Contributors

Jean F. Aker — Jean was a Cyber Security Officer and retired after 32 years in Federal and military Service. After high school he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as an Air Traffic Controller at Keesler AFB, MS. After graduation and ATC certification from the FAA, he received specialized training at Ft Rucker, AL. He completed a tour of duty in Viet Nam in 1968 and went into the Army Reserves until 1973. While attending college he was selected for a position as a Physical Sciences Technician with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Center for Experiment Design and Analysis (CEDDA) in Washington, DC. He worked on several environmental and earth sciences experiments. One of which discovered the primary source for hurricanes. In 1975, he took a position with NOAA's National Ocean Survey and spent several years converting the original hand drawn nautical maps into digital format and helping to develop the computer system to process them. In 1976, he joined the D.C. Air National Guard and renewed his FAA ATC certification. In 1981, he took a position as a Meteorology Technician at the U.S. Weather Service station in Cape Hatteras, NC and left the DCANG. After several years in Hatteras he was offered a position working for a private company that was trying to improve the computer systems employed by the Weather Service. During this period the company was approached by John McAfee for help in developing the documentation for his first anti-virus software. Jean was the lead writer for this effort and worked directly with McAfee.

After a couple of years he then joined the company that invented satellite distribution of weather data, Satellite Information and Services Corp. (SISCORP). During this time he collected and wrote the first comprehensive catalog of all weather data available, worldwide. This caught the attention of designer/pilot Dick Rutan, and SISCORP was asked to provide real-time weather data for his flight around the world with Jeanne Yeager in the Voyager aircraft in 1986. Shortly afterwards SISCORP was absorbed by Contel ASC. Jean was offered a position with the Department of Veterans Affairs in their IT department. He remained there for 22 years. During his tenure at VA he finished his BS degree at the University of Maryland University College, and in 2000, he was sworn in as a Cyber Security Officer after completing a rigorous training program.

Jean is a life-long modeler and has spent many years working in the retail hobby business. He was one of the early members of the International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS).

Jean is currently one of the website managers for The Boxart Den website. This group prides itself in having the largest collection of restored model kit boxart ever assembled. A self trained computer graphics artist, he does restorations and enjoys producing model related images of what the manufacturers missed!

In retirement, Jean is very active with several computer projects and the Izaak Walton League of America. He enjoys building computers, riding motorcycles and training new shooters in firearms safety and use.