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Brig. Gen. Harold Greene, Program Executive Officer- Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors(left) along with Col. Keith Hirschman, Project Manager Airborne Reconnaissance and Exploitation Systems (PM ARES), cut the ceremonial ribbon signifying the opening of the PM ARES conference room, which is dedicated to members of the Special Electronic Mission Aircraft community who have died in support of aerial intelligence missions. Photo by Christine Shea

“We are dedicating this memorial to acknowledge our debt to the fallen, to offer thanks and to always remember them,” were the sentiments Col. Keith Hirschman, Project Manager Airborne Reconnaissance and Exploitation Systems, utilized to kick-off a tribute to members of the Special Electronic Mission Aircraft (SEMA) community that died in the line of duty.

Honoring those that provided Soldiers on the ground with the necessary intelligence to conduct their missions was the order of the day as a conference room within the new Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance complex on Aberdeen Proving Ground was dedicated to the memory of the pilots, operators and support personnel that gave their lives in their respective roles for Army airborne Intelligence.

During the ceremony attended by more than 150 SEMA conference participants, Brig. Gen. Harold Greene, Program Executive Officer-Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors cut the ribbon to the Project Manager Aerial Reconnaissance Exploitation systems’ memorial conference room that will serve as a reminder of the contributions the Soldiers, government civilians and contractors made while operating various aircraft during the past five decades. During the dedication, Greene who previously served as the product manager for Aerial Common Sensors where he was responsible for fielding various SEMA aircraft shared the special meaning this memorial has for him. Seven of the men and women memorialized within the conference room died in two accidents that occurred during his time as product manager. The room depicts the losses of 38 SEMA professionals who served in various roles from Vietnam to Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Memorial serves as both a dedication to those who died as well as a motivator for the workforce tasked with fielding SEMA aircraft. “The dedicated team (here) serves to provide capability to those folks that go out and do the Nations bidding and unfortunately some of them give that ultimate sacrifice and this provides us the opportunity to recognize those who have done that,” said Greene. “When you see the placards that describe the various (SEMA) accidents that took lives over the past 40 plus years, think about those that are serving forward today, taking that risk and rededicate ourselves to make sure that we give them the best equipment that they could possibly have.”

“The Special Electronic Mission Aircraft Memorial Conference Room is built around the theme of a highly technical and specialized community that is centered around teamwork, they are dedicated to the success of the mission no matter what the cost,” said Hirschman. “The Placards on the wall will be viewed during every meeting and my hope is that they will remind us all of who we build these systems for. I hope it will spur us to be ever mindful of the need to provide systems that will be safe, that will provide the intelligence products to decisively achieve combat objectives and preserve combat power that ultimately saves lives.”

SEMA aircraft continue to provide critical intelligence to commanders in the field as Guardrail, Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance Systems, and other airborne ISR aircraft conduct missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas throughout the world.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]