Michael Wynne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Wynne
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| 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force | |
| In office November 4, 2005 – June 5, 2008 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Pete Geren (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Michael B. Donley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 4, 1944 Clearwater, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) Air University (MS) University of Colorado Colorado Springs (MBA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1966–1973 |
| Rank |  Captain |
Michael Walter Wynne (born September 4, 1944) is an American politician and business executive and was the 21st United States Secretary of the Air Force. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation (and that of Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley) on June 5, 2008, in the wake of the 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident and the mistaken shipment of Minuteman III parts to Taiwan in 2006, followed by an investigation by and a critical report from Admiral Kirkland H. Donald regarding the Minuteman incident.
Michael B. Donley, Department of Defense Director of Administration and Management, was nominated to replace Wynne by President George W. Bush on June 9, 2008.
Early life and family
Wynne was born in Clearwater, Florida, and raised in Melbourne, Florida.
He is the younger brother of 1st Lt. Patrick Edward Wynne, call sign "Ozark", MIA August 8, 1966, in Vietnam, declared dead in 1974, Socialist Republic of Vietnam returned remains to Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command March 18, 1977.
Military and business career
Wynne graduated with the United States Military Academy class of 1966 and served in the Air Force for seven years, ending his career as a captain and assistant professor of astronautics at the United States Air Force Academy.
In 1999 Wynne had retired as senior vice president from General Dynamics, where his role was in International Development and Strategy. He had rejoined the company at the invitation of the chairman to strengthen international activities. In between working with General Dynamics, he spent three years with Lockheed Martin, having sold the General Dynamics' Space Systems Division to then Martin Marietta. He successfully integrated the division into the Astronautics Company and became the general manager of the Space Launch Systems segment, combining the Titan with the Atlas Launch vehicles. Wynne spent a total of 23 years with General Dynamics in various senior positions with the Aircraft (F-16s) and Main Battle Tanks (M1A2) Divisions, and served on the corporate staff prior to becoming the president of Space Systems, including Launch Vehicles (Atlas and Centaur), and a corporate vice president.
Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Wynne was involved in venture capital. He nurtured small technology companies through their startup phase as a member of the NextGenFund Executive Committee, and served in executive positions of two of those companies.
Writing
Wynne has published numerous professional journal articles relating to engineering, cost estimating and contracting.
Wynne has called on the United States to fund the development of both designs for the KC-X, a step that Dan Goure of the Lexington Institute says would even more delay to the long overdue project.
Education
- 1966: Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
- 1970: Master of Science degree in electrical engineering, Air Force Institute of Technology of Air University, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
- 1975: Master of Business Administration degree, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Career chronology
- June 1966 – June 1973, Air Force officer
- July 1973 – May 1975, principal, Research Analysis and Development (RAD), Inc.
- July 1975 – May 1994, various executive positions with General Dynamics
- June 1994 – March 1997, Lockheed Martin, Denver
- July 1997 – October 1999, senior vice president, General Dynamics, Falls Church, Virginia
- December 2000 – July 2001, chairman and chief executive officer, IXATA Group, McLean, Virginia
- July 2001 – October 2005, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Washington, D.C. (May 2003 – April 2005, also served as acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics)
- April 2005 – June 2005, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Washington, D.C.
- November 2005 – June 2008, Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
