Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

officer. She was the

Program Director In service industries, such as education, a program manager or program director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services. For example, in education, a program director is responsible for developing ...

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

(BMD), the sea-based element of the

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

(BMDS) under development by the

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is a component of the Federal government of the United States, United States government's United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense responsible for developing a comprehensive Missile defense, defe ...

(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 (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, 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 7,272 at the 2020 census. Scotia is part of the town of Glenville, and is connected with the city of Schenectady by the Western Gatewa ...

. 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 Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

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

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

and was commissioned into the

in 1971.

Naval career

Paige's first tour of duty was at

VFP-63 VFP-63 was a Light Photographic Squadron of the U.S. Navy. Originally established as Composite Squadron Sixty-One (VC-61) on 20 January 1949, it was redesignated as Fighter Photographic Squadron (VFP-61) on 2 July 1956. Redesignated as Composite ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

;

Aegis The aegis ( ; ''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 deity named Aex, a ...

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

Naval Surface Warfare Center The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is part of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) operated by the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United Sta ...

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. Port ...

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 The United States Department of the Navy (DON) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense. It was esta ...

’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

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

(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 (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in Computer Systems from the

Naval Postgraduate School Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is a Naval command with a graduate university mission, operated by the United States Navy and located in Monterey, California. The NPS mission is to provide "defense-focused graduate education, including clas ...

. 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 ...

and the

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Program for Executives.

Awards and decorations

Paige's personal decorations include the

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(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: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services 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 rece ...

References

External links