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Commanding Officer (CO)
Captain Matthew R. O’Neal assumed duties as Commanding Officer of Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic (NIWC Atlantic) on July 18, 2024. NIWC Atlantic hosts more than 4,900 federal civilian and military personnel and approximately 9,000 industry partners. NIWC Atlantic’s main campus is in Charleston, South Carolina, with offices spanning 12 major geographical areas inside and outside the continental United States. NIWC Atlantic is a Navy engineering and technology command, and in his role, O’Neal oversees the full-spectrum research and development, test and evaluation, engineering design, development and fleet support across the complete Information Warfare domain.
Raised in Lawton, Oklahoma, CAPT O’Neal was commissioned in 2002 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. He holds Master’s degrees in computer science and business administration from the Naval Postgraduate School. Prior to his role as NIWC Atlantic’s Commanding Officer, CAPT O'Neal was assigned as Director for Naval Enterprise Networks in Program Executive Office (PEO) Digital and Enterprise Services.
Commissioned as a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) and later transferring to Engineering Duty Officer, he has served at sea aboard USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) leading the Sixth Fleet flagship's communications systems maintenance department, USS Belleau Wood (LHA 3) where he earned SWO qualification aboard the flagship of the first West Coast Expeditionary Strike Group, and on the staff of Amphibious Squadron Three as assistant operations officer.
His shore assignments include Deputy Technical Director for the Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG) 1000-Class Combat System (IWS 9.0), Deputy Branch Head and Resource Officer for Protected Transport programs for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (OPNAV N2N6), Assistant Program Manager in the Information Assurance and Cyber Security Program Office (PMW 130), DDG Type Desk Officer for Commander, Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Computer and Network Defense Project Officer at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (formerly Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific).
Personal awards include the Meritorious Service, Navy Commendation, and Navy Achievement Medals. He is authorized to wear various unit, campaign, and service awards.
Acting Executive Director
Charlow serves as the acting Executive Director, and Senior Scientific Technical Manager of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, Charlow sets command-wide strategic goals and manages engineering and business operations for more than 4,900 federal civilian and military employees, and approximately 9,000 industry partners. NIWC Atlantic’s main campus is in Charleston, South Carolina, with several offices located inside and outside the continental U.S. Charlow is responsible for the execution of technical work applying systems engineering and programmatic discipline to deliver information warfare solutions to warfighters. He provides technical stewardship and expert advice to the Fleet, resource sponsors and stakeholders in the cyber warfare and business IT domains. He works closely with Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) headquarters and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (RDT&E) to further strengthen NIWC Atlantic’s organic engineering capabilities.
As a Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) leader, Charlow maintains technical decision authority over projects and oversees their execution, ensuring compliance with customer requirements, architectures, engineering standards and official Command/Department of the Navy/Department of Defense policies.
Charlow brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience from more than four years as NIWC Atlantic’s Deputy Executive Director and prior to that three decades as a Department of the Navy engineer. Since he launched a federal career in 1986 as an electronics engineer for the Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center in Charleston, he has held many leadership positions at NIWC Atlantic. His previous assignment was serving as the SSTM and Department Head for NIWC Atlantic’s Expeditionary Warfare Department, where he was directly responsible for delivering Command, Control, Computer, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), cyber, and information technology systems and engineering services to meet the expeditionary and mobile operational needs of the Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command. In that role, he oversaw a team of engineers, scientists, logistics specialists, technical specialists and financial managers, providing strategic direction and managerial oversight of the department’s programs and projects.
Charlow earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from Clemson University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration with emphasis in computer and information resources management from Webster University. He is Level III certified in both Program Management and Systems, Planning, Research, Development and Engineering (SPRDE) from the Defense Acquisition University. In 2014, he graduated from the Federal Executive Institute leadership course, “Leadership for a Democratic Society.”
Charlow is a member of the Acquisition Professional Corps and has received several awards including a NAVWAR Lightning Bolt Award and numerous letters of appreciation and certificates.
