BG Ed Barker assumed responsibility as the Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S) on June 29, 2023. As the PEO, he provides technical and managerial oversight for the development and acquisition of the Army’s portfolio of intelligence; electronic warfare; cyber; integrated base defense; force protection; position, navigation and timing; biometrics; and target acquisition programs.  These capabilities, spanning more than 80 Programs of Record and Quick Reaction Capabilities with an annual budget of approximately $2.7 billion, provide a more detailed understanding of the battlefield. Before becoming PEO, BG Barker served as the Deputy PEO.

A native of Minford, Ohio, Ed enlisted in the Army in 1988. He was subsequently awarded an ROTC scholarship and attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Graduating in 1992, he was commissioned as an Infantry Officer and stationed at Ft. Hood (now Cavazos), Texas with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in a range of assignments.  In 1998, he was assigned to Fort Gordon (now Eisenhower), Georgia, and served in the 513th Military Intelligence (MI) Brigade where he commanded A Company, 297th MI Battalion.

In 2000, he joined the Army Acquisition Corps and was selected for Advanced Civil Schooling. In July 2001, he served as contracting officer at the Defense Supply Center Columbus, Ohio. In 2004, he served as the Director of Contracting for the U.S. Army Office of Military Support.  In this capacity, he dedicated his efforts to support the nation’s most sensitive activities in the war on terrorism and other contingency operations worldwide. In 2010, BG Barker served as the Product Manager for Tactical Applications at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). During this time, he deployed as the Mission Commander for a joint NRO/NASA mission and provided assured access from the nation’s spaced-based intelligence and communication architecture.  BG Barker assumed duties as the Executive Officer to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)) in July 2013, where he advised and assisted in the management of the Army’s multi-billion-dollar material enterprise.

BG Barker also served as the Project Manager for Soldier Warrior at PEO Soldier from 2015 to 2018 where he led the modernization of the Army’s integrated tactical network. He then returned to ASA(ALT) to become the Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for AL&T. Following this, BG Barker served as the Assistant PEO Enterprise Information Systems and oversaw the integration of the Army’s Enterprise Resource Planning systems.

Barker’s awards include the Legion of Merit with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Valorous Unit Award, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Expert Infantryman’s Badge and Parachutist’s Badge. He has completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Military Intelligence Advanced Courses and attended the Army Command and General Staff College and the Senior Service College at the Eisenhower School. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Marshall University and a Master of Science in Management with an emphasis in Contracting and Industrial Procurement from the Florida Institute of Technology. He also holds a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School. He is Level III certified in Contracting and Program Management.

Ed is engaged to Ms. Amy Siegel from Salisbury MD.  Together they have a beautiful, blended family with Farran (22), Jaden (21), and Genevieve (6).

Mr. Nicholaus Saacks became the Deputy Program Executive Officer, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (PEO IEW&S), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in August 2023. In this capacity, Mr. Saacks guides a workforce of more than 1700 personnel supporting over 83 Army acquisition programs and efforts. Mr. Saacks’ responsibilities include the development, acquisition, fielding and support of capabilities that provide Soldiers with the ability to detect, recognize, and identify targets and collect, tag, and mine intelligence to support force protection maneuver, persistent surveillance, and provide a more detailed understanding of the battlefield.

Mr. Saacks, who was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in February 2022, previously served as the Deputy Program Executive Officer, Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), where he supported the development, acquisition, fielding and support of the Army’s tactical network, a critical Army priority that provides information dominance to current and future Soldiers in challenging environments worldwide.

Mr. Saacks began his career as a Department of Defense civilian employee in 2005 with Army Materiel Command. In 2006, he joined the Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he was an item manager for avionics and force protection systems. He became a member of the Army Acquisition Corps in 2009 and subsequently held a variety of sustainment and acquisition logistics positions within CECOM, Project Lead Network Enablers, and PEO C3T. In his role as the PEO C3T Readiness Management Division Director, he was responsible for directing, developing, and implementing logistics, property accountability, and fielding policies for the Army’s tactical network and mission command capabilities. Under his leadership, the PEO successfully fielded the Integrated Tactical Network, as well as state-of-the-art communications equipment to all six Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFABs). Mr. Saacks has been a leading voice in Transition to Sustainment, positively impacting Army policy while consistently transitioning systems to sustainment across the portfolio.

Mr. Saacks holds a Master’s of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Mr. Saacks is a graduate of the Defense Acquisition University Senior Service College Fellowship and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Senior Leadership Development Cohort Program. He and his wife, Sara, have two children.