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Hicks
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By RUSTY DENNEN
Rear Adm. Joseph A. Horn Jr. today assumes command of two high-profile ballistic missile commands at the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren.
He replaces Rear Adm. Alan "Brad" Hicks, who is retiring this afternoon at a ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. The host and keynote speaker is Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Horn, 52, is deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency. At Dahlgren, he will oversee the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense land and sea-based programs and the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command created at Dahlgren earlier this year.
Horn commanded the USS Stout and USS Lake Erie, both Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyers and the USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga Class guided-missile cruiser.
While Horn was in command of the Lake Erie, the ship conducted multiple successful ballistic missile engagements, winning several Navy awards.
The Lake Erie was prominent in the news in February 2008 when its missiles shot down an errant spy satellite in a real-world demonstration of ballistic missile defense technology.
Horn's first duty assignment was aboard the USS Sampson as a combat information center officer and damage control assistant. Then he was operations offer on the USS Robert G. Bradley and USS Ticonderoga and executive officer on the USS Anzio.
Horn has deployed to the Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, the Eastern and Western Pacific, and sailed in the Caribbean and Baltic seas and the Atlantic Ocean.
A Pennsylvania native, Horn graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He earned a master's in operations research from the Navy Postgraduate School. He served on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Forces Command, U.S. Fleet Forces and in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Hicks, 55, arrived at Dahlgren in 2005, when the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program was in its infancy.
"When I took over the program, we had only an experimental engagement capability," he said. Now the system is deployed on 19 ships, with operational tests ongoing.
Hicks oversaw the first real-world test of the technology during Operation Burnt Frost, the satellite shoot-down. "That was a high point, clearly," he said.
But leading up to that, he noted that: "During 2007, we conducted five successful missile defense tests in one calendar year. That had never been done before. It was impressive. I was very proud of that."
Another milestone was the simultaneous downing of two incoming ballistic missiles, which Hicks called "a tactically challenging thing."
"And to roll right from that into the satellite [downing] and to pull that off was a testimony to the people involved," he said.
Hicks coordinated the efforts of the Navy, civilian technicians and defense contractors. Recent tests have included an international partner, Japan.
The Navy's ballistic missile programs got a boost in September when President Obama decided to scrap the Bush administration missile-shield plan in Europe for a sea-based initiative that would start with Aegis ship interceptors.
Hicks, a native of Henderson, Ky., served in the Navy for 33 years on ships and in key operations and technology positions on shore.
He said he plans to spend some time with his wife and family at their home in Stafford before deciding what's next.
Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Email: rdennen@freelancestar.com
