In memoriam

CHIPS, July-Sept, 2009

John J. Lussier, Department of the Navy Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer, passed away on June 17, 2009. He leaves to mourn a wife and three young children. Also mourning his loss are his DON CIO family, his DON and Department of Defense colleagues, and a host of other family, friends and neighbors. John was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June 2008, but continued working while receiving treatment for his illness. During this difficult year, he maintained his professional demeanor, sense of humor and compassion.

John was selected by the Secretary of the Navy to seive as the DON Deputy CIO in May 2007. Previously, John was appointed Acting DON Deputy CIO in July 2006 and Acting DON CIO in November 2006. His appointments filled the void created when DON Deputy CIO Rob Carey was deployed to Iraq and DON CIO Dave Wennergren took a position as DoD Deputy CIO. With the top two positions in the DON CIO vacant, John was faced with what would have been a challenge to any leader.

However, he accepted this challenge with grace, and he managed the roles of Acting CIO and Deputy CIO, in addition to his responsibilities as Director of Operations, and Telecommunications, Wireless and Spectrum Team Leader.

As Deputy CIO, he managed and led the staff, providing the direction necessary to keep the DON CIO running a steady course. As the department's Senior Information Assurance Officer, he was responsible for the security of the DON's IT networks and applications to ensure information dominance on the battlefield and seamless operations for our Navy and Marine Corps forces.

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The Computer Network Defense (CND) Roadmap he recently signed (included as an insert to this issue) charts the way ahead for CND in the department and will be extremely beneficial to the DON both in the present, and well into the future.

As the Director of Operations, he handled the responsibility for all personnel, budgetary, financial and contractual management for the DON CIO. As Telecommunications Team Leader, John succeeded in transitioning the department's telecommunications to an enterprise management model, which has influenced the way telecommunications is managed across the government.

The wireless LAN policy he formulated secures the wireless environment, which is most important to our Sailors and Marines deployed to locations where the use of wireless technology is critical.

John's leadership of the policy and strategic planning for electromagnetic spectrum has led to the assurance that DON and DoD equipment that uses the electromagnetic spectrum is protected.

John has represented the DON as the ranking official to national and international bodies, including the World Radiocommunication Conference, International Telecommunication Union, and the Federal Communications Commission.

John has positively influenced the work of the DON CIO, the department and the DoD, and his impact will be felt for years to come.

John was a great boss, an admirable leader and a vital part of the DON CIO family. He will be missed by all whose lives he touched.