Rear Admiral Kathleen Koehler Paige (born August 30, 1948) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

officer. She was the Program Director,

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (Aegis BMD or ABMD), also known as ''Sea-Based Midcourse'', is a United States Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate- ...

(BMD), the sea-based element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) under development by the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which w ...

(MDA). Rear Admiral Paige retired on 22 November 2005 after 34 years of active service.

Early life

Paige was born in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, on August 30, 1948, and raised in

Scotia, New York Scotia is a village in Schenectady County, New York, United States, incorporated in 1904. The population was 7,729 at the 2010 census. Scotia is part of the town of Glenville, and is connected with the city of Schenectady by the Western Gateway ...

. Her grandmother, Mary Tobin, was a chief

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

in World War I. She is a 1970 graduate of the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...

and was commissioned into the

in 1971.

Naval career

Paige's first tour of duty was at VFP-63,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. Subsequent tours of duty included Fleet Combat Direction System Support Activity,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

; Acquisition Manager in the Navy’s Standard Embedded Computer Resource Office,

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

;

Aegis The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...

C3 Warfare Officer and Combat Systems Baseline Manager, Aegis Shipbuilding Program; Chief Engineer,

Naval Surface Warfare Center * A Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy. NAVSEA Warfare Centers supply the technical operations, people, technology, engineering services and products needed t ...

Port Hueneme Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. P ...

Division; and Technical Director,

Program Office. Paige's first Flag Officer assignment was as Commander, Naval Surface Warfare Center,

, in July 1996. In June 1998, she assumed duties as the Director, Theater Air and Missile Defense and Systems Engineering (TAMD&SE) in the Program Executive Office for Theater Surface Combatants (PEO TSC). As Director, TAMD&SE, she led the Interoperability Task Force, which coordinated the joint efforts of five program offices across three Systems Commands to complete a successful Operational Evaluation of the

Cooperative Engagement Capability Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that is intended to significantly improve battle force air and missile defense capabilities by combining data from multiple battle force air search ...

(CEC). In April 1999, she was concurrently assigned as the first ASN (RDA) Chief Engineer, the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the ...

’s senior technical authority for the development of system and technical architectures designed to improve the integration and interoperability of Navy and Marine Corps weapon, combat, and C4I systems. In July 2001, Paige became MDA's first Ballistic Missile Defense System Technical Director, the principal advisor to the MDA Director on all matters related to the planning and technical performance of the BMDS. In August 2002, she became the navy's senior Engineering Duty Officer (EDO). Paige became Program Director,

(BMD) in March 2003 and in March 2005, concurrent with her Program Director assignment, Paige was selected by the Director, Missile Defense Agency to be the first Director of Mission Readiness.

Education

In 1976, Paige received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree in Computer Systems from the Naval Postgraduate School. She was designated an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) in 1981. While attending the Engineering Duty Officer Basic Course, she was awarded the VADM Bryan Award for academic excellence. She is a graduate of the

Defense Systems Management College The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) is a corporate university of the United States Department of Defense offering "acquisition, technology, and logistics" (AT&L) training to military and Federal civilian staff and Federal contractors. DAU is ...

and the

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

Program for Executives.

Awards and decorations

Paige's personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (3 awards), the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

(3 awards), and the

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

References

External links