Mr. G. Arthur McGettrick was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2021 as the Deputy Director, Air Warfare for the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), Office of the Secretary of Defense. In this capacity, he is directly responsible for the adequacy of operational test (OT) and live fire test and evaluation for air warfare systems, including aircraft, air-launched weapons, electronic warfare, countermeasures, and command and control within the Department of Defense. His responsibilities include oversight for the conduct of major weapons system assessments and reporting to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. He also supports DOT&E participation in the Defense Acquisition Executive Summary process.
Previous to his current appointment, Mr. McGettrick served as the Senior Evaluator for F-35 Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) in DOT&E. In this role, he was directly responsible for OT oversight of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program to ensure the adequacy of F-35 IOT&E and report the results to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. He also advised capability studies and OT planning for the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter program.
As a career Air Force officer, Mr. McGettrick led six organizations, including four commands. He is a recognized test expert with 19 years of experience in both leading and flying a wide variety of OT, including fighters, bombers, mobility, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, training, rotary wing, Presidential aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, weapons, data links, electronic warfare and advanced modeling and simulation. As a USAF Weapons School graduate and OT pilot, Mr. McGettrick led and flew F-15C and F-22 OT, including F-22 IOT&E flight operations. He also has broad joint requirements and acquisition expertise as both an F-22 requirements officer and the Force Application Division Chief, Joint Chiefs of Staff, J8. Mr. McGettrick has extensive operational experience with 3,000 flight hours in the F-15C, F-15E and F-22, including over 500 combat hours. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal and the Kuwait Liberation Medal.
Mr. McGettrick is a native of Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Engineering from Bethel University and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He also holds a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree from Air Command and Staff College, a Master of Aerospace Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and a Master of National Security Strategy from National War College, where he was recognized as a Distinguished Graduate. Mr. McGettrick was a National Security Fellow with Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed the Executive Leadership Seminar at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. Mr. McGettrick is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award.