SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- URS Corp. announced that Rear Admiral James W. Underwood, USCG (ret.), has joined the Company as head of homeland security operations for URS' EG&G Division. The appointment was effective on May 30. Admiral Underwood, who has over 10 years of command experience both ashore and at sea with the U.S. Coast Guard, was most recently Director of Operations Policy for the Coast Guard.
Commenting on the appointment, Randall A. Wotring, President of URS' EG&G Division, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Admiral Underwood, one of the Coast Guard's top leaders, to EG&G. Admiral Underwood has played an instrumental role in managing some of the largest, most complex homeland security assignments undertaken over the past several years, and we look forward to continuing to grow our homeland security practice under his strong leadership."
Admiral Underwood said, "This is a great opportunity to work with a highly talented and experienced team of professionals at EG&G to help improve security across our country. EG&G is already a leading provider of homeland security services, including developing and managing major security preparedness exercises for municipalities around the nation. And as part of URS, the largest engineering design firm in the country, EG&G offers a full range of security capabilities, from assessing risk to designing ways to protect vital public infrastructure. I am excited to be continuing my work in this critical area at EG&G."
Admiral Underwood, age 55, has held a variety of positions over the course of his 33-career with the Coast Guard. As Director of Operations Policy, he played an important role in the development of the Presidential Directive on maritime security. He served as District Commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska, from 2002 to 2004, and as Director of the Office of Intelligence and Security for the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2000 to 2002. While in this position, Admiral Underwood led the development of the national transportation security programs for the Secretary of Transportation with specific oversight of commercial aviation, rail, transit and maritime security initiatives, and protection of critical transportation infrastructure before and after September 11, 2001.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Masters in Public Affairs from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
URS Corp. (www.urscorp.com) offers a comprehensive range of professional planning and design, systems engineering and technical assistance, program and construction management, and operations and maintenance services for transportation, commercial/industrial, facilities, environmental, water/wastewater, homeland security, installations and logistics, and defense systems. Based in San Francisco, the company operates in over 20 countries with about 27,800 employees providing engineering and technical services to federal, state and local governmental agencies as well as private clients in the chemical, pharmaceutical, oil and gas, power, manufacturing, mining and forest products industries.
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