James Michael Gilmore (born September 24, 1954) is a former Director of the Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. Gilmore served as Assistant Director for National Security of the Congressional Budget Office and Deputy Director of General Purpose Programs in the Office of the

Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation The Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is a principal staff assistant and advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The postholder, as chartered under United States ...

of the Department of Defense. He was served as the Director of the Operational Test and Evaluation Directorate from 2009 to 2017.

Biography

Born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

and raised in Ohio, Gilmore attended Salem Senior High in Salem, Ohio and graduated in 1972. He is a graduate of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

with a B.Sc. degree in physics in May 1976 and the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

with a Ph.D. degree in nuclear engineering in December 1980. Early in his career, Gilmore worked at the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...

, performing research in their

magnetic fusion energy Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, along with i ...

program. He has also worked as an analyst with Falcon Associates and the McDonnell Douglas Washington Studies and Analysis Group, where he became Manager, Electronic Systems Company Analysis. Gilmore was Deputy Director of General Purpose Programs within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Program Analysis and Evaluation (OSD(PA&E)). As the Deputy Director, he was responsible for developing, formulating, and implementing Secretary of Defense policies on all aspects of Department of Defense general purpose programs, including analyzing the operational effectiveness and costs of U.S. conventional military forces and supporting programs. Before serving as a Deputy Director, Gilmore served as the Division Director of Operations Analysis and Procurement Planning, within the Office of the Deputy Director, Resource Analysis and prior to that as an Analyst for Strategic Defensive and Space Programs Division, Office of the Deputy Director, Strategic and Space Programs. Gilmore's service with Program Analysis and Evaluation covered 11 years. Prior to his current appointment Gilmore was the Assistant Director for National Security at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In this position, he was responsible for CBO's National Security Division, which performs analyses of major policy and program issues in national defense, international affairs, and veterans’ affairs. Specific areas of investigation included the long-term implications of current defense policies and programs, the implications of transformation for equipping and operating U.S. military forces, the effectiveness and costs of alternative approaches to modernizing U.S. military forces, and the resource demands associated with operating and supporting U.S. military forces. Gilmore was sworn in as Director of Operational Test and Evaluation on September 23, 2009. A Presidential appointee confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, he served as the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense on operational and live fire test and evaluation of Department of Defense weapon systems. On January 19, 2017, Gilmore left the position of Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. Gilmore resides in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

1954 births Living people People from Richmond, Virginia People from Ohio MIT Department of Physics alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni American nuclear engineers United States Department of Defense officials Heads of United States federal agencies {{US-gov-bio-stub