MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK
Craig Riedel, project manager for Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions (TAGM) under the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, finds that people outside of his workplace are fascinated with defense work. Often, he said, they are unaware of the collaboration between civil service and military in these roles and inquire about oppor- tunities in this field. Tey often ask how he stumbled into it himself.
“I was in the last semester of my master’s degree work [in 2003], wrapping up my thesis, and started looking for jobs when I needed a break from writing. I came across an Army posting on the university alumni career services website, but I didn’t apply because the criteria required 10 years of experience and some other qualifications I did not meet,” Riedel said. “It turned out I accidentally applied and was confused when I got a call a few days later for an interview.”
CRAIG RIEDEL
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space
TITLE: Project manager, Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 20
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: Advanced in pro- gram management; Practitioner in engineering and technical management
EDUCATION: MBA in global leadership and management, Lawrence Technological University; M.S. in mechanical engineering and B.S. in mechanical engineering, Iowa State University
AWARDS: Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2); Civilian Service Commendation Medal (3)
Riedel’s master’s work was in engineering design and analysis applications in virtual reality, and it turned out that the Research Development and Engineering Center at Rock Island Arsenal was starting up a virtual reality program and seeking someone with virtual reality hardware and software experience, which was rare at the time.
“It was an accidental match made in heaven,” he said. “I interviewed and started work there a few months later after graduation. Te idea of working for the Army on weapon systems and utilizing the skills I developed in my master’s work was very appealing.”
As the project manager for TAGM, Riedel is responsible for the overall cost, schedule and performance management of critical tactical munitions, including the Joint Air- to-Ground Missile, the Hellfire, the Javelin, guided and unguided Hydra rockets, the Tube-Launched Optically Tracked Wireless-Guided (TOW) missile, the Switchblade, the Long-Range Precision Munition, the Containerized Weapon System and all the related launchers and support equipment, as well as developing, fielding, sustaining and improving these weapon systems.
“One reason I enjoy acquisition is that I get to interact with a wide variety of organiza- tions across the Department of Defense and beyond,” he said. “I really enjoy the diversity and breadth of people I interact with as an acquisition professional.”
Te most important point in Riedel’s career, he said, was when he deployed to Iraq in 2007 to be the chief of facilities and facilities engineering for the U.S. Army Mate- riel Command’s 402nd Army Field Support Brigade. “At that point I had been in civil service for three years. I enjoyed my work, but there were a lot of great career opportu- nities out there and I was starting to doubt whether I wanted to make a career out of Army acquisition.”
Riedel said the deployment experience was completely out of his comfort zone. For the first time in his life, he was surrounded by Soldiers daily and was given a massive amount of responsibility with minimal direction to go with it.
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Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2025
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