Vice President for Army and Special Operations Programs at the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
He is from San Antonio, Texas. In June 2011 he completed 32 years in the United States Army rising to the rank of Lieutenant General.
Mr. Oates was commissioned as an Infantry lieutenant following his graduation in 1979 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He has commanded units from a 130 man airborne Infantry company in Panama to a Division of 17,000 Soldiers in southern Iraq.
His assignments have included senior level coordination with multiple agencies of the United States Government and extensive military contact with partner Armed Forces. Until March 2011 he was the Director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, in Washington, DC. In this position he had significant contact with industry, the intelligence community and academia seeking to coordinate solutions to counter the improvised explosive devices used in combat.
Mr. Oates holds a Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. His military awards include 3 awards of the U.S. Army’s highest peacetime award, the Distinguished Service Medal and 3 awards of the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service. He has served 4 combat tours of duty in Iraq.
His wife Barbara is a pharmacist, originally from San Angelo, Texas. They have 3 adult children; Katherine, Elizabeth and Margaret.