Plymouth, MA-based Avwatch names Jose A. Vazquez to position of President

PLYMOUTH, Mass. - June 11, 2015 - PRLog -- Avwatch (www.avwatch.us), a Plymouth, MA business delivering aerial reconnaissance, real time motion video and tactical networking services to government and commercial clients, today announced the appointment of Jose A. Vazquez of Hudson, MA as company President.

In this role, Vazquez will work closely with Avwatch founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kluckhuhn to help guide the direction of the fast-growing firm.  In particular, he will work with the Avwatch team on the rollout of cloud-based situational awareness technology solutions.

Vazquez, whose background includes science, technology and development, will spend time in the Greater Boston area and will also work with the firm’s clients throughout the United States.

Prior to joining the Avwatch team, Vazquez spent eight years with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, developing situational awareness technologies for first responders. While there he initiated and led Virtual USA® information sharing programs, coordinating between, Federal, State and local first responders and law enforcement personnel. In particular, he worked with officials in eight states to determine and develop procedures in the event of a major earthquake along the New Madrid fault in the Eastern United States. He also developed the Directorate’s first responders’ technology and development program; and the first federal government communities of practice platform, the First Responder Communities of Practice, which provides a secure social media collaboration portal for over 8,000 first responders.

Prior his time with DHS, Vazquez was affiliated with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), serving as the first Director for the Office of Naval Research Global’s Latin America office in Santiago, Chile. At ONR he directed 25 Science Advisors that provided support to the senior military commanders of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. He also served as the Director of Tech Solutions, an innovative, transformational business process focused on rapidly delivering technology to Sailors and Marines.

The Alexandria, Virginia native is a twenty year veteran of the United States Navy, and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He earned his Masters of Science degree in Applied Science from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. During his time in the U.S. Navy, Vazquez served as the second in command of an Aegis cruiser, and led the U.S. Navy’s international relations with Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean Nations.

The married father of three children resides in Hudson, MA.

Chris Kluckhuhn, founder and CEO of Avwatch, said, “We are delighted to welcome Jose to our Avwatch family. His breadth of experience both in governmental and private industry and his specific experiences make him a natural to help us lead this company and meet the challenges of our industry. We know that our clients and our team will benefit greatly from Jose’s expertise.”

About Avwatch

Avwatch is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), which harnesses innovative and proven technologies to support, enhance, and train Federal, state and local government agencies in support of homeland security and disaster recovery. The company’s unique airborne platform permits homeland security professionals the freedom to interact directly with aircraft, generate requested flight routes, specify data to be collected and precisely control the onboard camera sensors. Communications between the ground user and aircraft are internet-provided, allowing the user and aircraft to communicate in real time.  This facilitates immediate aircraft tasking and retrieval of data and imagery updates from anywhere in the world, at any time.

The company was founded in 2008 and is comprised of nationally recognized Homeland Security experts who are well-versed in military, federal, state and local disaster response planning and response protocols. Avwatch technology has been used to assist in oil cleanup following the 2010 explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, where they provided high-quality streaming video to the US Coast Guard, BP and authorities to assist with oil spill cleanup. Avwatch provides homeland security professionals and corporations with low-cost solutions that improve interoperability, robustness, and situational awareness. The company also provides training for US Air Force Pilots prior to overseas deployment, and has been instrumental in rescues during extreme weather conditions, including hurricanes. In addition to firefighting, the technology is also used by law enforcement to improve first responders’ situational awareness. Avwatch maintains headquarters at 246 South Meadow Road, Plymouth, MA and serves a national client base. For additional information, please visit www.avwatch.us or call 774-247-0001.