SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


SPOTLIGHT MR. JONATHAN HENSHEY


Active-duty perspective benefits acquisition career


MR. JONATHAN HENSHEY


COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Aviation, HQ staff


POSITION AND OFFICIAL TITLE: Chief of system safety


YEARS OF SERVICE:


5 years in the workforce, 23.5 years of military service


AWARDS:


Commander’s Award for Civilian Ser- vice, Achievement Medal for Civilian Service


EDUCATION:


M.S. in aeronautical science (dual specialization in management and operations); B.S. in professional aeronautics (minor in aviation safety), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University


He started his civilian career in the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation’s Fixed Wing Project Office as the system safety manager. “I was only the second person to manage that office,” he said. “Given how old the Army is and how long the Acquisi- tion Corps has been around, I was surprised that the office was as new as it was.”


Henshey is now at PEO Aviation HQ, where he serves as chief of system safety. “Most people are surprised to hear that there is such a thing as system safety. Tey usually only think of operational safety and how we ensure that people do things safely,” he said. “System safety addresses the hazards that the system can potentially present to the operator, even if he or she does everything properly. A system is not as effective as it could be if it can injure or kill its operator in spite of their flawless execution of the mission.”


He recently passed the five-year mark at PEO Aviation. “When I was on the operations side, I didn’t fully understand all the moving parts of acquisition and what it took to go from concept to fielding, sustainment and eventually retirement [of a system],” he said. “I now understand much better how acquisition works—the process is complex and dynamic, with a lot of moving pieces—and I’d like to see it become a little quicker and more responsive.”


48 H


aving spent nearly 24 years on active duty, Jonathan Henshey thought he had a pretty good understanding of the acquisition process. But when this CW4 retired from the Army and joined the acquisition workforce in 2008, he learned just how intricate the process can be.


Henshey started his active-duty career as an infantryman but served the bulk of his time as an Army aviator. He flew UH-1 Iroquois and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters as well as the U-21, the C-12, the RC-12 and the VC-35 fixed-wing aircraft in posts as diverse as North Carolina, Alaska, Iraq and Bosnia.


Army AL&T Magazine


October–December 2014


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