Lieutenant General Ronald T. Kadish served as the director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Office of the Secretary of Defense, Pentagon, Washington, D.C. from July 1999 through July 2004.

The MDA is Presidentially chartered and mandated by Congress to acquire highly effective ballistic missile defense systems for forward-deployed and expeditionary elements of the U.S. Armed Forces. Additionally, MDA will develop options, and if directed, acquire systems for ballistic missile defense of the United States. As director, General Kadish was the Acquisition Executive for all Ballistic Missile Defense systems and programs.

The general entered the Air Force in 1970 after graduating from the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at St. Joseph's University. He was the program director for the F-15, F-16 and C-17 System Program offices, as well as director for manufacturing and quality assurance for the B-1 System Program Office. He is a senior pilot with more than 2,500 flying hours, principally in the C-130.

Before assuming his position as Director, MDA, he was commander, Electronic Systems Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. He was responsible for the Air Force's Center of Excellence for command and control systems, handling more than $3 billion in programs annually.