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C. Michael Sprague, P.E.

Summary:
Mr. Sprague has over 38 years experience in management of U. S. Coast Guard vessel maintenance and logistics and over 24 years post-graduate experience managing, planning, performing, and documenting research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) projects.  Has served as Task Leader and/or Principal Investigator on numerous tasks requiring technical expertise in marine engineering, logistics, and marine firesafety disciplines. He has served as the principal or contributing author on most of MSI's major technical reports.

Education:
B.S. Engineering Track, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 1969
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1983

Current Responsibilities:
MicroSystems Integration, Inc., 1997-Present

MSI’s principal or contributing author of the Modeling and Simulation Master Plan (MSMP), Legacy Asset Baseline- 2002 (LAB 2002), and Modeled Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for Coast Guard Deepwater Assets for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Integrated Deepwater System (IDS) Program.  Senior Engineer responsible for project performance including studies and analyses of maintenance, logistics, marine engineering, marine firesafety, operational effectiveness, and business processes.  Roles include project management, planning, engineering investigation, operations analysis, report development, and project briefings.

Professional Experience:
Integrated Deepwater System Program.  Task leader and technical contributor in multiple projects supporting a major acquisition program to replace the majority of the Coast Guard's cutter and aviation assets.  Project manager of multi-disciplinary team to analyze and document historical expenditures and material condition of Coast Guard legacy assets.  Task leader and technical contributor in multiple tasks to develop and document modeling and simulation tools and a framework to analyze and evaluate industry team proposals.  Technical contributor and senior analyst responsible for planning, managing, and conducting operational effectiveness assessments of Coast Guard legacy and proposed IDS assets.  Task leader and technical contributor for development and periodic updates of three key documents for the Coast Guard's IDS Program: MSMP, LAB-2002, and CONOPS.

Operations Analysis Simulation Information Support (OASIS) Program – Program Manager for various tasks involving operations analysis and modeling and simulation.  Task Leader and technical contributor for following tasks directly supported under this contract:

·        Asset Analysis and Modeling Capability Expansion – This task was designed to expand and enhance the OASIS analysis capability through application of alternative modeling and simulation tools.  In addition a modeling effort was conducted to determine the potential operational performance impacts of using a Navy experimental vessel called X-Craft for selected CG missions.
·        Sector Command Center (SCC) Performance Assessment Model – This task involved development of an SCC Systems Assessment Tool to support the SCC Interview Team and provide a guide for questions that should be asked and to evaluate the answers in order to conduct an assessment of the SCC and to identify gaps in capability and capacity.
·        Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission Process Performance Gap Analysis – This task was designed to identify, quantify, and analyze performance gaps in the Coast Guard’s performance of its SAR mission.  Performance gap analysis included identifying, and categorizing performance gaps and their associated causative factors.
·        FSF-1 (Sea Fighter) Analysis Support – This task was designed to integrate and coordinate FSF-1 Test and Evaluation (T&E) activities with modeling and simulation (M&S) activities.  Models are designed to (1) illustrate the applicability of FSF-1 to conduct CG missions, (2) provide a means to explore alternative FSF-1 concept of operations, and (3) serve as a framework to examine FSF-1 performance characteristics that significantly impact mission success.

Comprehensive Policy Manual for Performance Measurement – Task Leader and technical contributor for developing and documenting Coast Guard performance measurement policy and guidance which will be promulgated to staffs and commands at all Coast Guard organizational levels while allowing staffs and commands to develop unique measures tailored to their specific work environment.

Institutional Research (INRE) Support – Task Leader and technical contributor to investigate ongoing INRE initiatives within the Coast Guard.  Investigation included making recommendations on multiple INRE initiatives value, contribution, and “implementability” and developing a “road map” that identified executable segments, sequencing, and priorities.

Unified Performance Logic Model Development – Task Leader and technical contributor for developing a concept logic model that shows the relationship between resources, Coast Guard activities, and the goals they intend to achieve.  The concept model and an associated proof of concept tool are used to analyze linkage, interactions, and cause and effect relationships among various Coast Guard functions represented in the model.

Cutter Homeport Analysis Process – Task Leader and technical contributor for designing, developing and implementing an enhanced process for making cutter homeport decisions.  The enhanced process Incorporates a graphical user interface to help Coast Guard Planners make critical homeport decisions that account for all relevant factors including environment, personnel, morale, operational effectiveness, and dollars. 

Coastal Ocean Dynamics Application Radar (CODAR) Short-Term Predictive Capability and Website – Task Leader and technical contributor for developing, testing, demonstration, and documentation of a short-term predictive capability for surface currents based on the historical data collected and the real-time data streams from the Block Island Sound CODAR site for use in enhancing the Coast Guard Search and Rescue planning process. 

Ship and Aircraft Coating Systems - Task Leader and technical contributor for identifying, quantifying, and analyzing processes, equipment, and materials used for surface preparation and application of coating systems on various U.S. Coast Guard cutters and aircraft.  Project included populating a database with relevant data to support future decisions for proposed changes to materials and coating techniques.

