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John Robert Hilliard, 87, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, passed August 26th at Holmes Regional Medical Center, Melbourne, FL following a courageous battle against cancer.
John attended 17 schools as a military dependent living in South Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Germany, Louisiana, and Ohio. He came to Brevard County in 1953 from Akron, Ohio with his family. His father, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Hilliard, USAF, was assigned to Patrick AFB. John was a 1956 graduate of Cocoa High School and a 1960 graduate of Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia graduating with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He obtained his Master of Science Degree in Aerospace Management from the University of Southern California in 1966.
Col. Hilliard served over 23 years in the Air Force before retiring in 1983 at Andrews AFB, MD. He had extensive experience in the management of space and missile programs. He was a long-time member of the intelligence community, concentrating on scientific and technical intelligence, collection management, and international negotiations. His assignments included tours at F. E. Warren
AFB, WY as an Atlas E Missile Combat Crew Commander; Vandenberg AFB, CA. as a Space Test Conductor for the Thor-Agena/Atlas Agena/Thor-Delta; Eastern Kodak, Rochester, NY (Monitoring the construction of National Reconnaissance Organization photo reconnaissance satellites); the Pentagon and Andrews AFB, MD (Intelligence Officer); Chairman of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Weapon and Space Systems (WSSIC) Space Subcommitee. Finally, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), he had firsthand experience in negotiations of the Strategic Armed Limitation Treaty (SALT) with the Soviet Union in Geneva, Switzerland. After retiring from the Air Force, he spent 12 years at ANSER Inc. He retired from ANSER as Vice-President for Aerospace Systems in 1995. He moved back to Brevard County in 1998, living in Satellite Beach.
He was a lifetime member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (past Chapter Chairman) and the National Military Intelligence Association.