, Chief Engineer, and Commanding Officer positions. He served as a senior staff advisor and/or Commanding Officer with direct reporting responsibilities to the Commanders of the U.S. Sixth Fleet, the U.S. Second Fleet, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic, U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Transportation Command, and the Chief of Naval Reserve. He served as the Air Defense Officer reporting to Commander, U.S. Second Fleet in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and as the senior naval advisor the Commander, JTF KATRINA during the response to that disaster. He retired from the Naval Reserve in 2008. He is a 1200+ hour instrument rated private pilot. His decorations and awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with two Gold Stars), the Navy Commendation Medal (with one Gold Star), and various service and campaign awards.