Technical Director
Mansfield serves as the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic Technical Director. Mansfield establishes and directs the execution of the command’s technology strategy within NIWC Atlantic as well as across the NAVWAR claimancy to ensure our warfighters and federal government as a whole are continuing to evolve in advance of the IT we use to develop capabilities. Mansfield advises NAVWAR and NIWC leadership and other stakeholders within the Department of Defense (DoD) and federal sectors on information warfare, cloud computing and agile systems engineering, DevOps and other modern information technology patterns, practices and technologies—at all levels from developmental to enterprise engineering. Mansfield is also employed by Navy and DoD leadership to conduct key experimentation and technology analyses as pathfinders for enterprise cyber security and operational ways forward. Mansfield also coordinates with our claimancy to ensure effective results of NAVWAR as the Navy's System-of-Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) agent and Technical Authority for information warfare. Mansfield was appointed to the Senior Executive Service as a Senior Leader in October 2011 and has more than 33 years of federal service. Prior to this appointment, Mansfield served as the NIWC Atlantic Chief Engineer and 5.0 Competency lead. He was also NAVWAR national lead for Net-Centric SE&I. As the National Technical Warrant Holder for Service Oriented Architectures and Net-Centric Engineering, Mansfield served as both the NAVWAR National and local NIWC Atlantic Command & Control (C2) and Business Information Technology Systems Competencies Senior Manager, as well as the NetCentric Engineering and Platform Integration Competency’s Senior Manager. He has designed and managed the implementation of operationally effective and cost-saving Enterprise/Net-Centric architectures and provided disciplined technical oversight resulting in the delivery of agile, state-of-the-art System-of-Systems engineering solutions. These solutions support the development, delivery and sustainment of integrated, interoperable and effective capabilities systems and services across both the DoD and federal sectors in strategic, tactical C2, enterprise security and business domains. Mansfield held multiple other lead engineering positions during his tenure at Team NAVWAR resulting in notable contributions and awards for his support to the Veteran’s Administration Office of Enterprise Development as well as the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Horizontal Fusion Program. Mansfield has performed on the leading edge of many of the most critical information warfare developments providing breakthrough solutions to the most challenging SE&I problems for more than 30 years. He currently holds patent 7,860,983 for Enterprise Identity Orchestration Service which was utilized in multiple NAVWAR-delivered programs. Mansfield began his civil service as a GS-3 Electrical Engineering co-op at Naval Air Engineering Center, Lakehurst, New Jersey while attending Drexel University in 1985. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Drexel University in 1989.
Executive Officer
CAPT Aaron Gall serves as the Executive Officer (XO) for Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic. Working at the Hampton Roads, Virginia site, Gall oversees research and development, test and evaluation, engineering design, development, and pierside fleet support across the Information Warfare domain.
Gall comes to NIWC Atlantic from OPNAV (Chief of Naval Operations) N2N6 as Deputy Executive Assistant for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare where he served from January 2023 to May 2024.
A native of Waupaca, Wisconsin, Gall enlisted in the Navy in 1997 as a nuclear-trained Electricians Mate. He earned his commission and Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Marquette University, Wisconsin in 2004. In 2011, he received a Master of Business Administration from Marquette University. In 2020, he received a master’s degree in government information leadership and CIO (Chief Information Officer) Graduate Certificate from National Defense University. He is a qualified Submarine Warfare Officer, Information Warfare Officer and Joint Specialty Officer.
As a Submarine Warfare Officer, his initial sea tour was aboard USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) where he served as the Damage Control Assistant and Assistant Weapons Officer and deployed on Jimmy Carter’s first mission in 2007. He then reported to USS New Mexico (SSN 779) as the Combat Systems Officer, where he deployed on New Mexico’s first deployment in 2013 and her participation in ICEX 2014. As an Information Professional (IP), he served as the CSIO (Combat Systems Information Officer) aboard USS Essex (LHD 2), deploying in 2018 in support of the first combat operations for the F-35B in both Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. He was most recently assigned to Carrier Strike Group Eight where he served as Assistant Chief of Staff for Assured Command and Control (N6) for the Truman Carrier Strike Group, deploying in 2021 to provide overwatch of the initial invasion of Ukraine.
Ashore he served as a NROTC (Naval Reserves Officer Training Corps) instructor at Marquette University, Wisconsin. He also served as an Assistant Inspector General at U. S. Strategic Command, where he lateral transferred to the Navy’s Information Professional community. He served his first IP tour as the Operations Officer at NAVCOMTELSTA (Naval Computer & Telecommunications Station) San Diego.
Gall’s personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He is most proud of the unit awards that represent the efforts of the great teams that he has been fortunate to be a part of during his career.
Command Senior Enlisted Advisor
Air Traffic Controller Senior Chief Petty Officer (ATCS)(AW/SW/SS) Martin S. Anderson is Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic’s Command Senior Enlisted Advisor, serving at the Hampton Roads Detachment in Norfolk, Virginia.
A first-generation military member, he is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He enlisted in the United States Navy and reported for basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, in August 2003.
