Roosevelt Mercer, Jr

Retired Maj. Gen. Roosevelt Mercer Jr., SES, is the Director of the Interagency Planning Office (IPO) for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) at the Federal Aviation Administration where he provides high-level leadership for interagency and international collaboration related to NextGen. He executes the collaborative processes needed to ensure efficient coordination among all federal partners whose decisions impact NextGen. The federal partner agencies include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Commerce (DOC), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as an ex officio participant. Mr. Mercer is charged with providing executive direction to a dynamic multi-agency and international partnering organization focused on future NextGen technology, policy, and collaborative activities.

Contents

• Education
• Assignments
• Badges
• Other achievements
• Effective dates of promotion
• References

Prior to joining the FAA in April 2016, Mr. Mercer had a successful career in the private sector since 2007. As the Vice President and Director of Government for Commercial & International initiatives for Geospatial Systems, a division of ITT Exelis, Mr. Mercer was responsible for government / industry partnerships and international initiatives worldwide.

Prior to joining ITT Exelis, Mr. Mercer served in the United States Air Force (USAF) for over 32 years (retired January 1, 2008), most recently as Director of Plans and Policy for U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base (AFB) in Nebraska. He was responsible for the development and implementation of national security policy, military strategy, space and weapons employment concepts and policy, as well as joint doctrine as they applied to the command and execution of its missions. Mr. Mercer was also responsible for the development of the nation’s strategic war plan, strategic support plans for theater combatant commanders, and contingency planning for the Global Strike mission.

Mr. Mercer has held command seven times from the squadron to the wing level. Among his many USAF assignments, he served as Commander, 45^th Logistics Group, Patrick AFB, Florida; as Commander 30^th Space Wing, Vandenberg AFB, California; Commander, 81^st Training Wing, Biloxi, MS; Commander 91 Operations Group, Minot, N.D.; as Vice Director of Plans, U.S. Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado; Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB; and as the Commandant, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Mr. Mercer entered the U.S. Air Force as a 1975 distinguished graduate of the University of Puget Sound’s ROTC program. His educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts degree in urban planning from the University of Puget Sound, Master of Science in counseling from the University of Oklahoma, post-graduate Executive Programs at Syracuse University, National Defense University, and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, as well as a concentrated Executive Financial Development Program at the Wharton School of Business.

Mr. Mercer is the Vice Chairman of the National Strategic Research Institute for the University of Nebraska; Chairman of the Military Advisory Board of Directors for Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska; a member of the Board of Trustees for the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York; and a member of the National Association of Governing Boards.

Director of Plans and Policy, United States Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. He is directly responsible to the Commander, USSTRATCOM, for the development and implementation of national security policy and guidance, military strategy and guidance, space and weapons employment concepts and policy, and joint doctrine as they apply to the command and the execution of its missions. He is also responsible for the development of the nation's strategic war plan, strategic support plans for theater combatant commanders, and contingency planning for the Global Strike mission.

General Mercer is a 1975 graduate of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, and a distinguished graduate of its ROTC program. The general has commanded an ICBM operations squadron and operations group in North Dakota, as well as a spacelift logistics group in Florida. In addition, he commanded a space wing in California responsible for both satellite and ballistic missile test launch operations, followed by a training wing in Air Education and Training Command. The general also served as Vice Director of Plans, U.S. Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colo.; Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB; and as the Commandant, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Prior to assuming his current position, General Mercer was the Director of Combat and Information Operations, Global Operations Directorate, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt AFB.