“He was an experienced practitioner who understood the defense environment and the people within it,” said RADM Lenn Vincent (USN, Ret.), who holds the Forrestal-Richardson Memorial Industry Chair at DAU. Vincent met Bolton in 1993, when he was commander of


the Defense Contract Management


Command and Bolton the DSMC com- mandant. “In addition to his many accomplishments, he always made time for all the people he worked with and encountered. … Approachable, always caring, always positive, always thoughtful and always genuine.”


Students and faculty alike enjoyed ready access to Bolton, said Dr. Michael C. Ryan, professor of program management for DAU’s South Region and DSMC’s PMT 401 Enterprise Course director from September 2012 to February 2015.


“His engagement with the PMT 401 course and its students helped to thor- oughly enrich the PMT 401 experience for each student he interacted with, as he contributed his knowledge and experi- ence to the course. He will be missed, not only by the students, but also by the PMT 401 faculty, with whom he spent many hours over the last few years, providing assistance and valuable feedback that directly influenced the quality of instruc- tion and the course,” Ryan said.


Educated as an electrical engineer, Bolton also shared his passion for engineering


GOING THE DISTANCE


Bolton, in 2004, chats with Paul McMahon, then DAU liaison to the Office of the Secretary of De- fense in his ASA(ALT) office at the Pentagon. Bolton served as the ASA(ALT) and AAE for six years, an unusually long tenure. (Photo by SSG Kevin Moses, courtesy of Defense AT&L Magazine)


with friends and colleagues. “I always enjoyed talking with Claude about our electronics projects. He was a true-blue electronic engineer! He would rebuild antique radios, tape recorders and televi- sions,” said David Miskimens, professor of program management and mission assistance at DAU, who worked with Bolton on many of the capstone exercises for the 400-level executive courses.


“We had a common experience, having owned an old wire recorder from the


“His skills as a PM and leader overcame any other topic when prepping to meet with him to obtain support [or] guidance for an acquisition decision. One learned quickly that you had to have a comprehensive knowledge of your program.”


1950s. He was so smart on the details of every facet of the electronics—almost any- thing military or commercial,” Miskimens said. He recalled that Bolton’s “man cave” at home was not decorated with sports memorabilia. “No, Claude’s was full of old electronic equipment, TV cabinets, oscilloscopes, test equipment and racks of electronic projects that he was working on.”


Linda Bolton recalled that her husband


“used to say that one of the best days for him was the day that the warranty ran out on something, because then he could open [it] up and really see how it worked, take it apart.”


Bolton found it easy to explain how


the acquisition, the technology and the logistics in his line of work all came together—through people. He drove this point home in the closing minutes of his Nov. 27, 2006 welcome to the Army Sci- ence Conference.


ASC.ARMY.MIL 107


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