2025 C5ISR Hall of Fame Inductees

Mr. Vincent H. Buonocore served for 26 years in the CECOM Legal Office, beginning his service as an active-duty Judge Advocate General Corps Officer and ending his tenure in 2010 as the Acting Chief Counsel, with overall responsibility for every legal aspect of CECOM's mission.

He served as Source Selection Authority Counsel on every major acquisition during that time. Mr. Buonocore's remarkable accomplishments, exceptional technical expertise, outstanding leadership, ability to devise new approaches to complex challenges, strategic vision, and commitment to the CECOM mission supporting the warfighter were unsurpassed.

His service substantially contributed to CECOM being recognized by the federal government and private industry as having the most effective Legal Office in the Department of the Army. One of Mr. Buonocore's most lasting contributions was building the command's Procurement Fraud Program.

Mr. Buonocore was recognized as the Army's "go-to" attorney for significant litigation efforts. Mr. Buonocore also actively mentored the professionals in his organization, several of whom went on to serve in critical leadership positions and influence within the CECOM community including, Deputy Chief Counsels, Chief Counsels, and a Deputy to the Commanding General.

He was the first CECOM employee to receive the Supervisory and Executive Level "CECOM Award for Managerial Excellence." In addition to his numerous local awards, Mr. Buonocore was honored as the AMC "Attorney of the Year" and received AMC's "Francis J. Buckley Award for Managerial Excellence."

Brigadier General (Retired) Thomas M. Cole led and served the C5ISR community in conjunction with several of the Army's most important programs, Product Manager (PdM) Firefinder, Program Manager (PM) Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T), and Program Executive Officer Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (PEO IEW&S), and he had an enduring impact on program execution, viability, and operational readiness.

General Cole was influential in the C5ISR community and culture as he engaged, mentored, and professionally developed Soldiers and civilians who have become today's C5ISR leaders. As PdM Firefinder, from 1995–1998, General Cole had the honor to lead the modernization, development, and fielding of the AN/TPQ-36 (Q-36) and AN/TPQ-37 (Q-37) Firefinder radars, during which he molded a Firefinder Community of Excellence that is still clearly evident in the leadership at APG today.

During his assignment as PM WIN-T, he integrated two project offices (WIN-T and SATCOM), achieved an Acquisition Category 1D milestone decision and contract award for the WIN-T program, and added the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) to the project office portfolio. He effectively managed these challenges and overcame the organizational changes that often significantly impact the existing culture, along with employee morale, productivity, and overall organizational performance.

Finally, as PEO IEW&S, from 2007–2010, his authority spanned a portfolio of programs over $14 billion in Program Objective Memorandum and supplemental funding. During this time, the Army was directly involved in war and combat operations. These programs supported the first warfighter priority – Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and its surge.

Mr. Stephen F. Kovacs began his 37-year career in the CECOM Software Engineering Center (SEC) as an Electronics Engineer intern within the Communications/Automatic Data Processing (Comm/ADP) laboratory in 1975. He ended his tenure in 2013 with his second tour as the Acting Director of CECOM.

His career accomplishments contributed directly to the birth and evolution of Army digitization and the development of the software engineering discipline within the Army, beginning in the early days of automated tactical fire control (TACFIRE) and automated communications systems (TRI-TAC) and continuing with the software-intensive systems and innovative software development processes of today. Many practices and processes in place today can directly trace their roots to Mr. Kovacs' efforts throughout his career.

Mr. Kovacs developed and implemented technical plans to avoid Y2K-related issues for over 165 battlespace systems throughout the Army and Department of Defense. Another life-saving technical achievement was the transformation of the SEC Army Reprogramming Analysis Team (ARAT) in the critical area of Infrared Countermeasure support.

Mr. Kovacs received numerous awards for his technical and managerial achievements, including the prestigious Secretary of the Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, three Superior Civilian Service Awards, and two Commander's Awards for Civilian Service. He was awarded the CECOM Leadership Award twice, once in the Executive Category and once as one of the Top Ten C4ISR Personnel of the Year. He also received the Louis Dellamonica Award for Outstanding Army Materiel Command (AMC) personnel.

Mr. Henry J. Muller, Jr. dedicated his career to advancing the fields of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR), spearheading mission-critical efforts through a time of unparalleled technological innovation and change.

Mr. Muller's culminating assignment was as the Tier 2 Senior Executive Service Director of the C5ISR Center, where he led his workforce of more than 2,000 civilian and military personnel in planning and executing C5ISR research, development, and engineering across the Army's C5ISR portfolio. Mr. Muller's technical expertise, exemplary leadership, and strategic guidance enabled revolutionary advances in communications, mission command, electro-optical and infrared sensor technology, electronic warfare, Soldier and tactical power, offensive and defensive cyber operations, intelligence, and countermeasure equipment and services.

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mr. Muller played a crucial role as a leader and member of the CECOM Research, Development, and Engineering Center (RDEC) combined team of military, civilian, and contractor personnel who deployed to the World Trade Center shortly after the attack. Mr. Muller and his team assisted in the site search, fielded equipment for choke-point monitoring, and trained interagency personnel.

As director, Mr. Muller focused on supporting and delivering critical C5ISR solutions to operational forces. He ensured that complementary capabilities enhanced each other, resulting in a more effective and efficient organization.

Upon Mr. Muller's retirement in 2017, his career contributions were recognized by the Secretary of the Army, who personally awarded him the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, the Army's highest honorary award for a civilian.

Mr. Raymond E. Santiago was a respected and beloved member of Team C5ISR for his 36-year career, providing critical leadership in the CECOM Software Engineering Center (SEC) and Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S). He was an expert in software management and sustainment and development of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, including ground data processing and exploitation capabilities, and aerial ISR systems.

Through a combination of management, leadership, and technical acumen, he was able to lead the development, deployment, and sustainment of systems such as the Distributed Common Ground Station-Army (DCGS-A), Guardrail Ground Processing Facility, Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS), and Guardrail Common Sensor (GRCS).

Mr. Santiago was critical in establishing the Joint Tactical Integration Facility (JTIF), which provided a Systems Integration Lab to develop, sustain, and upgrade of many ISR systems. The JTIF was critical in the development and testing of the EMARSS platforms and other advanced ISR systems. He used his understanding and relationships with the entire C5ISR community to establish this capability in the SEC laboratories at Aberdeen Proving Ground. This offered an onsite capability to support PEO IEW&S and CECOM-managed systems.

He helped the Army and Department of Defense during some of the most critical times in our history. His work during the Counter Terrorism/Counter Insurgency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations worldwide saved lives and enhanced the effectiveness of US and coalition warfighters.

Mr. Santiago passed away in 2016.