Photo By Ryan Smith | Rear Adm. Keith Hash, NAWCWD Commander, delivered the opening remarks at the 2024...... read more read more
Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division recognized more than 100 teammates for their dedication and technical expertise during the 2024 NAWCWD Honorary Awards ceremonies on Sept. 30 in Point Mugu and Oct. 3 in China Lake, California.
Since establishing the Dr. L.T.E. Thompson Memorial Award in 1956, NAWCWD has recognized the exceptional contributions of its workforce, creating a lasting legacy of innovation and dedication. Over the years, additional awards have been introduced to honor those who have significantly impacted fields like spectrum warfare, energetics, and electronic warfare. These honors reflect the continuous drive to advance NAWCWD's capabilities to meet the evolving needs of the fleet, ensuring NAWCWD remains a leader in delivering critical warfighting capabilities.
In his opening remarks, Rear Adm. Keith Hash highlighted how NAWCWD's mission directly supports the Navy's strategic objectives outlined in the CNO's Navigation Plan. He discussed the plan's focus on readiness and the importance of a long-term warfighting edge.
“The NAVPLAN focuses on enhancing the Navy’s contribution to the joint warfighting ecosystem, and NAWCWD is critical to that effort,” Hash said. “Our team’s work in advancing the development of capabilities like long-range fires, operational architecture, and autonomous systems is central to ensuring the fleet is ready today and in the future.”
Rich Burr, director of Point Mugu Sea Range, also highlighted the importance of the awardees’ contributions.
“As you listen to the achievements being honored today, take a moment to reflect on how they align with the key areas driving our success," Burr said. "From advancing capabilities like long-range fires to enhancing how we train and communicate, the work recognized here today keeps us at the forefront of solving the critical challenges the fleet faces. It’s all about maintaining our ability to shoot, deny, maneuver, defend, and sustain — ensuring that we stay ahead of any potential threats.”
NAWCWD Business Management Excellence Award
John Faria and Pamela Hom are this year’s individual recipients of the NAWCWD Business Management Excellence Award. The award highlights exceptional achievements in business fields that support NAWCWD’s mission, such as finance, human capital management, contracts, information technology, security, and legal services.
CAPT Kenneth A. Walden Memorial Award
Capt. Kenneth A. Walden was known for guiding others to achieve key technical and operational objectives at Point Mugu. In recognition of individuals who have made strides in their professional growth and contributions to mission success, the Capt. Kenneth A. Walden Memorial Award was presented to Eric Abercrombie, David Ball, John Bell, Thomas Dorfmeister, Dessarae Mahoney, John Sontag, James Witt, Mario Vargas and Nicasio “Nick” Yniguez Jr. this year.
Commander Clifton Evans Jr. Memorial Award
The Commander Clifton Evans Jr. Memorial Award, which recognizes advancements in Spectrum Warfare, was presented to Ellie Avery, Brandon Einfeldt, Jack Hjort, Brian Lau and Dr. Mason Paulec. Commander Evans played a pivotal role in establishing electronic warfare systems at Point Mugu in the 1940s and 1950s. His leadership in creating the Countermeasures Division led to Point Mugu becoming the charter location for Naval Air Electronic Warfare Systems in 1968. This award recognizes civilian and military personnel at NAWCWD for outstanding contributions in Spectrum Warfare, including Spectrum Management, Electronic Combat, and Defensive and Offensive Electronic Attack capabilities, continuing Evans’ legacy of innovation in electronic warfare.
Dr. L.T.E. Thompson Memorial Award
Recognized for their achievements, Marc Cope, Gregory Glen, and Daniel Radke were awarded the Dr. L.T.E. Thompson Memorial Award. Dr. Thompson was instrumental in assembling a highly effective team at China Lake, driving the center’s early success in ordnance development. This award, established in 1956, represents the highest level of individual achievement at NAWCWD.
