Capt. Brian Durant presents Dohn Burnett with the John Adolphus Dahlgren Award for his years of exceptional technical and organizational leadership of NSWCDD at the command's Annual Honor Awards ceremony on May 18. "Mr. Burnett achieved numerous technical milestones throughout his exemplary career, including the integration and installation of the Aegis Baseline 9 combat system, basis cyber capability integration, establishment of the Fast Frigate Program, and the foundation for integration of railgun and laser systems into surface combatants," according to the citation.
(U.S. Navy photo by Patrick Dunn/Released)DAHLGREN, Va. (May 26, 2016)—Eighty-two individuals and 19 teams were honored with 21 different Navy and Dahlgren Division awards as the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) held its annual honor awards ceremony on May 18, 2016.
"Congratulations to all of our honorary award winners," NSWCDD Commanding Officer Capt. Brian Durant told an audience encompassing military, government civilian, and defense contractors at the University of Mary Washington Dahlgren campus. "Thank you for contributing to such a banner year of accomplishments for NSWC Dahlgren Division."
The annual ceremony honors the men and women of the NSWCDD workforce who demonstrated exceptional resolve to meet the command's mission objectives in addition to those who significantly impacted the community through volunteer service.
"It is also important to recognize our awardees' families and co-workers, who are partners in the career successes we celebrated today," Durant wrote in the Annual Honorary Awards Ceremony program. "To the spouses, children, parents, and friends—thank you for your patience and understanding when long hours and extended travel were necessary."
Laura DeSimone—Director for Acquisition for the Missile Defense Agency and previous NSWCDD employee—spoke to a Dahlgren audience for the first time as a keynote speaker.
"I always introduce myself as a Dahlgren engineer first. It definitely has been the foundation of my career," said DeSimone. "What I learned at Dahlgren was the role of the civil service. The important role that we play with the DoD (Department of Defense) in the development of weapons, in the concept development of weapons, in the assessment of weapons, in the testing of weapons, and the safe fielding and employment of weapons."
As a Dahlgren engineer for 18 years, DeSimone helped carry out NSWCDD's mission to provide research, development, test and evaluation, analysis, systems engineering, integration and certification of complex naval warfare systems related to surface warfare, strategic systems, combat and weapons systems associated with surface warfare. The command also provides system integration and certification for weapons, combat systems and warfare systems and fulfills other responsibilities assigned by the NSWC commander.
"I'm watching all of your achievements and contributions from afar," said DeSimone, regarding workforce efforts in support of the command's mission, while pointing out that several awards presented at the ceremony represented achievements in the Missile Defense Agency group.
"There are new challenges that face us in cybersecurity; the increased complexity of the integration of systems, and systems of systems; and directed energy weapons," she projected. "I see Dahlgren at the forefront of solving all these problems. You have my extreme admiration for the work that you do now, and the work that you'll continue to do in the future."
Families and co-workers watched as awardees were honored at the morning individual awards and afternoon group awards sessions.
Navy Superior Civilian Service Award
Michael Pompeii received the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award. The honor recognizes employee contributions that are exceptionally high in value, but affect a smaller area than the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award and are more significant than those for which the award of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award is made. The Superior Civilian Service Award may be awarded for contributions that serve as a model for other commands.
Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award
Ten NSWCDD employees were presented with the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award—Shellie Clift, John Kaelin, John Allwine, Larry Swinford, Todd Fairfax, Charles Lansing, Eric Laxton, Doyle Green, Michael Dossett, and Jerico Slavin.
The third highest Navy civilian award honors civilian employees supporting the Department of the Navy for meritorious service or contributions resulting in high value or benefits for the Navy or the Marine Corps. It was established to recognize those individuals whose leadership or important contributions to major projects of the Navy have demonstrated outstanding achievement.
John Adolphus Dahlgren Award
The John Adolphus Dahlgren Award, the command's highest award, was presented to Donald Burnett and Barry Mohle.
The Dahlgren Award is named for Rear Adm. John A. Dahlgren—who is considered the "Father of Modern Naval Ordnance"—and honors individuals with significant achievement in science, engineering or management.
C.J. Rorie Award
Fire Controlman 1st Class Lloyd Bartlett received the C.J. Rorie Award, established to recognize military personnel assigned to NSWCDD whose excellence in the performance of their duties contributed significantly to the effectiveness of the Division's military operation.
Dr. James E. Colvard Award
Three employees—Kimberley Payne, James Mims, and William Houchins—received the Dr. James E. Colvard Award in recognition of their leadership and substantial contributions to the development of NSWCDD as a technical institution.
Bernard Smith Award
Two Dahlgren employees—Robert DaSilva and Benjamin Tritt—were recognized with the Bernard Smith Award, established to recognize individuals with exceptional, significant and technical contributions in engineering or science, especially those made in the face of unusual odds or significant opposition.
Helen Springer Award
Three employees received the Helen Springer Award—Gregory Johnson, Candice Thomas, and Meghan Stoltzfus—which recognizes individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to business operations at NSWCDD. The award was named in honor of Helen Springer, a former NSWCDD Deputy Human Resources Director who was instrumental in transforming business operations at Dahlgren from a paper-based system to an electronic environment.
Walter T. Lewis Acquisition Award
Joel Walor received the Walter T. Lewis Acquisition Award in recognition of their demonstration of the key tenets of teamwork, integrity and accountability in the achievement of acquisition excellence in support of the NSWCDD Mission. This award is named in honor of Walter T. Lewis who was the command's first civilian contracting officer with unlimited contracting officer authority, the first small business specialist, the first competition advocate, and the first deputy for procurement serving as the NSWCDD acquisition expert.
