Lynn Pippitt

Business Operations Director

Lynn Pippitt is the Business Operations Director for NAS, overseeing the following Branches: Acquisitions; Finance; Human Resources; Information Systems and Technology; Office and Administrative Services; Prime Contracts; and Project Controls.

Lynn began her career with Kwajalein Range Services, LLC (KRS) in 2003 at the Reagan Test Site located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. From 2016 to 2019, Lynn served in leadership roles as the Deputy of Project Controls and Project Controls Manager. During that timeframe, Lynn also held positions in Project Management, managing or assisting, in the contract transition effort. From 2010 to 2015, Lynn held positions of increasing responsibility in Project Controls for the Integrated Range Engineering and Command, Control, Computers, and Information Management portion of the KRS contract. Prior to 2010, Lynn was an accountant and completed rotational assignments in Finance.

Lynn joined National Aerospace Solutions, LLC in January 2019 and has served in multiple business operations roles within Finance and Project Controls, including acting as Manager of both Branches.

Lynn received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College and a master’s degree in Project Management from Colorado Technical University.

Roy Thompson

Mission Execution Director

Roy Thompson is the Mission Execution Director for NAS, overseeing the Aeropropulsion, Flight, Space and Missile, Tunnel 9, and National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex Branches for the Test Operations and Sustainment contract at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC).

Roy joined AEDC in 1989 as a Facility Analysis Engineer and then transferred to the Marshall Space Flight contract in 1990 supporting the International Space Station. Roy returned to AEDC in 1994 as a Turbine Test Engineer conducting gas turbine testing at the Sea Level Test Facility. From 2010 to 2013, Roy supported Capital Project Investments first as a Project Manager and then as a Section Manager over Flight projects. Roy was promoted to Deputy Branch Manager over Flight Plants in 2013 until returning to Turbine Test Operations as Branch Manager in 2014. In 2016, Roy was the Deputy Branch Manager for Aeropropulsion before taking over as the Branch Manager in 2017 where he was responsible for the operation and sustainment of six wind tunnel facilities with ground-test capabilities from subsonic to Mach 10.

Roy has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. He is also a Six Sigma Black Belt, Project Management Professional, and Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional.

Walter Bishop

Mission Support Director

Walter Bishop is the Mission Support Director for NAS where he oversees Asset Health Assurance; Design and Manufacturing; Engineering and Functional Management; Instrumentation, Data, and Controls; and Technology Innovations Branches for the Test Operations and Sustainment contract at Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC). He has almost 40 years of experience at AEDC.

Prior to his current role, Walter served as the Deputy Mission Support Director, closely overseeing test operations and sustainment operations. He also previously served as the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Functional Manager and managed the functional aspects of wage employees, craft supervisors, planners, schedulers and O&M Specialists, approximately 750 employees at Arnold AFB in Tennessee, Tunnel 9 in Maryland, and National Full-scale Aerodynamics Complex in California. He was responsible for resolving labor management issues and supporting labor management negotiations in Tennessee and California. From 2017-2019, Walter acted as Chief of Staff for NAS.

Walter holds two Bachelor of Science Engineering degrees with post-graduate work in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Tennessee, a Certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional, and holds one U.S. patent.

Mike Ramsey

Performance Assurance Director

Mike Ramsey is the NAS Performance Assurance Director, overseeing the Quality; Security; Continuous Improvement; and Safety, Health, and Environmental Branches.

Ramsey began his career at AEDC in contractor purchasing in 1985. He has 33 years of AEDC experience with 27 years of progressive leadership roles spanning fields from Procurement, Materials Management, Logistics, Manufacturing, Facilities Maintenance and Project Management. Ramsey left AEDC for FedEx in 2000. At FedEx in Memphis, he held various Supply, Contracting and Project Management positions before returning to AEDC in 2004. Since then, he has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility with multiple AEDC contractors as Logistics Manager, Civil Engineering/Facilities Maintenance Manager, NAS Manufacturing Group Manager, and NAS Acquisitions Manager.

Ramsey has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management from the University of Tennessee at Martin, and a master of business administration degree in Finance from Middle Tennessee State University. Ramsey has a lifetime certification as a Certified Purchasing Manager from the Institute for Supply Management.

Joe Edwards

NAS Technical Director

Joe Edwards, a world-renowned astronaut, aviator, and test pilot, is the Technical Director for NAS. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the military and defense/aerospace industry, including operational, developmental and experimental flight tests of multiple hypersonic vehicles, aircraft and weapons systems. He earned the U.S. Navy’s only peacetime Distinguished Flying Cross. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and postgraduate degrees in systems engineering, industrial management and engineering flight test.