Spawar tech director going to VA

Frank Perry biography

Frank Perry, the technical director for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, will leave that post this month to become the chief technology officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Rear Adm. Kenneth Slaght, Spawar's vice commander, announced Perry's departure earlier this month. "I know this was a difficult decision that he arrived at for personal reasons," Slaght said.

Perry was responsible for integrating engineering and development activities across Spawar's programs.

Slaght noted that Spawar's past focus was on interfacing and that the future focuses on integration.

During Perry's tenure, Spawar made "substantial progress toward that integrated future," Slaght said. It is important that the leadership team accomplish as smooth a transition as possible, he said.

Capt. Ron Polkowsky will take over as the Spawar chief engineer, and Ken McCloud will become acting program manager, warfare.

Perry's move will reunite him with John Gauss, the VA's chief information officer. Gauss and Perry worked together at Spawar and the Defense Information Systems Agency. Gauss retired as Spawar commander earlier this year.

Perry has specialized in information security. Rep. Stephen Horn (R-Calif.) recently gave the VA a failing grade for its information security efforts.