Peter Hermes

I have been an aviation manager and pilot for over 45 years, working primary in general aviation as a flight instructor, charter pilot, and government pilot and federal law enforcement officer.  I retired from government service at the end of September in 2012, having served over 25 years with the U S Customs Service, and later U S Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Some key highlights of my career include operational management of the first application of an unmanned aerial vehicle in airborne law enforcement in the United States for the Customs Service, work in establishing guidelines and policy for the application of aviation resources for DHS, deriving  requirements for the DHS' Secure Border Initiative, also known as the "virtual fence", and compiling a report for DHS that presented a first ever quantitative risk analysis of air domain gaps and deficiencies pertinent to overall aviation security in the U S. A few summers ago I returned to flying a bit more frequently, piloting Beech Barons and King Airs in support of wildfire fighting in the western U S.  Over the past 15 years I have taught graduate courses in Aviation/Aerospace Human Factors, Transportation Security, and System Safety for Embry-Riddle online and in the classroom, undergraduate courses in general, physical, homeland, and aviation security, served as committee member on a number of Graduate Capstone Projects, participated as a teaching assistant and teacher in ERAU's Human Factors, Aircraft Accident Investigation, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), and Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) MOOCs, and have worked in course development and instructed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.  I am a licensed pilot and certificated flight instructor, having logged more than 12000 hours in over 40 different types of general aviation aircraft from single engine trainers up through light business jets and turboprops.  I have been married for more than 41 years to my wife Carol (BFA, University of Michigan), have a son who graduated from Michigan (BA, Cinema Studies) and law school at Arizona State, and a daughter who graduated from USC (BA, Economics and BA, French) and San Jose State (MA, Social Work).  In my spare time, I officiate at track and field meets as a certified USA Track & Field master’s level official, spend clear nights surveying the skies as an amateur astronomer, and try to get out on my bicycle at least five days a week.