Leadership Award
Four employees—Ronald Flatley, Camille Ward, Traver Sutton, and Robyn Ryan—were honored with the Leadership Award—established to recognize individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to NSWCDD through their outstanding performance in project leadership, line management or both.
Employee Development Award
The Employee Development Award was established to recognize those individuals who—through their leadership and commitment—have made exemplary contributions to the development of others.
Audrey Lohr, Michael Wehrle, and Dwayne Craft received the award for their impact as role models who created a positive and supportive work environment for continuous employee development, building employee commitment to the organization and its core values, while fostering employee motivation and overall well-being.
Commander's Diversity and Inclusion Award
Julie Heflin, James Yee, Tara Lalonde, and Cornealius Flakes, received the Commander's Diversity and Inclusion Award for their continuing contributions in management and leadership while demonstrating commitment to policies and programs that promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the federal workplace.
Technology to Warfighter Award
Richard Hodge, Paul Brastrom, and David Hurley received the Technology to Warfighter Award for his direct and significant impact on the warfighter by developing needed capability and transitioning it into operations.
Dr. Charles J. Cohen Award of Excellence for Science and Technology
Two employees—David Marchette and David Hubble—received the Dr. Charles J. Cohen Award of Excellence for Science and Technology. The award recognizes those who fundamentally impact science or technology with work that also measurably impacts capability.
NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Analysis
The NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Analysis is newly established to recognize individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to NSWCDD through their outstanding performance in analysis—warfare, design, engineering, modeling and simulation.
Five employees—Rolando Pancotti, William Kenney, Kelley Weiland, Jang Park, and Jonathan Brown—received this award for performance or achievements that are exceptional in nature and have resulted in a significant organizational contribution.
NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Software Engineering and Integration
The NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Software Engineering and Integration was established to recognize individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to NSWCDD through their outstanding performance in Software Engineering & Integration.
Six employees—Hunter Delano, Jason Field, Aaron Cox, Teresa Berra, Larry Fontenot, and Jonathan Higgins—received this award which honors individuals with performance or achievements that are exceptional in nature and have resulted in a significant organizational contribution.
NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Systems Engineering and Integration
The Award of Excellence for Systems Engineering and Integration was established to recognize individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to NSWCDD through their outstanding performance in systems engineering and integration.
Franklin Sharer, Jennifer Roames, Kenneth Wallace, Donald Engel, and Michael Blum were honored this year for performance or achievements that are exceptional in nature, resulting in a significant organizational contribution.
NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Test and Evaluation
The NSWCDD Award of Excellence for Test & Evaluation was established to recognize individuals who have made a notable and significant impact to NSWCDD through their outstanding performance in Test and Evaluation, the collection, analysis, and assessment of data to characterize and/or measure the performance of a component, system, platform, or mission.
Six employees—Dawn Semich, Michael Slocum, Traci Walder, Janice Sullivan, Jamie Kempf, and Michael Jacovelli—received this award which recognizes individuals with performance or achievements that are exceptional in nature and have resulted in a significant organizational contribution.
Paul J. Martini Award
Thirteen employees received the Paul J. Martini Award—established to recognize individuals who demonstrated excellence in an administrative or other support function. The award is named in honor of Paul J. Martini, who was head of the Engineering Support Directorate of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory from November 1951 to December 1973. Receiving the award were: Amy Dunaway, Amy Hennessey, Kimberly Carter, James Doerr, Alisa Dyson, Danniele Hawkins, Amy Settle, Suzanne Stuczynski, Mitchel Laubach, Shannon Layton, Stacey Woodard, Bridget Polan, and Natalie Allard.
Distinguished Community Service Award
Stephen Hagewood, Patrick Cantwell, Michael Young, Rebecca Banks, Larry Mangold, and Joseph Stefonowich received the Distinguished Community Service Award in recognition of their significant contributions to communities through volunteer service.
In-house Laboratory Independent Research Excellence Award
Pearl Rayms-Keller and Kevin Boulais received the In-house Laboratory Independent Research Excellence Award which is granted to an individual or group whose research results exhibit outstanding technical or scientific merit—relevant to the mission and thrusts of NSWCDD.
Group Achievement Awards
Twelve groups of NSWCDD employees received the Award of Merit for Group Achievement; seven groups received the Technology to Warfighter Award for their accomplishments during 2015. The group awards are intended to promote the spirit of teamwork among employees and recognize group effort where cooperation has contributed to the success of the group.
The following groups received the Award of Merit for Group Achievement:
• AEGIS Ashore Romania E3 Team
• AEGIS Baseline 9 Team
• Combat System Power System Interface in Support of Electric Weapons Team
• CV MV-22 Weaponization Trade Study and Mission Technical Baseline Team
• Explosives Safety Group
• Hypervelocity Projectile Aerothermal Team
• Joint Biological Agent Decontamination System Team
• Littoral Combat Ship Cybersecurity Team
• Navy Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Defense Acquisition Team
• R23 Distributed Training Branch—Joint Information Operations Range
• Targeting Message Media Maker Scrum Team
• Triton Fury Team
Technology to the Warfighter Award
The Technology to the Warfighter Award recognizes individuals or groups who have had a notable and significant impact on the warfighter by developing needed capability and transitioning it into operations. The intent of this award is to recognize direct contributions to the warfighter and their operational impact.
The following groups received the award:
• 105mm Gun Weapon System Productionalization Team
• Fire Support Systems Safety Team
• Gun Weapon System MK 34 Gun Computer System MK 160 Mod 14 16 Development Team
• MK 53 Decoy Launching System (Nulka) Development Team
• Portable Situational Awareness Manager Development Team
• R23 Distributed Training Branch, Knowledge Online Group
• Scout Master Team