Tom Dickinson, NSSP 1991
Year of Graduation:
1991 (NSSP)
Areas of study:
East Asia (China, Japan, Korea)
Experience before SSP
Visual Information Program Executive, HQs Air Force, Pentagon
Current Position
Telecommunications Manager; Office of the Secretary of Defense, Assistant Secretary for Networks and + Information Integration, Defense Information Systems Agency.
Foreign Languages
French
Additional Degrees
M.S. in Telecommunications, The George Washington University
"What I was studying and learning in the NSSP had immediate, practical application and relevance to my daily work at the Pentagon. I was a Program Element Manager for several Air Force programs, responsible for a $300 Million annual budget. The NSSP classes I took in Defense Budgeting and Resource Management, Congress and National Security Policy, and National Security Infrastructure provided me with incredible insights and deeper understanding of the arcane, byzantine processes and procedures inherent in the DoD Planning, Programming and Budgeting system. In addition, other courses gave me a much fuller understanding of the broader roles and impacts of the DoD in foreign policy, military engagement, and international security matters around the globe. Every instructor, without exception, was superb. How often does it happen that you take 12 challenging graduate level academic courses, and every one is a gem, every professor engaging, interesting, enthusiastic, and an expert on the topic? I looked forward to going to class, and gaining all the knowledge I could from each."
