In New Sentinels of the Seas, intelligence veteran George Guy Thomas, author of A Silent Warrior Steps Out of the Shadows, presents the inside story of his struggles in his post-9/11 crusade for security on the seas, which led him to conceive and implement Satellite Automatic Identification System ship tracking and a concept he calls C-SIGMA (Collaboration in Space for International Global Maritime Awareness). But Thomas, a quadruple qualified (surface, air, submarine, space) retired Navy commander, warns that American ports remain vulnerable as he presses for global cooperation in patrolling the seas from space for safety and security.Thomas is nominated for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation's highest honor for technological achievement, "for overcoming severe obstacles and dramatically changing the maritime world by lifting the veil of opaqueness enshrouding the seas."
Thomas, Geo Guy: - Guy Thomas is a maritime security expert who spent decades in intelligence in the US Navy, and Air Force and has been associated with a broad range of other US government agencies and private companies. He was among the first US Navy Space Operations specialists and was a participant in White House meetings leading to the National Space Policy. He was the first member of the Navy, Marines or Army awarded Air Force wings. Serving 23 years in the US Navy, including five years with the US Air Force, Guy has substantial experience in many aspects of naval and air operations, especially in the reconnaissance field. Embarked in cruisers, submarines and aircraft in hostile environments, he led the collection, analysis, and real time provision of intelligence to operational commanders, including nearly a year (total) in combat. He participated directly in 30-plus MIG engagements over Vietnam, a record for a signals intelligence team chief that stands today. He led the mission system acceptance trials of the highly automated EP-3E in the Pacific and was among the first designated US Navy Space Operations subspecialists. For his service as the test director of the Initial Operational Test and Evaluation of Rivet Joint III (RC-135W), the first US Air Force aircraft to use a fully computerized mission system, he was the first member of the Navy, Marines or Army ever awarded Air Force wings. He also qualified for the USAF Space Badge. He also participated as the intelligence collection team chief on three highly classified submarine Special Operations. An innovator throughout his career, while on the staff of the Naval War College (NWC) 1982-1986, he developed the first war games ever for space systems as well as ones for command & control systems, and for special warfare, conducted anywhere. Fifteen years later, immediately following 9/11, he co-led a series of multi-agency/government/private industry wargames and seminars to investigate the maritime vulnerabilities of the USA and devise potential counters to those vulnerabilities. His report of that effort, written at the direction of President Bush, became the initial draft of what became the National Concept of Operations for Maritime Domain Awareness.