Dr. Twain C. Lockhart Memorial Award
Marissa Bell, Daniel Bukowski, Robert Navarro and Richard Thorp were this year’s recipients of the Dr. Twain C. Lockhart Memorial Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of target systems, a field that Dr. Lockhart helped revolutionize at NAWCWD. His leadership was instrumental in advancing the design and operation of targets that replicate realistic threats, a legacy continued by this year’s honorees.
Elizabeth “Lisa” Alonzo Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Memorial Award
Lily Gonzalez and Beth Lovelace were recognized with the Elizabeth “Lisa” Memorial Award. The award, named after Lisa Alonzo, who championed equal opportunity throughout her career at Point Mugu, celebrates individuals who have made a meaningful difference in advancing the organization’s EEO and diversity initiatives.
Dr. William B. McLean Award
The Dr. William B. McLean Award was established in 1968 to recognize Dr. McLean's contributions as technical director at China Lake from 1954 to 1967 and to celebrate his legacy as a visionary leader. Dr. McLean's 18 patents and numerous inventions illustrate the spirit of innovation this award celebrates. It recognizes individuals like Dr. McLean who turn imagination into solutions that make a real impact on NAWCWD's mission. This year's recipients are Dr. Ralf Haiges and D. Reed Robinson.
Gwendolyn Elliot Hunt Memorial Award
The Gwendolyn Elliot Hunt Memorial Award honors the legacy of its namesake, a charismatic leader and technical professional recognized for her ability to rise to every challenge. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant strides in personal growth, academic success, and career advancement, resulting in their promotion or placement in leadership, supervisory, or managerial roles within NAWCWD. This year's honorees are Joel Huddleston, Aleta Johnson, Cory Scott and Caroline Weinstein.
Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen Memorial Award
Spencer Chandler, Blake McCracken and Thao Tran-Ngo received the Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen Memorial Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to energetic materials, ordnance, propulsion, and fusing. These fields are vital to naval warfare. Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen played a crucial role in developing the first air-launched rockets and established the China Lake Propulsion Laboratories, marking the beginning of the rocket age in naval warfare. He also helped to create the civilian-military team concept in the Navy lab structure.
Dr. Manuel A. Garcia Award
The Dr. Manuel A. Garcia Award recognizes civilian employees who saw a need and stepped up to make improvements to the processes and execution of weapon systems test and evaluation. Dr. Garcia, a leading figure in simulated modeling for weapon systems in the 1960s and 70s, fostered a culture that appreciated individual contributions and recognized the importance of education. This year's recipients are Timothy Bennicoff, Eric Burkhardt, Curtis Davis, Owen Finch, Mark Henthorn, John Hudock, Nhon Huynh, Martin Krammer, Jack Loui, Joshua McDonald, Todd Standard and Dr. Joshua Wilkerson.
Michelson Laboratory Award
The Michelson Laboratory Award, established in 1966, recognizes individuals for significant achievements in leadership that advance NAWCWD's mission or for major contributions to solving technical challenges in ordnance development, test and evaluation. This year's honorees are John Allred, Steven Griffin, Murlyn McGowan, Ejinia Najera-Niesen, Sean Smith, Iris Stockbauer, Victor Walkling, Gary Wu and Scott Wyatt.
Business Management Excellence Team Award
The rapid Business Operations Management Team received the Business Management Excellence Team Award. The award goes to a team that has made major improvements to analytical tools, producing data that drives action. The team upgraded dashboards to connect automatically to the data warehouse, removing the need for manual work and logging into other systems for reports. They also created quick training in business operations management, tailored by skill level. This included training for dashboards and on-demand support. The team noted this approach as a best practice during the 2023 analytics, visualization, and data management inspection. The emphasis on using technology and data helps to ensure the warfighter maintains a strategic advantage.
Team members include: Anjel Avitia, Darrin Boston, Kelly Dombrosky, Rochelle Fulton, Aaron Habana, Darlene McGonagle, Marinela Sanchez and Dennis Wu.
Warfighter Support Awards
The Naval Strike Missile Team was recognized for providing exceptional support to the operational fleet and warfighting forces, significantly improving the Navy's capabilities. The team conducted the fourth guided flight test of the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, where Marine Corps operators loaded, emplaced, and conducted firing operations for two Naval Strike Missiles for the first time. This accomplishment is paramount in delivering the latest lethal capability to our warfighters and meeting the requirements set forth by the U.S. Marine Corps' Force Design 2030.
Team members are Maureen Castruccio, Christopher Costoso, Nelson David, Michael Derkey, Matthew Gulart, Kevin Johnson, Samantha Martino, Annabelle Martino, Ryan Martin, Michael McDaniel, Jennifer Schroeder, Stephen Stange, Gavin Swanson and Touchy Yang.
The Weapons Component Engineering and Test Branch received recognition for their dedicated and innovative support to U.S. and allied Warfighters. As part of integrating, validating, and testing a mobile ground-launched AIM-9M, a team of engineers and technicians from the branch developed a motor fire simulator, a Sidewinder AIM-9M simulator, and support equipment. This team coordinated efforts with multiple stakeholders to successfully integrate a complete ground-launch system comprised of munitions, a mobile launch pad, and a radar system. They accomplished this on an extremely aggressive schedule, taking the effort from concept to live-fire testing in only five months. Within three weeks after testing and training in Camp Atterbury, the Ukrainian Air Force deployed the platform in theater and recorded its first successful engagement against a hostile target.
Team members include: Shaun Hull, Kyle Donohue, Christian Moreno, Braian Lopez, David Smith, Richard Marvin, Antonio Ramirez, Steven Schwade and Casey Carr.
The NAWCWD Low Speed Aerial Target (LSAT)-Small Team provided Phantom 4 quadcopter systems for familiarization and training in counter-unmanned aircraft system encounters at sea. This team has shown outstanding dedication to enhancing warfighter training capabilities through these specific targets. They transitioned the program from a Naval Innovative Science and Engineering Program to a self-sufficient, fleet-funded initiative, showcasing their technical skills, innovation, and dedication. The team also delivered programmatic, technical, and fiscal management support for the Low Speed Aerial Target-Small initiative.
Team members include: Peter Pena, Jason Vernon and Dustin Bell.
The Point Mugu Sea Range Test Conductor Team accomplished a remarkable milestone in 2023, conducting a record 365 operational main events. This reflects a 15.5% boost in productivity and a 20% rise in complexity compared to last year, achieved with no mishaps. The team carefully managed every detail of these events, from planning to operational briefings, to ensure they met all requirements and achieved program objectives. They were also responsible for making the final launch decisions and issuing critical commands for each operation at the Point Mugu Sea Range. This exceptional support greatly boosted warfighter capabilities and earned praise from fleet operational leadership.
Team members include: Samuel Simmons, Nicholas Martin, Jose Moran, Bryon Simpson, Payman Moghaddas, Curtis Kanzaki, Michael Saadati, Kevin Priest, Armando Villagomez, Ramon Winston and David (Joel) Shaw.
The Electronic Warfare (EW) Support Equipment System (SE SYS) Team exemplified the Naval Air Systems Command's vision, mission, and core values through its professionalism, commitment, and support to the Assault Survivability Equipment Readiness Team. By advancing naval aviation solutions, they commit to keeping warfighters one step ahead of current and future threats. The team's contributions support NAWCWD's mission by providing warfighters with decisive advantages through effective solutions for sustaining NAVAIR platforms on the flight line, ensuring mission readiness, and supporting electronic warfare systems.
Team members include: Frank Datello, Nathaniel Quijano, Vanessa Silva, Kristi Yoshikawa and Sergio Villa.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2024 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 482834 |
| Location: | CHINA LAKE AND POINT MUGU, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 590 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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