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Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland

Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson AFB (2011-2013), 1979-2013 (U.S. Air Force); 2013-2026 (Applied Technology Associates / BlueHalo)

Case File
Bornc. 1957
AliasesWilliam Neil McCasland, W. Neil McCasland, General McCasland
Service1979-2013 (U.S. Air Force); 2013-2026 (Applied Technology Associates / BlueHalo)
ClearanceTS/SCI with SAP access (former); SAPOC Executive Secretary with oversight authority over all U.S. Special Access Programs

Summary

Retired U.S. Air Force Major General and MIT-trained aerospace engineer who commanded the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB from 2011 to 2013 - the Department of Defense's largest scientific research center and the facility historically cited as the repository of recovered materials from the 1947 Roswell incident. Prior to AFRL command, he served as Director of Special Programs in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense and as Executive Secretary of the Special Access Program Oversight Committee (SAPOC), giving him formal oversight authority over all U.S. Special Access Programs. He is identified by name in Tom DeLonge's January 2016 WikiLeaks email to John Podesta as a primary military adviser who aided the assembly of DeLonge's disclosure advisory team that became To The Stars Academy. He disappeared from his Albuquerque, New Mexico home on February 27, 2026; the FBI joined the search and the case remained unresolved as of March 2026.

Roles

  • -Commander, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson AFB (2011-2013)
  • -Director of Special Programs, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for AT&L (2009-2011)
  • -Executive Secretary, Special Access Program Oversight Committee (SAPOC) (2009-2011)
  • -Director of Space Acquisition, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force (2007-2009)
  • -Director of Technology, Applied Technology Associates / BlueHalo (2013-2026)

Organizations

U.S. Air ForceAir Force Research LaboratoryOffice of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and LogisticsSpecial Access Program Oversight Committee (SAPOC)Applied Technology Associates / BlueHalo

Education

  • -B.S., Astronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Academy, 1979
  • -M.S., Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • -Ph.D., Aerospace Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Early Career

  • -Commissioned as a USAF officer upon graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1979 with a degree in astronautical engineering
  • -Pursued graduate studies at MIT, earning both a master's and doctorate in aerospace engineering
  • -Served in multiple Air Force research and space acquisition commands, including Commander of the Phillips Research Site at the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate in New Mexico