David Reth

David Reth is the Director of Safety and Mission Assurance at the Goddard Space Flight Center, providing executive guidance and support to programs, projects, and research activities in support of NASA's strategic goals for a technical community of over 8,600 personnel. He provides strategic direction for over 300 civil servants and contractor employees and plans, directs, and controls the development and management of Institutional and Occupational Safety and Quality, Reliability and Mission Assurance. He previously served as the Director of Management Operations at Goddard, where he oversaw logistics, transportation, environmental, medical clinic, and facilities design, construction and maintenance. He is a Federal Senior Executive Service (SES) career appointee since 2014.

He began his 27-year United States Air Force career as a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy and the top graduate in Aeronautical Engineering. After completing flight training at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas, he was selected to remain as an instructor pilot teaching basic jet flight training and flying the T-38. He then transitioned to the F-15C aircraft flying a range of operational assignments in Germany and serving as an instructor pilot at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida. His early service included serving as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and U.S. Air Forces Europe staff officer in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and as a flying squadron Director of Operations, flying wing Chief of Safety, and an Operations Support Squadron Commander at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

He spent several years serving as the Commander of the 14th Operations Group at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, conducting pilot training for U.S. Air Force and international officers with a fleet of over 220 aircraft. His command included six squadrons with over 1,400 military, civil servants, and contractors operating the busiest Air Traffic Control and highest sortie producing flying organization in the Air Force.

In his final military position, he was the Commander of the Utah Test and Training Range at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, providing open-air training and test services, large force training exercises, and large footprint weapons testing. He was responsible for operating and maintaining over 2.3 million acres of Department of Defense range land in western Utah and over $1 billion in technical assets and facilities with a team of 300 civil servants and contractors.

During his career he also took time to focus on educational pursuits such as graduating from Air Command and Staff College and Air War College, obtaining a Master’s degree in Management, completing executive development studies at the Wharton School of Business, and certification as an Earned Value Management Professional®. He also attended the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy, studying Alliance and international security policy and transnational threats with students from 36 NATO and partner nations.

He holds a USAF command pilot rating with more than 4,200 flying hours, including 137 combat hours during various operations. During his military career, he garnered a variety of accolades including the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.