Former TSA Chief David Stone Dies

David M. Stone, a retired rear admiral who was the third head of the Transportation Security Administration, died recently while on a visit to Washington. He was 57.

Stone, a senior security executive at Cisco Systems based in India since leaving TSA in 2005, died shortfly after attending an agency awards ceremony in Arlington a week ago, according to newspaper reports.

No cause of death was reported and the TSA released no official announcement or information.

His death was first reported in Saturday’s editions of The Los Angeles Times.

Stone was a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Navy who led the NATO forces in the Mediterranean in the late 1990s.

After retiring from the military in 2002, he became the first federal security director at the Los Angeles International Airport, leading the development of the airport’s security operations in the period after the September 11 terror attacks.

President Bush appointed him to head the TSA in 2003, during a troubled period as the young agency sought to gain its footing and, ramp up responsibilities with many thousands of workers amid changing demands from Congress. He led the agency until June 2005.