DISTRIBUTION A—Approved for public release. (Case # 88ABW-2018-0045)
As promised, here is the next issue of the newsletter
delivered in a somewhat timely fashion! As the New
Year rolls around, we have a lot of turnover of
airworthiness folks. As we all know, Mr. Jorge
Gonzalez is retiring. He has been instrumental in
pushing us to mature our airworthiness processes
throughout the USAF! Dr. Kenneth Barker is
temporarily stepping in as the USAF Technical
Airworthiness Authority (TAA) until a permanent
replacement is announced. Ms. Lisa Glover also
retired. She has been invaluable as the Commercial
Derivative Aircraft (CDA) Subject Matter Expert
(SME); as well as leading development and
implementation of processes for Contractor-Owned,
Contractor-Operated (COCO) programs. Her deep
wealth of knowledge and abilities will be sorely
missed. Finally, Mr. Gregory Staley completed his
tenure as the F-35 airworthiness lead and was
selected to lead Foreign Military Sales (FMS)
programs in the T-6 program office.
With the departures come new arrivals! Mr. Brian
Roth is now full-time in the office and is running
CDA policy and programs. Mr. Andrew Smith is
taking over Unmanned Aircraft Systems policy and
programs, as Mr. Mark Mueller is transitioning to
Special Projects. Ms. Yadira Ayala-Marrero is
moving over shortly and will be responsible for
COCO programs. Ms. Michelle Edgell recently
joined us to assist in configuration management
activities. Last, but not least, Ms. Kelly Fischer has
arrived to perform office administrative duties –
something we have been sorely missing for quite
some time. When you have the opportunity please
welcome them.
Currently, there are several vacancies at the NH-03
level. Please drop me a note if you are interested.
As always, I am open to suggestions, comments, and
complaints on airworthiness policy, processes, and
implementation. Until the next issue or when I see
you at a TD-TIM or Airworthiness Board – Be Safe!
Executive Summary
By David Bushroe, Chief
Airworthiness Office
Thanks for the Memories
By Jorge Gonzalez,
USAF TAA (Retired)
It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as the United
States Air Force’s TAA over the past 5 years. I would
like to express my sincere gratitude to the numerous
colleagues, industry partners, international partners, the
FAA, and my Department of Defense counterparts. We
have accomplished many important milestones over this
period and it all has been made possible by the wonderful
people serving with me.
As I move into retirement, I will look back fondly on my
TAA experience. I will entrust the TAA responsibilities
to Dr. Ken Barker effective 4 January 2018. Ken has the
technical acumen and integrity to serve admirably in this
important role.
I would like to remind the airworthiness national and
international community, one last time, that although we
understand that the military mission comes first and it
entails significant risk, it is our duty as technical experts
and airworthiness regulators, to do all we can to protect
our sons and daughters flying on our products. We can
only accomplish this important role by adhering to
process compliance, physics-based analytics and sound
engineering principles to ensure our warfighters are not
exposed to risks that can be avoided or mitigated.
Thanks again for your service and support. Wishing you
all Godspeed!
No. 6, January 2018
