Brian Coombe

Deputy General Manager

Brian Coombe is the Deputy General Manager for National Aerospace Solutions, LLC. In this role, Coombe provides additional leadership for the NAS Team as they deliver on the test operations and sustainment mission at AEDC.

Coombe most recently served as Bechtel’s project manager on the Sentinel (Ground Based Strategic Deterrent) program in Ogden, Utah, a DoD initiative to replace America’s fleet of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles with modernized missile and launch infrastructure. There, he led a team of about 250 engineers and project support personnel tasked with designing—and later building—the launch facilities for the next-generation GBSD missiles.

Prior to leading Bechtel’s proposal and bid on the GBSD project, Coombe served as program manager for the Bechtel-led team on Kwajalein Atoll, where he oversaw the management, operations, and maintenance of the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site and U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll. This work included infrastructure; range, technical, hazardous, flight operation, and missile launch facilities; warehouse, repair and maintenance facilities; emergency response facilities, housing and logistics.

Brian has both Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering.

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.

Mark Bymaster

Test Complex Modernization Director

Mark Bymaster is the NAS Test Complex Modernization Director, supporting the growing hypersonic and nuclear modernization investments at AEDC. Bymaster has 30 years of experience at AEDC in a number of roles, including as a test customer while working as a Test Development Engineer at GE Aircraft Engines for 10 years. He has also served as a lead test operations engineer, a section manager for Aeropropulsion Test Operations, Deputy Branch Manager for base-wide Test Operations, and Branch Manager for Aeropropulsion Products under a previous AEDC operating contractor.  Bymaster also served in the role of integration manager for the Hypersonic Test and Evaluation Investment Portfolio for a small business supporting AEDC.   He most recently served as the Performance Assurance Director, where he led the departments of Safety, Health, and Environmental; Security; Continuous Improvement; Quality; and Hypersonic Investments. Bymaster is a graduate of Purdue University, as well as a certified Maintenance and Reliability Professional, an instrument certified commercial pilot, and a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic.​

Ronnie Skipworth

Base Operations & Support Director

Ronnie Skipworth oversees the Utilities, Facilities and Services, Capital Projects and Work Control areas for NAS at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC). He brings 29 years of AEDC experience with prior assignments in utilities, design/project management, plant operations and maintenance, planning/scheduling and testing. Ronnie hired into AEDC as a test installation engineer and later became a system engineer before he entered the management arena. Prior to his employment at AEDC, Ronnie worked for Milliken and Company in LaGrange Ga.