John P. Stenbit is an American engineer and public official who served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information (NII) (2003-2004) and Assistant Secretary of Defense (Communications, Command, Control, and Intelligence) (C3I) (2001) during the

Presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic i ...

Early life and education

John Stenbit graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1962 with bachelor's and master's degrees in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. He attended the

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc a ...

as a

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

and Aerospace Corporation Fellow from 1962 to 1963.

Career

Stenbit has worked in both the public and private sectors, working on satellites, sensors, telecommunications, IT, and military command and control. He worked for

TRW Inc. TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-History.html TRW Inc. It was a pioneer ...

from 1977 to 2001, retiring as an executive vice president. He served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Communications, Command, Control and Intelligence (ASD C3I) from 2001 to 2003, until that portfolio was transferred to the ASD (NII), the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Following this re-organization, he stayed on as the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration) until 2004. Stenbit was also the chair of the R&D Advisory Committee to the

FAA Administrator The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

, the chair of the Technical Advisory Board to the

Director of the CIA The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office () that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community. Beginning February 2017, the D ...

, and was previously chair of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board. He was also a member of the

MITRE The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

Board of Trustees (since 2005) and has been the director of Viasat Corp since 2004 and

Loral Space & Communications Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a Delaware-domiciled satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and syste ...

. He has chaired the Science and Technology Advisory Panel to the

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...

and served as a member of the Science Advisory Group to the directors of

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

and the

Defense Communications Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. DISA prov ...

. He also chaired the Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee for the Administrator of the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. He has served and consulted on the Defense Science Advisory Board, the Navy Studies Board, and the National Research Council Manufacturing Board. Stenbit is currently a consultant and member of the Defense Science Board, the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

Advisory Board (NSAAB), the

STRATCOM United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterre ...

Advisory Board (SAG), and the

National Reconnaissance Office The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is a member of the United States Intelligence Community and an agency of the United States Department of Defense which designs, builds, launches, and operates the reconnaissance satellites of the U.S. f ...

Advisory Group.

Awards and honors

Stenbit is a member of

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

engineering honor society. In 1999, he was inducted into the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

for "...contributions to the development and leadership in implementation of system architecture for complex military and communication systems." He has received the

Secretary of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Medals for Outstanding and Exceptional Public Service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenbit, John P. Living people California Institute of Technology alumni American aerospace engineers United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense United States Department of Defense officials George W. Bush administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people)