March 29, 2024

Mortensen Joins Leadership So. MD Board

Mortensen

Retired US Marine Corps colonel Joe “Mort” Mortensen has joined the board of directors of Leadership Southern Maryland.

Col. Mortensen is a Class of 2016 graduate of LSM’s Executive Program. He will serve on the programs committee.

A native of Albion, NE, Col. Mortensen enjoyed a 29-year Marine Corps career, retiring in May 2009.

He served in a variety of leadership positions that included commander, Naval Test Wing Atlantic; commanding officer and chief test pilot, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23; and staff assignments at the battalion, squadron, group, marine expeditionary force, and joint task force levels.

His 27 years of aviation experience as a naval aviator included 12 years in aircraft and weapon system development, test, and evaluation as a test pilot. Operationally, he flew F-4s and F/A-18s throughout the world and from aircraft carriers — logging over 3,700 hours in 70 different aircraft.

Col. Mortensen flew missions in support of Operation Southern Watch from the USS Nimitz and was the chief of plans and assessment, Joint Task Force 536 where he defined and planned United States political-military transition strategy during Southeast Asia tsunami relief in support of Operation Unified Assistance.

After his Marine Corps career, the colonel joined the US Federal Civil Service as a general engineer and served for two years as the director, Test and Evaluation for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, FL. He transferred to Patuxent River and joined Naval Air Systems Command where he served as the chief of staff, Test & Evaluation Group and director, Test and Evaluation Staff Office.

In 2019, he was reassigned as director, Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation Strategy and Management. Concurrently from 2014 to 2020, he served as co-chairman of the NATO Science and Technology Organization Flight Test Technical Team. He retired from federal service in July 2020.

In addition to serving on the LSM board, Col. Mortensen also holds a position on the executive board of directors for National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America as one of its district chairmen.

About Leadership Southern Maryland

The nonprofit Leadership Southern Maryland is an independent, educational leadership development organization designed to broaden the knowledge base of mid- to senior-level public and private sector executives about the critical issues, challenges, and opportunities facing the region.

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