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Dahlgren pioneer Meyer dies at 83
Admiral who pioneered Aegis programs, dies
Date published: 9/5/2009
By RUSTY DENNEN Wayne E. Meyer, a retired rear admiral who died Tuesday after a long and distinguished military career, was the architect of one of the Dahlgren Navy base's key components. The building housing the Aegis Training and Readiness Center is named after him. Known as the father of the Aegis weapons system, Meyer, 83, was its first program manager and chose the King George County base to house the program. "He realized that the Navy needed to set up a robust training organization to help sailors with all this new technology," said Gary Wagner, spokesman for the Naval Support Facility Dahlgren. Founded in 1984, the Aegis center trains sailors on the Aegis Combat Weapons System and Ship's Self Defense System, developed at Dahlgren. Aegis, named after the shield of Zeus in Greek mythology, uses the latest radar technology to detect and engage threats. The Aegis center has more than 300 employees, military and civilian. About 1,200 enlisted personnel and 550 officers go through the training program annually. Aegis was a revolutionary step for the Navy. "It was our first attempt at systems integration--everything from writing software to the fire-control system to fire control on a warship. He knew that training was going to be the key," Wagner said. Meyer also "felt that it would be a great symbiotic relationship to have the training center right next door" to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, which developed the software, Wagner said. NSWC is the base's largest tenant command. Also at Dahlgren is Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, which modifies Aegis components for use against that threat. Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said earlier this week that Meyer's "passion, technical acumen and war-fighting expertise served as the foundation of our Navy combatant fleet today." Meyer, 83, was born in Brunswick, Mo. In 1946, he graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He also held master's in astronautics and aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Meyer joined the Navy in 1943 as an apprentice seaman. In 1970, the Navy chose then-Capt. Meyer to lead the development of the new Aegis Weapon System in the Naval Ordnance Systems Command. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1975. In 1977, he became founding project manager of the Aegis Shipbuilding Project. He retired in 1985. Last year, the USS Wayne E. Meyer, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer with the Aegis system, was christened. Rusty Dennen: 540/374-5431
Date published: 9/5/2009
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