Senior Chief Anderson completed the Naval Nuclear Propulsion pipeline as an Electronics Technician (Nuclear) in September 2005 before reporting to his first command, the Virginia Class fast attack submarine, Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) North Carolina (SSN 777), as a plank owner in Newport News, Virginia, at the Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard.
While serving aboard USS North Carolina (SSN 777), he was assigned to Reactor Control Division, working through all levels of testing, certification, and construction leading to the christening, commissioning, certification for unrestricted operations, and maiden western Pacific deployment out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was aboard for two homeport changes, first to Groton, Connecticut, and later to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He also completed a patrol aboard USS Nevada (SSBN 733) Gold Crew.
In July 2012, he reported to Naval Nuclear Power Training Command for instructor duty at Nuclear Field “A” School, where he taught Electronics Fundamentals. His subsequent sea duty assignments include: USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) where he served as Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) Avionics and Armament Division (IM3) Leading Chief Petty Officer (LCPO) and later as the Aviation Quality Assurance Officer during a northern European deployment (March 2020 – December 2022); and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) as AIMD IM3 LCPO and Department 3M Coordinator (December 2022 – October 2024).
Throughout his career, he participated in Operations HEDGEHOG, PROSPERITY GUARDIAN, POSEIDON ARCHER, PANDORA THROTTLE, and INHERENT RESOLVE.
Senior Chief Anderson is a graduate of the Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (Class 266), Chief Petty Officer Leadership Development Course Facilitator, Senior Enlisted Aviation Maintenance school, Electronics Technician Maintenance school, Naval Nuclear Power pipeline, Command Financial Specialist, and Drug and Alcohol Advisor school.
His personal awards include: Enlisted Aviation Warfare Specialist; Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist; Enlisted Submarine Warfare Specialist; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards); Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards); Combat Action Ribbon; Navy Expeditionary Medal; and various unit and campaign awards.
Officer in Charge, New Orleans Detachment
Commander Andrés Otero serves as the Officer in Charge of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic’s site in New Orleans, Louisiana. He oversees more than 250 government and Military personnel for the sustainment and modernization of the Navy’s manpower, personnel, and distribution systems.
Previously, Otero was assigned as the Deputy Pillar Lead for Infrastructure, Project Overmatch focused on advancing DevSecOps (development, security and operations) efforts via the Overmatch Software Factory in support of the Navy’s modernization of software at the tactical edge and established the first over-the-air software delivery system afloat.
Originally from Smithtown, Long Island, New York, Otero was commissioned via Navy ROTC and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering and management sciences from Northwestern University near Chicago, Illinois, and commissioned in 2006.
Having service-selected as a Surface Warfare Officer (Nuclear), he reported to his first tour of duty as the Combat Information Center Officer and Visit Board Search and Seizure Officer aboard USS Nicholas (FFG 47) in Norfolk, Virginia. After earning his Surface Warfare Officer qualification, Otero proceeded to Nuclear Power School and Prototype in Charleston, South Carolina, before returning to Norfolk as the Reactor Controls Division Officer aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65).
After successful completion of the nuclear engineering officer qualification, Otero transferred to Naval Surface Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California. There, he served as a Project Officer, conducting operational testing on LPD 17 class ships’ combat systems as well as operational and developmental testing on Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2. Also, while at Port Hueneme, Otero laterally transferred and became an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO). He completed his EDO qualification and then proceeded to the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, where he earned a Master of Science degree in systems engineering in 2017.
While at NPS, Otero was selected to serve on Chief of Naval Operations’ Strategic Studies Group, an innovation cell, where he joined other hand-selected senior and mid-grade officers to research the realm of human-machine teaming and develop operational concepts and roadmaps to inform naval leadership for tomorrow’s decisions. His thesis focused on risk reduction for ship drivers by the development of an operational Augmented Reality heads-up display.
Upon completion of his degree, he transferred to Washington, D.C. and worked on the development of future naval capabilities at the Office of Naval Research (ONR), eventually becoming the Deputy Program Manager for Counter Low Observable Technologies at PMR 51. Following this tour, he was selected for a Secretary of the Navy Tour with Industry, where he was embedded in engineering program management teams at VMware, Inc. in Palo Alto, California.
