NSWC Panama City wins eight NAVSEA Excellence Awards

NSWC Panama City wins eight NAVSEA Excellence Awards

By Cierra Burch, NSWC PCD Public Affairs

WASHINGTON -

Eight of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)'s Excellence Awards were awarded to personnel from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) on Aug. 14, during a ceremony held at the Washington Navy Yard. The achievement demonstrates NSWC PCD's commitment to expanding the advantage, aligning to NAVSEA's campaign plan.

The NAVSEA Excellence Awards are an annual program recognizing individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to the NAVSEA enterprise--the Force Behind the Fleet.

As the largest of the Navy's six systems commands that also employs a force of more than 86-thousand civilian and military personnel, NAVSEA's overarching objective and vision is to expand the U.S. Navy's maritime advantage over the nation's adversaries through its people, products, and services.

"A NAVSEA Excellence Award like this is 'once-in-a-career' and an incredible honor, especially when you consider how many professional and dedicated personnel NAVSEA employs," said Dr. Robert Cole, NSWC PCD engineer and award recipient. "Here at NSWC PCD, I am proud to be part of an extremely talented team, working every day to bring engineering solutions to the new class of air cushion vehicles. Awards like these are not possible without such a team."

These prestigious awards highlight excellence in areas across a dynamic and diverse scope of 15 mission categories to support the warfighter.

"All awardees should be very proud of their accomplishments," said Jaimie Reese, Total Force and Corporate Operations deputy commander. "Their efforts in support of NAVSEA's operational readiness represent the best of our dedicated workforce."

NAVSEA selected 46 awards through 25 categories. For the first time, NSWC PCD took home the most wins at the Washington Navy Yard, acquiring 28% of the total awards.

"Though we are the smallest warfare center in personnel capacity, the work we do is impactful beyond measure," said Dr. Peter Adair, NSWC PCD technical director. "I am incredibly proud of the contributions our workforce makes to Get Real, Get Better. Our award recipients represent a small fraction of the support our command provides to not only the NAVSEA entity, but the fleet and United States, as a whole."

"I was taken back and surprised when I was notified our team was selected for this award considering the amount of competition within all of NAVSEA," said Tommy Bushman, NSWC PCD contracting officer and award recipient. "This award is a great achievement for me; however, this entire process was a team effort, and I am grateful to be a part of this team. Each member provided an exceptional role in the STRIDENT [Standoff Target Reacquire Identify Detection Expeditionary Navigation Tool] Acquisition Team making it successful."

The NSWC PCD Fiscal Year 2023 NAVSEA Excellence Awards recipients are:

Excellence in Facilities Engineering & Management Award - Facilities Engineering Management Team

Team Members: William Logsdon, Adrienne Brooks, Patrick Beacom, Capt. Kyle Boesch, Kelley Close, Carmen Ferrer, Cyril Gazagnaire, Gordon Griffith, 1st Lt. Ryan Ison, Randall Lee, Stephen Locke, Staci Mathewson, Frances Negron, Christopher Owens, Danniel Riveras, and Jason Zimmerman

Excellence in Operations Research / System Analysis Award - Dr. Robert Cole

Excellence in Public Affairs Award - Public Affairs Team

Team Members: Katherine Mapp, Jeremy Roman, Shauna Love-vonKnoblauch, Maj. Allison Burns, and Cierra Burch

Excellence in Safety Award - Patrick Beacom

Excellence in Science Award - Dr. Matthew Ryan Kincer

Excellence in Small Business Award - Standoff Target Reacquire Identify Detection Expeditionary Navigation Tool Acquisition Team

Team Members: Tommy Bushman, Tommy Chatman, Maximilliam Moore, Christine Livingston

Excellence in Test & Evaluation - Wrap Test Team

NSWC PCD Team Members: Andrew Harrington and Mackenzie Blair

One NAVSEA Teamwork Award - Autonomous Dry Dock Survey Team

NSWC PCD Team Members: Rommel Mandapat, Jesse Ardonne, Brandon Davis, Paige George, Blake Ivy, Gustavo Miranda Lopez, Allison Price, Jason Price, Brandon Sheffield, Kinsey Taylor, Dr. Patrick Walters, and Dr. Joshua Weaver