Aaron B. Ball

51 Clark Patton Road 

Fredericksburg, VA 22406 

(W) 540-834-7257

(H) 540-834-7257

Email: ball_a@hotmail.com

 

 

SUMMARY:

Information Technology Engineer/Project Manager/Supervisor with over twenty seven years of progressive responsibility, experience in all aspects of outside plant/inside plant engineering, design, construction and maintenance. Engineering, installation and maintenance of copper, fiber optic, coaxial cable, Cable TV, Closed Circuit TV, LAN and WAN IT systems. Written winning large and small scale Bid Proposals and Request for Proposals. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Training. Experienced on Cisco, Ciena, Nortel, Alloptic routers/switches and network protocols. Skilled in a wide range of computer hardware and software including: Windows, Microsoft programs(VISIO), Word Processors, Databases, Spreadsheets, AutoCAD, MicroStation and MapInfo.

 

Active Secret Security Clearance

Veteran

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

 

Express-Tek, Outside Plant Engineer Contractor 02/12 – Current

Engineered new building entrances, relocation of plant and new systems in the Washington DC area. Engineered and documented new fiber optic aerial cable plant railroad crossings for upgrade of Shentel’s Cable TV system in southern West Virginia. Determined best crossing solutions per Southern Pacific’s railroad requirement. Provided detailed engineering documentation using Microsoft Visio.

 

Mountain LTD Outside Plant Engineer 07/11 – 11/07

Engineered and documented new fiber optic aerial cable plant for upgrade of Frontier’s West Virginia Cable TV system. Provided customer with detailed engineering drawings and completed Right-of-Way approval documentation.

 

Lockheed Martin Systems Engineer Senior 07/07 – 11/10

Fredericksburg, VA 

Responsibilities -  Design and engineer telecommunications networks for Department of Defense and commercial contracts. Engineered a communications fiber optic network involving over 60,000 feet of fiber optic cable and 40,000 feet of communications infrastructure in Bahrain. Engineered and designed an all fiber optic Triple-Play network to include central office, nodes, hubs, splitters, terminals and Alloptic switching/routing equipment. Configured all switching and routing equipment. CONUS and OCONUS Project Manager for South Africa BAE  Civilian Police Initiative project. Project provided engineering and  installation of their communications network in South Sudan to include internet access, Voice over IP Telephony, wireless network, cellular phone service, satellite service and ground and internet based radio communications. Performed technical analysis, load balancing requirements and administration tasks to include, configure, document, test and install cable plant equipment and software; installed hardware/software upgrades, system patches; provide troubleshooting, fault isolation, preventive maintenance and repair of equipment through Web architecture, technical support, problem-solving, administered equipment maintenance contracts and equipment inventory. Participated in pursuing new business. Team member for developing and delivering several Lockheed Martin proposals for DoD and DoS multi-million dollar projects.

 

MTC Technologies Senior Telecommunications Engineer 05/06 – 07/07

Honolulu, HI – Fredericksburg, VA

Telecommunications Specialist. Project Manager and Design/Engineer Telecommunications networks for Department of Defense contracts. Engineered communications fiber optic network in accordance with I3A guidelines involving over 17,000 feet and 10,000 feet of communications infrastructure on Anderson AFB, Guam.  Engineered and designed an all fiber optic CATV Triple-Play network to include all nodes, hubs, terminals and end equipment for the base populous at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Engineered and supervised the installation of a 40 plus Closed Circuit TV camera network around the perimeter of the base. Configured all routers and switching equipment. Documented system installation and configuration. System used for base force protection.

 

Wellsco Communications (Verizon) OSP Engineer 01/06 – 05/06

Sarasota, FL 

Fiber To The Premise Engineer (FTTP).  Design and engineer fiber optic networks both feeder and distribution layouts for residential and commercial customers in the Verizon Southern Division. Perform field surveys, plan distribution routes. Identify distribution equipment location and size needed. Plan and design fiber cable distribution. Assign terminal locations and engineer fiber count distributions for businesses, apartment complexes and single living units. Agent for ROW (right of way) and easements requirements within working locations.

 

TEK-SYSTEMS (Verizon) OSP Engineer/Quality Control Engineer 10/04 – 01/06

Fort Wayne, IN 

Network Engineer. Responsible for facility access, ILEC collocation design and interconnection.  Designed transmission infrastructure for SONET, DWDM  and CWDM for triple play systems. Engineered multiplexing equipment placement, configuration and turn up. To include equipment and material ordering, ADC/DC power requirements, grounding and interfacing. Fiber To The Premise Engineer (FTTP).  Design and engineer fiber optic networks both feeder and distribution layouts for residential and commercial customers in the Verizon Central Division. Used ICGS Micro station system to determine existing plant design and to update records. Make recommendations and suggest new opportunities to improve quality of design and service to customer. Quality control inspector for all designs. Approved all engineer plans submitted for construction. 

 

GENERAL DYNAMICS NETWORK SYSTEMS Project Manager/Site Supervisor 05/02 – 10/04

General Dynamics Project Manger/Site Supervisor for the High Level and Detailed Design on the NMCI Projects. Engineered new ISP/OSP infrastructure and identified reuse of existing conduits/fiber optic cable. Designed new ISP routing and switch locations. General Dynamics Site Manager. Responsibilities included monitoring and supervising all construction activities to ensure safety requirements are being observed and ensure all phases of the telecommunications distribution system is installed in accordance with established installation procedures. Scheduled construction in such a manner to ensure all milestones and cutover are met in accordance with the Installation Plan schedule. Ensured construction activities are in accordance with all OSHA requirements and meeting Bellcore, REA and EIA/TIA standards. Coordinated with vendors for the construction and shipment of construction materials, such as manholes, requiring special attention to reduce on-site installation cost. Inventoried all materials and report discrepancies to the GTE material coordinator.  Established a periodic meeting with the customer to discuss construction progress. Coordinated the delivery of  materials and placed at predetermined location by the vendor. Ensured all material is tracked and logged from initial delivery through construction.  Performed tasks associated with standard aspects of telephony switching systems, such as site surveys, database management, installation, maintenance, and repair. Installed and configured Cisco switches/routers for TCP/IP and VoIP. Monitored burn-in time, identified, troubleshot and corrected network issues.

 

 

 

ADELPHIA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS Corporate OSP Engineer 05/00 – 08/02

Coudersport, PA: Corporate Outside Plant Engineer/Project Manger responsible for review and approval and project completion of company’s nationwide long haul fiber optic network and multiple metropolitan fiber optic SONET ring and CATV designs.  Review/approval of Capital Authorization Request for engineering/make ready and construction for communications networks. Review/approve request for transmission protocol equipment installation for DWDM, DSL, T1, DS3, OC-3, OC-48 and OC-192 connection to Local Servicing Offices and customer premises.  Evaluated and approved use of new hardware and materials used on construction and installation projects.  Applied in-depth and broad knowledge of quality engineering principles to determine proper QA methods/methodology to utilize. Responsible for management and completion of all projects. Ensured compliant system documentation. Acted as principal ISO 9002 and quality assurance authority on programs. Used in-depth knowledge and background experience for approval of SATCOM and Headend locations for various USA locations. Was the primary interface among the program office, operations functional management and the customer on quality issues for all phases of the projects. Responsible for approving purchase of fiber optic cable for all nationwide projects. Over saw and approved the purchase and distribution of over 240 million dollars in fiber optic cable. Initiated timely and effective corrective action to resolve potential quality problems to ensure work, schedule and budgets were maintained. Developed and implemented temporary fiber optic management system used for documentation of long haul and metropolitan network systems. Prepared maps, reports and analyses for CEO for proposals of sold, leased and acquired fiber optic networks. Reviewed and updated company construction/installation manual to insure adherence to industry standards.  Supervisor of Corporate Mapping and Demographic Department for existing and future fixed and wireless information.

 

MODERN TECHNOLOGIES CORP Project Engineer/Site Manager 06/98 – 05/00

Yokota Air Base, Japan:  Project Engineer for a security camera system.  Performed cost analyst, prepared budget and negotiated price of contract. Engineered and installed a 8 camera closed circuit video network. Identified where new and existing fiber optic cable could be used.  Engineered controllers, switches and converters needed for a full stand alone working system. System used by security officials for anti-terrorist and force protection of the base populous.  Project Engineer/Manager for upgrade of the base’s telecommunications infrastructure. Upgrade involved replacement and new installation of infrastructure and copper/fiber optic cable. Sub-contractor’s initial site Project Manager for the Yokota Air Base, Japan Command Information Transport System (CITS) awarded to General Dynamics.  Involved installation, termination and testing of over 10 miles of various fiber optic cables sizes connecting 20 plus buildings with diverse paths. Updated plant-in-place (CIRS) records.

