Join the Alliance

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Change of Responsibility

June 4, 2019
VADM Hill (left) accepts responsibility of MDA from Dr. Michael Griffin (center), Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, during the MDA change of responsibility ceremony where Lt. Gen. Greaves (right) relinquished responsibility at Ft. Belvoir on May 31, 2019.

This past Friday, May 31st at Fort Belvoir, Virginia the 10th Change of Responsibility for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) took place in transferring power to the 11th Director of the MDA, Vice Admiral Jon Hill. An MDA that spans across 14 time zones, in 45 locations around the world, and an enterprise second to none in the world in its accomplishments, testing, development, and deployment of missile defense systems for the United States and its allies. A mission that is vital for the national security of all nations, across all domains, and all military services to make the world a safer place, anchoring stability and peace. With this vast and deep responsibility comes the uniqueness and importance of the command of MDA. A tremendous amount of responsibility, trust, and courage of leadership to set the culture of excellence as the director in such a critical role to the nation and the world of missile defense.

We acknowledge to look back in honor and respect to the 10th MDA Director, Lieutenant General Sam Greaves from 2017 to 2019 in the notable achievements of the Agency during this time.

  • 43 flight tests – 24 ground tests – 20 cybersecurity assessments – 65 wargames & exercises
  • Recent FTG-11 most complex intercept of an ICBM class target
  • The rollout of the 2019 MDR
  • The addition of 20 Ground Based Interceptors to the U.S. GMD layer
  • Deploying a Space-based Kill Assessment Constellation
  • The integration of the F-35 and the MQ-9 into U.S. missile defense policy
  • Enhancing U.S. cyber defense in regard to missile defense infrastructure
  • The development and procurement of the SM-3 Blk IIA interceptors
  • Widening the operations of the Sea-Based X-Band radar
  • Further installing ground-based radars in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific
  • Increasing the numbers of SM-3 and THAAD interceptors
  • Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite installation.

Much more important, Lieutenant General Greaves has made MDA better as a culture, made the nation safer in its defense against ballistic missiles, made our forward deployed troops safer from missiles, and the world safer through the U.S. leadership on missile defense.

The testament of Lt. Gen. Greaves’ leadership of MDA is not the vast array of new systems, successful complex tests, and deployed systems, it is of his three pillars of excellence that have now become forever his legacy in the history of MDA.

  • No Fail Mission
  • Mission Assurance
  • Culture Leadership

The new MDA director, VADM Jon Hill has big leadership legacies to follow and propel forward from. VADM Jon Hill is the most qualified, coupled with the most experience, in the nation to lead the next era of the Missile Defense Agency. VADM Jon Hill was formerly the Deputy Director of MDA under Lt. Gen. Greaves and has a long history in missile defense.

Recent Alerts

Mission Statement

MDAA’s mission is to make the world safer by advocating for the development and deployment of missile defense systems to defend the United States, its armed forces and its allies against missile threats.

MDAA is the only organization in existence whose primary mission is to educate the American public about missile defense issues and to recruit, organize, and mobilize proponents to advocate for the critical need of missile defense. We are a non-partisan membership-based and membership-funded organization that does not advocate on behalf of any specific system, technology, architecture or entity.

How You Can Help

International Cooperation