A former Director of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Mr. Jess F. Granone was inducted into the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor as a part of the opening reception for the 10thAnnual Space and Missile Defense Conference held at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Monday evening, the thirteenth of August 2007.
Assisting in the induction ceremony were Congressman Bud Cramer, Representing Alabama’s Fifth District, and Ms. Angie McCarter, the 10th Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference Co-Chair.
Mr. Granone served as the Director, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC); Director, SMDTC Sensors Technical Director, PEO Missile Defense (PEO MD); and Project Manager (PM), Theater Missile Defense Project Office. Under his leadership, the Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept Of Target (PATRIOT) Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) hit-to-kill candidate was selected; the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) developed the first integrated Directed Energy (DE) technology program; and the first KATYUSHA rocket (a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II) was shot down by a laser.
Mr. Granone served in the Senior Executive Service (SES) as the Director of SMDTC from 1999 to 2005. Mr. Granone also served as the Director, Sensors Directorate within the Technical Center; Technical Director and Chief Engineer of the PEO MD; and Chief Engineer, Deputy Project Manager, and Project Manager of the Theater Missile Defense Project Office. Mr. Granone had national and international recognition as an engineer and manager of outstanding ability and vision. Mr. Granone participated in numerous international defense initiatives including NATO, Israel, and Japan; as well as numerous special assignments such as Chairman of the U.S. Army Missile Review Board, which selected the hit-to-kill candidate for the PAC-3 Program. Mr. Granone developed USASMDC’s first integrated technology program for DE and it was his vision that led to the first ever KATYUSHA rocket shot down by a laser system. Mr. Granone retired from government service in 2005.
Mr. Granone was the 36th member of the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor.
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