Steven Kunkle
Mr. Kunkle is a retired Rear Admiral from the United States Navy with over thirty-five years of professional experience in government and industry at key leadership and management positions. He had a thirty year career as a US Naval officer and naval aviator with broad, hands-on experience in all facets of military operations, requirements generation, weapons system acquisition, budgetary planning and execution, threat and vulnerability assessments, risk management, and program management. He has extensive executive leadership experience at the highest levels of the US military, including Navy Strike Group Command, Deputy Command of high visibility joint/coalition operation, major staff director assignments, and personnel management.
Mr. Kunkle brings to Harmonia his expertise in matters pertaining to naval and maritime operations, force structure development and assessments, Maritime Domain Awareness, DoD weapons systems acquisition, joint capabilities assessment, personnel management, training, and military budgetary processes. He is a recognized expert in US Navy systems command processes, procedures, and opportunities.
Mr. Kunkle had a distinguished career with the US Navy and served in a wide variety of operational and staff positions leading to Major Aviation Command in 1996. He commanded a 12-aircraft, 200-man, FA-18 squadron, which won virtually every available organizational award. He later deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing UN Security Council Resolutions in support of the Southern No-Fly Zone in Iraq. Between 1997 and 1999 he served the Office of Secretary of Defense as senior staff specialist for Naval Aviation programs including FA-18EF, Joint Strike Fighter, AIM-9X, CVNX, and others. Before retiring from the Navy in 2003, Mr. Kunkle was the Commander of Carrier Strike Group FIVE/Task Force 70/75/77, US Navy's largest and only forward deployed aircraft carrier strike group, consisting of 22 separate commands, 10 warships, 72 tactical aircraft, and 8200 personnel.
