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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
November 20, 2013 Justin Cole, 202-418-8191
Email: justin.cole@fcc.gov
FCC CHAIRMAN WHEELER NAMES ADMIRAL DAVID SIMPSON CHIEF OF 
THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU 
Washington, D.C. – Today, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced his intention to name Rear Admiral 
David Simpson as Chief of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB).  Admiral 
Simpson brings more than twenty years of Information and Communications Technology experience 
supporting the Department of Defense, working closely with other agencies to provide secure 
communication services and improve cyberdefense readiness.  
Chairman Wheeler said, “The FCC plays an essential role in ensuring that public safety agencies 
have the access to communications needed to fulfill their mission of safeguarding the American 
public.  At a time when our networks are continuously being attacked, it is also important to have 
someone with Admiral Simpson’s cybersecurity skills.  Admiral Simpson’s extensive experience 
managing and securing complex and disparate information environments worldwide makes him
exceptionally well suited to lead PSHSB.  He has a proven track record working with a diverse 
community of government agencies to manage integration of communications systems in 
challenging environments, and the public safety and network security communities will benefit 
from that depth of expertise and experience.”
  
Admiral Simpson was most recently the vice director of the Defense Information Systems
Agency (DISA). In that capacity, he helped lead an organization responsible for planning, 
developing, and providing interoperable global communications for the Defense community.  He 
also served as a senior delegate to the 2012 ITU World Radio Telecommunications Conference, 
and the World Conference on International Telecom (WCIT).  
From 2009 through 2010, as Director for Communications and Information Services for U.S. 
Forces Iraq in Baghdad, he synchronized strategic and operational-level communications for 
U.S. Forces and assisted the Government of Iraq in building capacity for the information and 
communications technology sector. Simpson’s extensive career includes assignments with 
responsibility for Networks, IT and Crisis Communications for afloat and other deployed forces
in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
Simpson is a native of Burbank California and a 1982 graduate of the United States Naval 
Academy, and received a master's degree in Systems Technology from the Naval Postgraduate 
School.
2Chairman Wheeler today also announced that David Turetsky will take on a new role, and will 
serve as Coordinator of the FCC’s informal task force on the FCC response to international 
disasters such as Typhoon Haiyan, drawing from his experience dealing with U.S. disaster 
response. 
Chairman Wheeler praised Mr. Turetsky’s tenure as head of PSHSB: “Under David Turetsky,
PSHSB took a leadership role in working to promote the availability and reliability of current 
and next generation communications to make people safer in emergencies, and crafted the FCC’s 
response to several significant natural disasters, such as the Derecho in 2012 and Superstorm 
Sandy.  I thank David for his contribution to the Bureau and I am looking forward to working 
with him in his new role.”
- FCC –
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