By Tara Clements
Fort Belvoir, Va. — The U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC) announced the winners of the 2013 Army Acquisition Awards. These awards recognize thirteen individuals and teams within the U.S. Army acquisition community as “exceptional” among their peers for their skill, efficiency, and dedication.
This year marks the 37th anniversary of recognizing acquisition excellence across the U.S. Army.
“These awards are the most prestigious in our field. They represent the professionalism, dedication, and innovation across our acquisition community,” said the Honorable Heidi Shyu, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)).
The 13 winners were chosen from more than 120 nominations. Twelve senior leaders from across the Army acquisition community served as judges on three review boards.
“I’ve had the honor of serving as a judge for the past three years and I’ve always been impressed by the caliber of the people and the work they do in the Acquisition Workforce,” said Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, deputy for acquisition and systems management. “It really is a challenge to pick out a winner from the nominations–it really reinforces to me that we have a truly world-class workforce.”
The USAASC is the proponent for the awards, and is responsible for collecting all nominations coordinating the judging, and planning the awards ceremony.
“It’s important to recognize excellence across our career field, and I’m proud to be a part of it and make sure it’s done right,” said Stan Eisenhower, USAASC and ASA(ALT) conference manager.
While the awards ceremony itself has decreased in scale over the last three years due to budget cuts, the importance and the prestige of the awards has become even more significant.
“Every day, our goal is to provide Soldiers with critical capabilities. In recognizing the contributions of our acquisition community, we affirm the importance of their professionalism in service to our Nation,” said Shyu.
A ceremony to recognize each of the award winners will be held on November 13, 2013, at the Pentagon.
Winners of the 2013 Army Acquisition Awards are as follows:
Army Life Cycle Logistician of the Year Award
Kenneth W. Virgil, U.S. Army Materiel Command Logistics Support Activity
ASA(ALT) Contracting Noncommissioned Officer Award for Contracting Excellence (tie)
Master Sgt. Andrea Dailey, U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – Fort Hood
and
Sgt. 1st Class Tracy A. Drowne, Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation
Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Continuous Performance Improvement Award
Streamlining Special Operations Forces Program Management Lean Six Sigma Project, Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation
Director, Acquisition Career Management Award
Mr. Robert T. Kowalski, Program Executive Office Ammunition, Project Manager Maneuver Ammunition Systems
2013 Secretary of the Army Acquisition Director, Project Manager, and Product Manager of the Year Awards
Acquisition Director of the Year at the Lieutenant Colonel Level
Lt. Col. Maria Schneider, U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command – Fort Belvoir
Product Manager of the Year
Lt. Col. Steven Clark, Product Manager MH-60 SOF Aircraft, U.S. Special Operations Aviation Command
Acquisition Director of the Year at the Colonel Level
Col. James Winbush Jr., White Sands Test Center, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command
Project Manager of the Year
Col. Patrick Mason, Project Manager Technology Applications Program Office, U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command
2013 Army Acquisition Excellence Awards
Individual Sustained Achievement Award
Lt. Col. Raymond Morgan III, director of operations, Defense Contract Management Agency, Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale Contract Management Office
Equipping and Sustaining Our Soldier’s Systems Award
Stryker Double-V Hull Army Test and Evaluation Integrated Program Team, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Capability Manager, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Program Manager Stryker Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center
Information Enabled Army Award
U.S. Special Operations Command Global Video Surveillance Activity Team, Program Executive Office-Special Operations Forces Warrior
Transforming the Way We Do Business Award
CH47 Chinook Multiyear II Evaluation Team, U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone
