NAVSEA Warfare Centers Hold First Annual Awards Ceremony

By Naval Sea System Command Warfare Centers Public Affairs

The leadership of NAVSEA's Warfare Centers presented the first in an annual series of awards to highlight and recognize groups and individuals who are working to ensure that the Warfare Center Enterprise vision becomes a reality. In an Oct. 4th ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard, eleven groups and 66 individuals were recognized in three categories: Innovation; Collaboration; Transformation and Change Agent.

The awards were presented by the Warfare Center (WC) workforce executive, Dr. Ken Baile, in conjunction with Rear Adm. Steven Johnson, Commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Mr. Charles Giacchi, Technical Director of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) and Don McCormack, Technical Director, NUWC. In his introductory remarks, Dr. Baile praised the nominees and winners for, "embracing change, working across the enterprise...to provide a more productive and vibrant future."

The first presentation was the NAVSEA Warfare Centers Innovation Award to honor individuals and small groups of civilian and military personnel who have made substantial innovative contributions in business or technical areas within the WC Enterprise. Two awards were presented. Mr. David Byers was recognized for his leadership in operating the Innovation Center, which has produced several concepts and ideas that have transitioned to other programs and will impact future naval capabilities and result in cost savings.

The Weapons Analysis Facility Submarine Multi-Mission Team Trainer Team, composed of six individuals from NUWC Newport and the Submarine School in Groton, Conn., was recognized for an innovative and cost effective solution to effectively address Fleet submarine training needs.

The second category of awards were the Collaboration Awards, for individuals and small groups who have made substantial contributions promoting collaboration across the NAVSEA Warfare Centers. Six awards were presented. Mr. Paul Luehr was recognized for forming the Acoustic Trials Working Group, which produced, integrated test plans, clearly defined test objectives and products, and the joint use of test equipment which produced substantial savings in both dollars and ship's time. Mr. James D. Moreland was recognized for his leadership in establishing the Federation of Systems Analysis Directors which shared databases, modeling tools, best practices and lessons learned to reduce costs and eliminate redundancies.

The WC Fuel Cell Steering Committee, made up of six persons from three Divisions, coordinated facilities use, conducted collaborative research, and ensured safety and standardization for both Navy and Joint Service applications for fuel cells. The WC Material Management Team, composed of eleven individuals from eight sites and NAVSEA, was recognized for innovation and leadership that significantly contributed to the standardization of the WC material management process. The Naval Energetics Test and Evaluation Network, made up of six individuals from three Divisions and the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, was recognized for providing the best overall technical solutions for the warfighter and the enterprise. The WC Comptroller Financial Management Team, composed of nine persons from nine different sites, was recognized for their innovations in standardizing the WC financial management processes and lowering the costs of doing business.

The final category was the WC Transformation and Change Agent Awards, which emphasized leading change across the NAVSEA enterprise with initiatives that encompassed the broad scope of the Warfare Center alignment. Mr. Cliffe Burch was recognized for his leadership in developing and implementing multiple enterprise-wide initiatives for the Littoral Warfare Systems product area including the technical authority and customer advocate structures, metrics development, and the concept of operations.

The WC Workforce Council, with nine persons from seven sites and NAVSEA, was recognized for their significant contributions toward the enterprise-wide stewardship of human capital and the transformation to the one WC concept of operations vision. Lastly, the WC Performance Management Team was cited for outstanding change leadership in integrating eight performance contribution processes and frameworks into a unified set being deployed across the WC enterprise.

In concluding remarks after the presentations, Mr. Charles Giacchi referred to the Warfare Center Alignment, saying, " About two years ago we set up a lot of structures and teams... now you are the change agents." While commending the awardees for their success, he urged them to go back and tell people at the sites that the challenges could be met, even though "it's hard to create an enterprise from geographically separated sites."