CAPT David S. Wilson, USN (Retired) (February 2014)

​Captain DAVID S. WILSON, U.S. NAVY (Ret.) Engineer, scholar, veteran, died suddenly of a heart attack at age 53 at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. on February 5, 2014. He is survived by his cherished wife of 12 years Sara Procacci Wilson, two young daughters Christina, (6), and Kathleen, (2), mother Polly Wilson of Severna Park, Md., sister Sarah of Annapolis, Md., brother Peter of Westminster, Ca., and numerous family, friends, neighbors and colleagues who loved him dearly. His father Donald Wilson predeceased him in 2013. Born in Washington, DC and raised in the newly completed suburb of New Carrollton, MD, he resided in several cities - including Pensacola, San Diego,Geilenkirchen (Germany), Palo Alto, and San Francisco - before moving back to Washington DC. He was co-valedictorian of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md. in 1982 and was the first DeMatha graduate to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in materials science and engineering while on an ROTC scholarship. He also earned Master of Science and Doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees in engineering-economic systems and operations research from Stanford University. Wilson received his Navy commission as an ensign aboard the USS Constitution in Boston, joining his family's rich tradition of naval service. He was designated a naval flight officer (NFO) in July 1984 and was qualified in E-2C Hawkeye aircraft where he served as a personnel, communications, and NFO training officer with the VAW-116 "Sun Kings" aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61). He served as assistant air operations officer and air transfer officer aboard the USS Independence, in August 1990 when the nation of Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi forces. It was the first American aircraft carrier to enter the Gulf in more than 15 years, and the first carrier to fly missions against Iraqi forces. In September 2001 Wilson was selected to command the Navy Reserve Security Group in San Diego, becoming one of only two non-cryptologic officers to command a security group reserve unit. Wilson also commanded the Navy Reserve's Fleet Information Warfare Center Detachment One in San Diego, Navy Reserve Research Laboratory Science and Technology Unit 105 in Washington, D.C., where he led warfighter-scientists in support of space-focused science and technology projects, and Navy Reserve Carrier Strike Group Eight, supporting the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. In recent years, he served in several air defense leadership positions supporting the Second Fleet and Strike Force Training Atlantic. For the past decade he worked in a civilian capacity for Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Va. and Washington, D.C. There he was known as an innovative consultant and skilled program manager. He helped develop and implement the methodology that the U.S. Department of Defense uses to assess the economic impact of military base realignment and closures on local communities. At the time of his death, he was managing a large team supporting the Defense Department's operational energy activities. Before joining Booz Allen Hamilton, Wilson was a principal at Rapt, a provider of pricing and profitability management software applications and services in San Francisco. Before joining Rapt, he was a senior associate in the energy and environment practice at Charles River Associates Inc., an economics consultancy in Washington, DC, where he met his wife. They married in 2001. He also worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on environmental and economic policy in Washington, DC, in between his Master's and Ph.D. programs.