Mathew D. Mulhern, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Deputy Director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. He advises and directs selected study, development and fielding activities tasked directly by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, the Secretary of the Air Force, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office is responsible for the development and deployment of significant upgrades to the Integrated Air Defense System now operational around the National Capital Region. Other responsibilities include technical integration of Department of Defense classified activities, and the representation of these activities to Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Congress and the White House.
Mr. Mulhern was commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps following graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1980. After completing The Basic School and flight training he was designated a Naval Aviator in August 1982. As a Naval Aviator, he served multiple operational tours in the F-4 Phantom and FA-18 Hornet aircraft. During his operational tours he attended the Navy's Fighter Weapons School (Topgun) and the Marine Corps' Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. After receiving a Master's Degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, he served as the Assistant Program Manager for Systems Engineering in the Naval Air Systems Command's FA-18 Program Office, the Operations Officer for the Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft and as the Executive Assistant to the Commander of Naval Air Systems Command. He later served as the Deputy Director of the Capabilities & Acquisition Division in the Joint Staff's J8 Directorate. While attached to the Joint Staff he deployed to Baghdad, Iraq to serve as the Military Assistant to the Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Finance in Iraq's first transitional government, the Coalition Provisional Authority. The last assignment of his 30 year Marine Corps career was as the Program Manager of the V-22 Program. He led the V-22 Program through the declaration of Initial Operating Capability for the Marine Corps' MV-22 and the Air Force's CV-22, as well as their first four combat deployments.
Following retirement from active duty, he joined the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program as the Weapon Systems Program Manager. As the F-35 Weapon System Program Manager he was responsible for the development, test and production of the three variants of F-35 aircraft. Mr. Mulhern was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2013.
1980 Bachelor of Science degree in Human Factors Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1985 Navy Fighter Weapons School (Topgun), Naval Air Station Miramar, Calif.
1990 Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
2001 Master Degree in Resourcing the National Security Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C.
2001 Advanced Program Management Course, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Va.
2005 Executive Program Management Course, Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Va.
1. July 1980 - December 1980, Student, The Basic School, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Va.
2. January 1981 - July 1981, Student, Primary Flight Training, Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Fla.
4. September 1982 - August 1983, F- 4 Transition Pilot, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
5. September 1983 - August 1986, F-4 Pilot, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 451, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
6. September 1986 - October 1989, Fleet Replacement Squadron Instructor Pilot, Navy Fighter Attack Squadron 125, Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
7. November 1989 - February 1992, Weapons and Tactics Officer, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
8. March 1992 - January 1993, Operations Officer, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
9. February 1993 - June 1993, Current Operations Officer, Marine Air Group 31, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
10. July 1993 - May 1996, Integrated Product Team Lead, FA-18 Program Office, Naval Systems Command, Arlington, Va.
11. June 1996 - August 1996, Fleet Replacement Squadron Refresher Pilot, Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, Calif.
12. September 1996 - January 1998, Executive Officer, Marine Fighter Attack (All Weather) Squadron 224, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.
13. February 1998 - May 1998, Assistant Operations Officer, Marine Air Group 31, MCAS Beaufort, S.C.
14. June 1998 - July 2000, Commanding Officer, Marine Air Group 49 Detachment Alpha, Andrews AFB, Md.
15. August 2000 - June 2001, Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Ft McNair, Washington D.C.
16. July 2001 - June 2002, Assistant Program Manager for Systems Engineering, FA-18 Program Office, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
17. July 2002 - December 2002, Operations Officer, Program Executive Office (Tactical Aircraft), Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
18. January 2003 - June 2003, Executive Assistant to the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
19. July 2003 - July 2005, Deputy Director, Capabilities and Acquisition Division, J8 Joint Staff, Washington D.C.
20. August 2005 - January 2006, Deputy Program Manager, V-22 Joint Program, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
21. February 2006 - August 2009, Program Manager, V-22 Joint Program, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
22. September 2009 - April 2010, Program Management Team, Naval Air Systems Command Cost Department, Naval Air Systems Command, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.
23. May 2010 - April 2013, Weapon Systems Program Manager, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, Arlington, Va.
24. May 2013 - present, Deputy Director, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington D.C.