Retired as the Standard Missile (SM) Program Manager in July 1997, after leading the Navy's air defense missile team into a new Navy mission -- theater ballistic missile defense (TBMD). He led the team in the first successful Navy TBMD intercept in January 1997 with a prototype SM2 Block IVA. Additionally, he led the design team of a four-stage tactical exo-atmospheric interceptor (SM3), first flown in September 1999.