 

Misawa Air Base, Japan: Department of Defense selected Project Engineer and  Project Manager on Command Information Transfer System (CITS) project, Phase I, Part II. Performed cost analyst and contract expenditures. Engineered all aspects of the project to include exact location of termination point and end equipment.  Supervised sub-contractor on the installation of over 58,000 feet for singlemode fiber optic cable and over 120,000 feet of conduit/manhole infrastructure, to include termination and testing of fiber optic cable. Objectives consist of planning, staffing, directing, and controlling  field operations to include design, costing, and implementation of an external transport network. Responsibilities included customer requirements gathering, overseeing selection of external carrier and subcontractors, developing and meeting schedule and cost parameters, conducting project status reviews with Government customers, and managing the external network implementation to ensure that all work was completed on schedule and per contract specifications. Served as the primary contact for the customer on matters pertaining to the external network design and Implementation Schedules.

 

Osan Air Base, Korea: Site Lead on Automated Entry Control System project.  Engineered lay out of system and installed controllers, proximity readers, request to exit buttons, keypad inputs and magnetic locks. Programmed computers, controllers and entry cards for access of individuals, groups, lock/unlock time zones for over 1200 personnel. 

 

Misawa Air Base, Japan: Project Engineer and Site Manager on Command Information Transfer System project, Phase I, Part I. Supervised sub-contractor on the installation of over 48,000 feet for singlemode fiber optic cable and over 60,000 feet of conduit/manhole infrastructure, to include termination and testing of fiber optic cable. Identified and re-engineered short falls on initial site survey. Updated Plant-In-Place Records.  Completed project well within the required time frame.  

 

Osan Air Base, Korea: Lead Analysts for installation of Secure Radio System project  providing land-to-land, land to ship, and satellite communications for military forces on and around the Korean peninsula. Fabricated fiber optic data cables, installed, terminated fiber optic cables and troubleshot/repaired bad circuits.

 

AEROTEK EF&I Services:  Richardson, TX 10/97 – 06/98

Outside Plant Engineer performing design engineering on GTE and South Western Bell telecommunication projects to include, commercial and residential areas.  Accomplished Facility Area surveys to determine current and future service requirements.  Accomplished on-site surveys, field notes, measurements and hand-drafted information for new installations. Prepared construction permits, obtained right of way information for placement of cable plant. Engineered projects on road moves, manhole and duct placement; aerial, buried/underground plant, switches, pair gain devices (T1/DSL/Slick 2000) on both copper and fiber cable.

 

ADTECH SYSTEMS Inc:  Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea 10/96 – 07/97

Senior Communications Engineer.  Responsible for the supervision and work schedule of seven US employees installing a fiber optic cable Local Area network.  Engineered and surveyed fiber optic backbone infrastructure.  Identified numerous shortfalls in previous project reviews.  Played a principal role in the installation of approximately 80,000 feet of multi-strand, singlemode fiber optic cable.  Used sophisticated optical time domain reflectometer, light source and power meter equipment to determine optical length and integrity of individual strands. Measured and recorded actual attenuation of each strand.   Installed and programmed Cisco routers, switches, media converters, LAN software and troubleshot non-working circuits.  Developed technical reports for end user. Provided status reports on a daily basis. Used AutoCAD 12 to provide as built drawings to end-user.   

 

GTE HAWAIIAN TEL: Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea 04/96 – 10/96

Outside Plant engineer for the installation of fiber optic and copper core cables for the Osan Air Base Information Digital Distribution System (BIDDS).  Directed the splicing, testing and inspection of more than 50 fiber optic cables and 32 copper cables totaling more than 20,000 miles. Supervised one US civilian employee and 4 splicing teams consisting of 20 Korean nationals.   Ensured that all installations were within project specifications and installed in allotted project time frame.

 

USAF Pacific Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea Branch Chief 07/94 – 04/96

Chief of Cable Maintenance for the 51st Communication Group. Wire Branch Chief, supervised 45 military members and 12 Union affiliated Korean Nationals. Planned deployment/employment of US Air Force communications installer force. Engineered and directed programs and projects to ensure aims, goals and objectives were accomplished in accordance with prescribed priorities and resources.  Managed and supervised a multitude of programs simultaneously. Reviewed plans and guidelines to determine methods and procedures for accomplishment of single projects to major programs.  Developed staff support reports and established work plans and schedules for each project/program.  Lowered work centers workload by 50 percent by re-organizing teams and materials. Personally selected to man the Unit Control Center, which directed unit personnel during contingencies and evaluation exercises.

