John P Wheeler III: Former Special Asst to Air Force Sec, Member of Council on Foreign Relations, Consultant to Mitre Corporation Found Dumped in Landfill

What was John P Wheeler III doing at the Mitre Corporation? And why was he found dead New Year’s Eve at the Cherry Island Landfill?

Editor’s note:  This may be the suspicious death of all time.  I will be looking for clues over the next few days.  Those of you, you know who you are, get me what I need to make this right. g

A four page bio on John P Wheeler III is currently available at Second Line of Defense:

Update: Cryptogon reports Mitre Corp won’t say what Mr. Wheeler was doing there. He is described as a “consultant.”

Via Delaware Online and Cryptogon. See also James Fallows’ piece at The Atlantic.

Newark police have identified the body discovered on New Year’s Eve at the Cherry Island Landfill as 66-year-old John P. Wheeler of New Castle.

Wheeler, who lived part time in Old New Castle, worked as a defense consultant and had a long and decorated military career that involved working in the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations.

Wheeler also served as chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the wall in Washington, D.C.

His death has been ruled a homicide.

Newark police have had a crime scene unit at Wheeler’s home at 108 West Third St. in Old New Castle all day today, with crime-scene tape roping off the prominent three-story brick home with black shutters.

Friends and neighbors were shocked to learn Wheeler had been murdered.

“This is just not the kind of guy who gets murdered,” said Bayard Marin, a Wilmington attorney who represented Wheeler. “This is not the kind of guy you find in a landfill.”

Wheeler worked in Washington, D.C. and investigators have determined he was on an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington on Tuesday, said Newark police Lt. Mark Farrall.

“The last place they can put him is getting off the Amtrak train in Wilmington,” Farrall said.

The MITRE Corporationis described on its website as a “trusted adviser to the U.S. military, MITRE’s Defense International Operations program also develops command and control and engineering solutions for NATO members and other U.S. allies.”

October 2009
BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN WHEELER

John Wheeler is a defense consultant. He served as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C. from 2005-2008, when he became the Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Environment. His mission was to carry out tasks and monitor programs in support of goals as directed, and support the Air Force Secretariat with data gathering, team organization, liaison, analysis and/or options for action. Principal tasks included standing up Cyberspace Forces and placing Precision Strike technology and Real Time Streaming Video targeting links into the hands of groundfighters in combat.

Mr. Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1966, serving as a staff officer in Vietnam, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Staff before leaving active service in 1971. While on active duty, he authored the first Biological and Chemical Joint Munitions Effectiveness Manual and the analysis supporting the President’s decision that the U.S. will not use biologicals. He was also on the Red Integrated Strategic Operational Plan Team to test the Single Integrated Operational Plan. His career combines federal service and starting up, growing and turning around companies and charities. He was Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on the team that worked major insider trader investigations, and consultant to the acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics regarding tankers and other issues.

For President Reagan, he created the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program, linking successful veterans with veterans needing jobs. For President G.H.W. Bush, he created the Earth Conservation Corps for at-risk youth.

He was Chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the Wall, and first Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which led the 40 percent reduction in drunk driving casualties as of 2005.

He has also served as Special Counsel to the Chairman and CEO for the turnaround of Macy’s, and he helped launch charities including the Jed Foundation to prevent college suicides, Support Our Aging Religious, and the Deafness Research Foundation’s National Campaign for Hearing Health to end deafness with cochlear implants for children.

PERTINENT WEB CLICKS
For computer-based readers, these clicks illustrate the main work undertaken by Mr. Wheeler since 2005 :
1. Precision Strike and Video Links for Groundfighters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiB3vrhPDNs
2. Establishing Cyber Warfighting Capability: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t849CYRd2Ak
3. Joint Warfighting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lxJSZQ93gI&feature=related

EDUCATION
1966 Distinguished graduate, Bachelor of Science degree, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
1969 Master of Business Administration degree, with distinction, Harvard Business School, Cambridge, Mass.
1975 Juris Doctor, Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1966 – 1967, fire control platoon leader, nuclear Nike Hercules site, Franklin Lakes, N.J.
2. 1967 – 1969, graduate student, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. (summer 1968, systems analyst (Strategic Programs), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.)
3. 1969 – 1970, member of the General Staff, Headquarters U.S. Army Vietnam, Long Binh, Vietnam
4. 1970 – 1971, staff officer, Joint Staff, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
5. 1971 – 1972, senior planner, Amtrak, Washington, D.C.
6. 1972 – 1975, law student, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
7. 1975 – 1976, law clerk, George E. MacKinnon, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
8. 1976 – 1978, Associate, Shea and Gardner Law Firm, Washington, D.C.
9. 1978 – 1986, Assistant General Counsel, Special Counsel to Chairman, and Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C. (1980 – 1981, on loan per President Reagan to create Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program)
10. 1986 – 1988, self-employed specialist in startups and turnarounds of companies, charities
11. 1988 – 1989, President G.H.W. Bush Transition Team to create Earth Conservation Corps, Washington, D.C.
12. 1989 – 1997, self-employed specialist in startups and turnarounds of companies, charities
13. 1997 – 2001, President and CEO, Deafness Research Foundation, Washington, D.C.
14. 2001 – 2005, self-employed specialist in startups and turnarounds of companies, charities (2004 – 2005, consultant to acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Washington, D.C.)
15. 2005 – 2008, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
16. 2008-2009 Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Energy.
17. 2009. Consultant to Mitre Corporation.

AWARDS AND HONORS
Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Award with Bronze Device
Joint Service Commendation Medal
U.S. Representative, Pew Foundation, British American Project

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
Law Journal Officer and Note Editor, Yale Law School
Languages: Fluent Spanish
1979 – 1989, Chairman, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
1983 – 1987, Chairman and CEO, Mothers Against Drunk Driving
1993 – present, created, then CEO Vietnam Children’s Fund

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
District of Columbia Bar; Council on Foreign Relations

PUBLICATIONS
Conceived, and contributor to, The Wounded Generation: America After Vietnam, Prentice-Hall, 1981
Touched With Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation, Franklin Watts, 1984, and Avon paperback, 1985
A variety of opinion articles, broadcast and cable commentary.
Citation for Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Award, 2008:

CITATION
Mr. John P. Wheeler distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious service to the United States as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, District of Columbia, from 3 November 2005 to 20 June 2008. During this period, Mr. Wheeler’s unwavering integrity, devotion to duty and steadfast leadership led to a number of successful initiatives across the Air Force.

Grasping the growing vulnerability of our weapon systems to Cyber intrusions, he worked tirelessly to drive the activation of Air Force Cyber Command. His visionary efforts were instrumental in the creation of the Cyber Research Center at the Air Force Institute of Technology; the first two graduates of the United States Air Force Academy to enter the Air Force Institute of Technology Cyber Master’s Program; the stand-up of the Air Force Cyber School; and an increased emphasis on Air Force recruitment efforts for officers and enlisted for Cyber careers.

His seasoned experience and knowledge proved invaluable as he helped formulate advice on initiatives such as Joint Basing, Recapitalization, ROVER precision strike data for Army and Marine troops, Acquisition, and a myriad of legislative initiatives facing the Air Force.

His day-to-day interactions with the Office of the Secretary of Defense enhanced relations and ensured streamlined timely responses. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Mr. Wheeler in the dedication of service to his Country reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

END OF CITATION

Research Credit: Matt