Leadership


Jan Smith, Chief Executive Officer

Jan Smith is an Alabama native, educated at Jacksonville State University. She began her career as an associate software engineer in support of Boeing for NASA’s space missions.

As Ms. Smith grew as a technical analyst and senior manager, she led simulation and modeling tasks at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) for Army R&D and acquisition programs managed by the Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). She later joined Nichols Research Corporation (NRC) where she became the Vice President for Computer Applications and directed Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) programs in support of the Army Aviation and Missile Command.

Today, Ms. Smith is the CEO of , the technical solutions company she founded in Huntsville, AL in 1991. The company operates in more than 25 states and provides professional services and solutions to the Department of Defense (Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines) and numerous commercial clients.

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John Pack, Vice President, Subsidiary Operations and Business Development

John Pack is currently the Vice President of Subsidiary Operations and Business Development for System Studies & Simulation (S3).  He has responsibility for assisting the company’s senior leadership in developing long-term business strategies and plans to guide the company’s growth with existing and new customers across many diverse opportunities.  He also serves as staff principal for Corporate Safety and provides senior level management oversight of wholly owned subsidiaries Kachemak Bay Flying Service (KBFS), Global Logistics Support Services (GLSS), and S3 International (for which he is the subsidiary President).

Mr. Pack has worked for S3 since 2005 in several different capacities, serving as a Program Manager, Director, Business Development lead, and as senior manager for business units and subsidiaries. Mr. Pack is a retired Army officer who served in key command and staff positions that included battalion and brigade command, Legislative Liaison for the Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the 2nd Infantry Division, Deputy Chief of Staff of the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), and Executive Assistant to the Combatant Commander, USSOUTHCOM. Mr. Pack holds multiple Master’s Degrees in Business Administration and National Security Policy.  He is a recipient of the Order of St. Barbara and Order of St. Michael.

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Dennis Vaughn, Sr. Program Manager

Dennis Vaughn is the Senior Program Manager for PEO Missile and Space and the Army Futures Command Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) programs. He has served in a wide range of  senior technical and management positions since joining the company in 1999 following retirement from government civilian service as the Deputy Project Manager for Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Mr. Vaughn’s knowledge and experience gained from senior government technical and program management positions in the International MLRS, Stinger, un-manned air systems and Army Missile Research and Development Center (AMRDEC) continues to support S3 activities across multiply prime and subcontracts. Dennis has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Tech and a MS in Management from MIT where he was a Sloanfellow.

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Dean Reese, Sr. Program Manager for Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM)

Mr. Dean Reese is a former Government civilian and has been with since September 2001.  As a government civilian for 34 years, he was a Chief Engineer for the Army on a Tri-Service missile program and Chief Engineer for MLRS (now STORM). Mr. Reese also worked as a design engineer in the AMRDEC lab and served as a Flight Test Engineer for the Navy prior to serving in the US Army in the S&E program as an 0IC20 MOS (mechanical engineer) for 2 years.  He received his Mechanical Engineer degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.  He is also a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College in 1990. 

Since joining S3 in 2001, Dean has supported the Multiple Launch Rocket System Project Office as a Systems Engineer and over the last 10 years has been the Program Manager for the SETA support to that Project Office, which has changed names twice – Precision Fires Rocket and Missile System (PFRMS) PO and now the Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) PO.   He has extensive background in development and production of free flight and guided missile systems and their associated launchers.

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Josh Sauls, General Manager of KBFS

Mr. Sauls is the General Manager of the Kachemak Bay Flying Service (KBFS) wholly owned subsidiary and also works as the corporation’s Senior Aviation Business Developer and Safety and Standardization Advisor to the CEO. Mr. Sauls is responsible for all KBFS operations’ profit and loss, including management of contractor sites at Temple, TX and Crestview, FL.

Mr. Sauls, a graduate of Troy State University, has more than 25 years’ experience in Army and Contractor provided aviation services. A veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, he is a highly decorated Master Aviator who completed a variety of command and staff jobs and operated for years as an AH-64A/D/E instructor pilot. He served as the Army’s Director of Operations and Logistics for US Army, Kwajalein Atoll and Deputy Director of the Fort Rucker Directorate of Evaluation and Standards (DES). Following military retirement, Mr. Sauls worked as the Director of Maintenance Operations, first for Army Fleet Support and later for M1 Support Services, and was responsible the readiness of more than 300 advanced rotary wing aircraft at Ft. Rucker.  He also served as the AH-64D Flight Lead for Doss Aviation flight training support to the 110th Aviation Brigade.

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John Briggs, PMP: Program Manager, Maintenance, Logistics and Mentor-Protégé Programs

John Briggs is responsible for managing USG and FMS contracts that support Army National Guard and Partner Nation CONUS based operations and logistics.  In this role, he is responsible for delivering automated information systems and technical assistance services to S³ customers and leads the company’s award-winning Department of Defense (DoD) Mentor-Protégé Program. 

John has over 35 years of experience planning and managing complex military and commercial logistical operations and organizations and is a Project Management Institute Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).  

Mr. Briggs holds a BA in English from the Virginia Military Institute and a MS in Logistics Management from the University of Central Texas.  He is a retired US Army Officer, whose assignments include logistics command and staff positions in the 101st Airborne (Air Assault), 3rd Armored and 1st Cavalry Divisions, as well as, the Senior Logistics (Maintenance) Advisor to the leadership of the Maintenance Depot Command, Saudi Arabian Ministry of the National Guard.

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    Last Updated 08/23/2023