Nomination of James R. Ambrose To Be Under Secretary of the Army

The President today announced his intention to nominate James R. Ambrose to be Under Secretary of the Army. He would succeed Harry Spiro, Jr.

Mr. Ambrose was employed during World War II and until 1955 at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where he was involved in the early development of ship and airborne radar systems, semiconductors, nuclear weapons and reactors. In 1955 he joined the Lockheed Corp., missile systems division, where he studied and proposed efforts on satellites and ballistic missile projects. In late 1955 he became one of the principals in a new systems engineering firm, Systems Research Corp., which was subsequently acquired by Ford Motor Co. This acquisition was later merged with Philco Corp., and is currently operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford, called Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp. Mr. Ambrose has spent over 36 years in these organizations in technical management assignments primarily related to defense equipment and systems, space programs, and major communications, command, and control systems. For the last 13 years of his career prior to retirement, he was vice president for technical affairs for Ford Aerospace and Communications Corp.

Mr. Ambrose graduated from the University of Maine (1943) and attended Georgetown, Catholic University, and the University of Maryland. He is a widower and has four married sons. Mr. Ambrose was born August 16, 1922, in Brewer, Maine.