Operations/Engineering Analyses – Task Leader and technical contributor in several projects to collect data and perform operations analysis with respect to threats, missions, requirements, and performance parameters, specifically:

·        Conduct maritime threat assessment and analyze operations of Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces.
·        Conduct logistics study of offshore oil rig platform support and analyze feasibility of replacing monohull vessels currently used in logistics support operations for the offshore oil and gas industry in Brazil and in the Deepwater portion of the Gulf of Mexico.
·        Conduct operations analysis involving replacing aging monohull vessels currently used to conduct oceanographic research in ice or high sea states typically encountered in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.  Studies included analyzing seakeeping data and operations of oceanographic research platforms.
·        Analyze potential of conducting fast ferry operations in Rio de Janeiro which typically experiences relatively adverse weather conditions.
·        Conduct operations analysis involving replacing monohull vessels currently used to transport pilots for further transfer to merchant ships in the North Sea and Scheldt River, Netherlands.
·        Collect and synthesize available information and data involving mobile offshore basing and naval operational logistics. 

Modeling and Analysis Support – Task Leader and technical contributor in several projects to support implementing a cost effective modeling, simulation and analysis capability for the Coast Guard Research and Development Center, specifically:

·        Designing, building, and populating a modeling and analysis data library.
·        Collecting and analyzing data to support operations analysis in various Coast Guard missions such as Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement.

Small Cutter Fire Protection Project. Principal engineer in a four year project to conduct comprehensive firesafety analyses and develop tailored fire protection doctrines for ten classes of small U.S. Coast Guard Cutters. Principal engineer on follow-on tasks to analyze conceptual design of Coastal Buoy Tender Replacement and Military Sealift Command T-AGOS ships including an extensive study of the proposed design for firesafety and development of fire protection doctrines.

Ship Firesafety Engineering Methodology. Task leader for application, development, and documentation of extensive probabilistic-based risk analysis methodology for conducting a comprehensive firesafety analysis of a marine vessel.

Advanced Marine Vehicles Project. As Branch Chief, responsible for all RDT&E projects assigned to the Marine Systems Branch at the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center. This included a multi-year project for planning and conducting full-scale TECHEVALs and OPEVALs for evaluating and testing advanced marine vehicles such as SWATH ships, Surface Effect Ships, Hydrofoils, and other non-displacement hull vessels to determine and assess their suitability for performing U. S. Coast Guard missions.

Standard Specifications for Repair of Coast Guard Cutters. Project Manager for developing a comprehensive standard set of shipyard repair specifications for hull, mechanical, and electrical systems and equipment on all U. S. Coast Guard Cutters in the Atlantic Area undergoing repair availability.

Systems to Automate and Integrate Logistics Program. Program Manager for multi-year, multi-million dollar project to develop and implement information systems to modernize logistics support for the U. S. Coast Guard fleet.

Configuration Management Program. Managed tasks and technically contributed to development of prototype software and relational databases for support of U. S. Coast Guard Cutters. In addition, managed tasks to improve the data quality and streamline databases associated with the configuration management software.

U. S. Coast Guard YARD Business Analysis. Task Manager for analyzing the Industrial Operations at the U. S. Coast Guard YARD to identify strategic business opportunities and critical business processes that may benefit from business process re-engineering. The essential business processes were modeled in the object-oriented paradigm.

Previous Experience:
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1995 - 1997

Associate Research Professor in the Center for Firesafety Studies: Primary responsibilities included management of multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to provide Firesafety Services to the U. S. Coast Guard as well as application and development of the Ship Firesafety Engineering Methodology.

EG&G Washington Analytical Service Center, 1996-1998
Senior Marine Engineer: Primary responsibilities included performing marine engineering and fire protection engineering research in various projects including reactivation of Navy ships as launch platforms for aerial target drones and missiles.

Battelle Memorial Institute, 1992 - 1997
Program Manager: Primary responsibilities included business development, marketing and management of major inter-disciplinary contracts involving numerous subcontractors and consultants in the Information Systems Engineering area. Duties also included task manager for various technical projects requiring experience in U. S. Coast Guard, Marine Engineering and Logistics. Responsible for establishing and managing the West Mystic, Connecticut Office of Battelle from 1992 to 1994.

CompuCon, 1990 – 1996
Senior Engineering Analyst: Responsible for developing and documenting a comprehensive probabilistic-based firesafety analysis methodology. As the principal engineer on all assigned projects, responsibilities included: overall task management, planning and conducting ship checks, performing comprehensive firesafety analyses using computer-based tools and methodologies, identifying enhancements to these tools, developing the methodologies, and preparing and delivering formal presentations and written technical reports.

U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 1989 - 1990
Assistant Professor of Marine Engineering: Responsible for teaching undergraduate courses in the Marine Engineering and Civil Engineering Departments.

U.S. Coast Guard, 1969 - 1989
Career Marine Engineer and commissioned officer: Held positions of increasing responsibility for managing and supervising civilian, enlisted and officer personnel. Extensive experience in preparation and approval of shipyard repair specifications for hull, mechanical, and electrical systems/equipment on board all classes of U. S. Coast Guard Cutters and Boats.

Professional Recognition and Affiliation:
Licensed Professional Engineer, Mechanical Engineering, State of California, 1983.
Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1984.
Member, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, 1996.
Member, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, 1996.
Published articles in the Naval Engineer's Journal, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Journal.
Included in the 4th edition of Who's Who in Science and Engineering, 1998-1999

Publications:
Author or co-author of over 25 in-depth analysis reports of Marine Engineering and Marine Firesafety.