 

USAF Air Mobility Command Headquarters Scott Air Force Base, IL NCOIC 10/90 – 07/94

Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the 375th Communication Group, Cable Maintenance work center. Supervised seven subordinates with the responsibility of maintaining and installing new communication cables, to include copper, fiber optic, CATV and data coax cables. Hand picked to engineer, install and maintain a temporary fiber optic video teleconferencing network at Air Mobility Command Headquarters during operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations. Engineered and maintained various Local Area Networks and telecommunication projects for the United States Transportation Command Headquarters, the Air Mobility Command Headquarters and the Air Force Communications Command Headquarters. Ensured technical/operational interface requirements for communication-computer systems were fully determined to ensure users needs were met or exceeded.

 

USAF Pacific Command Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea NCOIC 06/88 – 08/90

Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the 2146th Communication Group, Cable Maintenance work center. Supervised twelve US military members and Union Korean nationals.  Hired and supervised union employees. Wrote professional performance reports on subordinates.  Responsible for the scheduling of everyday workload.  Managed and supervised all aspects of the work center operations to include team assignments, equipment custodian, and supply requisitions. Developed staff summary reports and established work plans and schedules for each project/program. Responsible for quality assurance inspections on existing and new installations of communication/CATV projects, accomplished personal performance evaluations and reviewing projects to ensure required military standards were met. Maintained military administrative files and reports. Developed course and trained all unit personnel on corrosion control procedures.

 

USAF Andrews Air Force Base, MD Assistant NCOIC Technician 12/85 – 06/88

Communications Cable Systems Technician.  Responsible for the supervision of two subordinates.  Managed work center supply account, test equipment calibration, and technical order publication library.  Diagnosed and repaired copper and fiber optic cables.  Accomplished Preventive Maintenance Inspections (PMI’s).  Performed emergency restorations to include hot cuts and section throws on pressurized and non-pressurized cables.  Maintained/repaired pressurized equipment and repaired and cable leaks. Engineered and implement telephone and CATV system upgrades and additions for the base and White House Comm. systems.  Trained subordinates and less-experienced co-workers.  Maintained and updated Communications Systems Installation Records.

 

USAF Pacific Command Yokota Air Base, Japan Engineering Installation Team Chief  12/82 – 12/85

Engineering and Installation Team Chief. Responsible for the deployment and supervision of team members to Various Pacific Rim locations to include Korea, Philippines, Hawaii, Wake Island, Taiwan, Okinawa, and numerous locations  in Japan.  Engineered telecommunication installations and reviewed project packages for completeness. Developed parts and material lists for projects, calculated man-hours, selected test equipment/tools prior to deployment.  Performed on site pre-installation surveys for future projects to insure accurate information and adequate materials were on hand. Tracked progress of programs/projects and reported deficiencies to unit headquarters.

 

USAF Strategic Air Command,  Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana Cable Systems Technician 07/79 – 12/82

Hardened Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile Cable Systems Technician. Preformed daily maintenance on system. Performed major splice closure change outs and damage repair while ensuring critical service was not interrupted. Transported excavation equipment and excavated splice locations.  Maintained and troubleshot pressurized communication cables. Performed complete overhaul of air compressors and equipment. Performed emergency maintenance on damaged cables and cables identified as having a major air pressure loss.

 

USAF Pacific Yokota  Air  Base, Japan   E&I Team Member 07/76 – 07/79

Engineering and Installation team member (E&I).  Installed numerous telecommunication, CATV systems around the Pacific Rim to include Korea, Philippines, Okinawa and locations in Japan.  Used statements of work and technical orders to insure all projects were within required specifications.  Performed pre-installation/post installation tests on copper core cables.  Accomplished all required splicing and termination operations on cables ranging in size from 6 pair to 3600 pair. Installed load coils, build-out capacitors and line conditioners.

EDUCATION:

 

COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF THE AIR FORCE

Major:  Information Technology

 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE TELEPHONY STANDARD INSTALLATION TRAINING 01/82 Yokota Air Base Japan

 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FIBER OPTIC TRAINING 02/86

Shepperd Air Force Base, Texas

Instructional course on:  Theory and history of fiber optics.  Installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of fiber optic cables using power meters and optical time domain reflectometers. Connectorize using biconic, ST, SMA, FC, and SC connectors.  Manual and fusion splicing of multimode and singlemode fiber optic cables.

 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE COMMUNICATION CABLE SYSTEMS TECHNICAL SCHOOL 06/76

Shepherd Air Force Base, Texas

Course in electronics, systems engineering, construction, maintenance and troubleshooting of Telephony Plants.