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I am Steven Habeger and I served in the Department of Defense, with the

United States Navy . As an Engineer, I joined a dedicated group of men and
women who managed ejection seat systems in Navy and Marine Corps aircraft.
The Vietnam W ar was underway and we were very busy assuring our systems

were trustworthy for our dedicated military air crewmen. Cartridges full of
gunpowder-like compounds were produced by the hundreds on lowest-bidder
contracts. Our mission included testing a “statistically significant” number of

cartridges so that we (and the pilots) could have high confidence in the system,
which can be their last hope of surviving a disaster. While all the pieces of
ejection seats, parachutes, and other equipment are made by private industry ,

Federal employees ensured that the assembled systems worked as well as
possible. I am proud to have served for our nation’s safety .

I am Robert R. Hardy Jr . and I served in the Naval Sea Systems Command,

Carderock Division in Bethesda, Maryland. As a Materials Engineer, I had a
35-year career in federal service in science and technology . I worked as
Director of College Recruiting and Outreach, the Innovation Center, and

Senior Staff Engineer for T echnology , Strategic Planning, Personnel, and
Facilities. I also served as Program Manager, Materials T echnology Research
and Development (R&D) Engineer/Manager, Titanium T echnology Program
Office, and Assistant to Director, Naval Sea Systems Command (NA VSEA),

HQ, Ship Systems R&D Directorate. In federal management, I planned,
organized and conducted numerous technical programs and projects advancing
science and technology . I managed $10+ million Ship Materials T echnology

program for over 10 years, interacting with academia and industry and
transitioning the new products and processes to meet Navy needs. I
successfully led and managed the relocation of over 200 engineers and was
one of the lead contacts for the design and construction of a $30 million,

150,000 square foot Materials Laboratory.

My colleagues and I provided day-to-day engineering solutions and developed
cutting-edge technology for all of the Navy’s ships, submarines, and craft

currently in the Fleet. W e worked with industry in the acquisition and
construction of all Navy vehicles. I encouraged our nation’s youth, especially
women and minorities, into Science and T echnology, to provide the most

diverse, outstanding engineers for our federal workforce. Our efforts as federal
employees kept our Navy #1. I am proud to have been a federal employee who
kept my country safe.

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