Michael D. Payne, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is Principal Deputy Director, Studies, Analyses and Assessments, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for the development of Air Force-wide policy, guidance and analyses that inform Air Force leadership decisions concerning current and future warfighting capabilities.
Mr. Payne was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in May 2015 as Director, Strategic Analysis and Wargaming Division in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. In this role, he led department-wide analyses, Strategic Portfolio Reviews, Program Review issue teams and innovation initiatives as directed by the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Mr. Payne was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force in 1990 through ROTC following his graduation from Cornell University. His assignments involved analyses of operations, intelligence collection, logistics and manpower for wing, major command, air staff, numbered air force and combatant command senior leaders. After serving on active duty, he transitioned to industry in 2001 and led signals intelligence, missile guidance and cruise missile defense analyses for Welkin Associates, BAE Systems and Simulation Support, respectively.
In 2005, Mr. Payne accepted a civilian federal service position as a senior analyst at Headquarters U.S. Air Force Studies, Analyses and Assessments. While in this role, he led numerous homeland defense, theater war and global demand analyses precipitating major Air Force program decisions. He also led a tri-service effort culminating in a joint integrated fire control strategy and drafted the initial cyber deterrence strategy outline for the National Cyber Study Group.
From 2012-2015, Mr. Payne served as the senior analyst for airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. He led DOD-wide teams balancing warfare needs with fiscal constraints for a $6 billion intelligence collection portfolio.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science (with distinction), mechanical engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
1995 Master of Engineering, aerospace engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.
1998 Master of Science (distinguished graduate) operations research, Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1991 – 1993, Management Engineering Officer, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
2. 1993 – 1995, Chief, Heavy Aircraft Simulation Team, Langley AFB, Va.
3. 1995 – 1996, Chief, Logistics Simulation & Analysis, Langley AFB, Va.
4. 1996 – 1998, Graduate Student, AFIT, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
5. 1998 – 2001, Chief, Operational Campaign Analysis, AFSAA, Washington, D.C.
6. 2001 – 2001, Systems Engineer (Aug - Dec), Welkin Associates, Ltd., Chantilly, Va.
7. 2001 – 2003, Operations Research Analyst, BAE SYSTEMS, Nashua, N.H.
8. 2003 – 2005, Operations Research Analyst, Simulation Support, Inc., Arlington, Va.
9. 2005 – 2008, Chief, Joint Warfighting Analysis Branch, HQ USAF/A9, Washington, D.C.
10. 2008 – 2012, Chief, Integrated Warfare Analyses Division, HQ USAF/A9, Washington, D.C.
11. 2012 – 2015, Airborne ISR Program Analyst, OSD-CAPE, Washington, D.C.
12. 2015 – 2017, Director, Strategic Analysis and Wargaming Division, OSD-CAPE, Washington D.C.
13. 2017 – present, Principal Deputy Director, Air Force Studies, Analyses and Assessments, Headquarters U. S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
AWARDS AND HONORS
National Performance Review Hammer Award
Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award
Department of Defense Modeling & Simulation Award for Analysis
Joint Intelligence Community Council Commendation
Air Force Association Civilian Manager of the Year
Air Force Senior Civilian Analyst of the Year
Air Force Manpower Officer of the Year
Air Force Modeling & Simulation Award for Analysis
Air Force Studies & Analyses Agency Analyst of the Year
PUBLICATIONS
“Strategy Alternatives for Homeland Air & Cruise Missile Defense,” Risk Analysis, Vol. 30, No. 10, 2010
“Predicting Enemy Force Closure with Simulation,” Proceedings of the 2000 Winter Simulation Conference, December 10 - 12, 2000, Orlando, Fla.
“Optimizing Scramjet Fuel Injection Array Design,” 35th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, June 20 - 23, 1999, Los Angeles, Calif.
“Simulation of Certain Track-Following Problems,” AIAA Dynamics Specialist Conference, April 18-19, 1996, Salt Lake City, Utah.
(Current as of August 2017)