James O’Neill

Personal: An international life, from NYC to the NJ suburbs; then on to England in 1962; a London convent then 3 years boarding school in Ipswich (starting at 9 years old!); family traveled extensively through Europe in those years – another era actually. Back to the States; brief Marine stint and down to Williamsburg for 11 years; before meeting-to-be Dutch wife on Barbados, 2 years later onto the Netherlands for 28 years. Education? After early schooling in England, quit High School at 17 and joined the Marines; GED, Associate Applied Science Electronic Engineering (AAS EE) Thomas Nelson Community College; BA ICT Webster University, Leiden The Netherlands; MA International Relations Webster University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Professional: Eleven years at Newport News Shipbuilding starting in the Bull Gang pulling/installing cable to a whistle – one of the hardest jobs at the shipyard. I got into welding for 4 years, attaining pipe and nuclear structural certification and considering underwater welding, got my private pilot certificate. Then I broke my back: no more welding/flying and back to Tech school and further education. In Holland, Sensor, Weapon, and Communication (SEWACO) engineer on Dutch/NATO minehunters; into telecommunication fiber optic system engineering and project implementation across East Europe/Former Soviet Union; SE Asia; Middle East; Africa. Back to the USA; got into drones, 3D modeling and laser scanning for last 6 years.