His personal decorations include two Meritorious Service Medals, a Navy Commendation and two Navy-Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
Officer in Charge, Naval Forces Europe-Africa Site
Commander Alexander Williams serves as the Officer in Charge of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic’s site in Naple’s Italy serving Naval Forces Europe and Africa interests and is responsible for providing regional oversight. Williams comes to NIWC Atlantic after serving as the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Principle Assistant Program Manager (PAPM) for Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I). In this role, he led a team of more than 500 civilian, contractor, and military personnel responsible for the cost, schedule, and performance of six programs and projects. Williams led one of the first DoD programs to transition to the Adaptive Acquisition Framework Software Acquisition Pathway which enables delivery of intelligence capability to the Fleet in months rather than the traditional hardware-centric, four-to-seven-year process. A native of Fort Ord, California, Williams received his commission as an ensign through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 2006. In 2017, Williams earned a Master of Science in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Califormia. He was recognized for his outstanding thesis in the field of autonomous systems. Williams holds a professional engineer license for industrial engineering in the state of California and Project Management Professional certification through the Project Management Institute. Williams started his career as a Surface Warfare Officer. His tours included assignments as the Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer and Force Protection Officer on the USS John L Hall (FFG 32); as the Training Officer and Staff Tactical Action Officer with Commander Destroyer Squadron Two Four; and as the Deputy Operations and Training Department Head at the Naval Satellite Operations Center during launch and early on-orbit activities of the first Mobile User Objective System satellite, MUOS-1. Williams lateral transferred to the Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) community in 2012. During his first EDO assignment at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, he served as the Integration Test Director and Modeling and Simulations Lead for the Joint Space Operations Center Mission System. He then pursued a systems engineering graduate degree from the Naval Postgraduate School before returning to sea as the C4I Systems Maintenance Officer forward deployed in Europe onboard the Sixth Fleet command ship, USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20). Williams returned to San Diego as the Force Level Class Desk Officer responsible for force-level ships’ C4I integration and modernization management before being selected as the Distributed Common Ground System-Navy Future Systems Assistant Program Manager and later selected as the acting PAPM for ISR programs before transitioning to NIWC Atlantic. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), along with various other campaign and unit awards.
Officer in Charge, Middle East
CDR Baynes serves as the Acting Officer in Charge of Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic’s Middle East site in Bahrain. He is responsible for the delivery and sustainment of information warfare technologies for ashore and afloat platforms within U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. Fifth Fleet. A native of Edgartown, Mass., Baynes attended Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics in 2004. He entered the Navy through Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, Fla., in 2005. He served initially as a Naval Flight Officer in Pensacola, Fla., and Norfolk, Va., as part of the E-2C Hawkeye community. In 2008, while attached to Airborne Command & Control Squadron-120 and stationed at Naval Air Station Norfolk he was selected for transfer to the Engineering Duty Officer community. Baynes attended Naval Postgraduate School where he received a Master of Science in physics and a Master of Science in applied mathematics in 2010 and was the recipient of the Navy League award for highest academic achievement. In 2018, he further earned a Master of Science in management science and engineering from Stanford University and the Doctor of Philosophy in applied physics from Naval Postgraduate School. As an Engineering Duty Officer since 2008, Baynes’ engineering duty qualification tour was as a Project Officer and Command Docking Officer at Ship Repair Facility (SRF) and Japan Regional Maintenance Center, Yokosuka, Japan. He managed the overall planning and execution of the very successful, first AIM4RMC CNO availability in Japan for the dry-docking of USS Mustin (DDG 89). His time at SRF includes being part of Operation TOMODACHI and the relief effort due to the Fukushima power plant and Tsunami disaster. After SRF, he completed a patrol and multiple refits with USS Alaska (BLUE) (SSBN 732) and then checked into Norfolk Naval Shipyard where he served again as a Command Docking Officer and as an Assistant Project Superintendent on both USS Maryland (SSBN 738) Engineered Refueling Overhaul and USS La Jolla (SSN 701) Moored Training Ship Conversion projects. Next, Baynes served as the Deputy Principal Assistant Program Manager for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Package (MP) and for Frigate (FFG 62) Underwater Combat System in the Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems-Undersea Systems (PEO IWS 5). Following this tour, he served as the Deputy Chief and Engineering and C4I Advisor for Naval Forces Division and the Joint Detachment Jeddah Commander for U.S. Military Training Mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as led Naval Forces Division’s response to the Afghanistan evacuation effort as part of Operation ALLIES REFUGE. Next, Baynes served as the Deputy Maintenance Program Manager for USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and USS George Washington (CVN 73) and the Assistant Port Engineer while attached to U.S. Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan. Baynes is currently the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Military Principal for PMW 120 while attached to PEO C4I in San Diego, Calif, but has surged out to temporarily fill the gapped Officer in Charge position in Bahrain. Baynes’ personal decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and various other individual, and unit campaign and service awards.