Indian Head, Maryland –
Three Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) employees recently received Department of the Navy (DON) civilian service awards for their continued excellence in supporting the fleet and the command. Richard Warder, Collective Protection System (CPS) senior project manager and engineer; and Terri Willett, Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) Acquisition Branch manager assigned to the CAD/PAD Division, and CAD/PAD program analyst for the CAD/PAD Joint Program Office received the DON Civilian Service Commendation Medal (CSCM). James Flamish, Chemical, Biological, Radiological Defense (CBR-D) Division facility manager, received the Navy Civilian Service Achievement Medal (CSAM).
The CSCM is the fourth highest honorary award in the DON. CSCM recipients are recognized for performance at the equivalent level of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal awarded to military personnel for similar achievement.
The CSAM is the fifth highest honorary award in the DON. It is awarded to DON civilians who, while serving in a capacity within the Navy or Marine Corps, are recognized for sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature at the equivalent level of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal awarded to military personnel.
James Flamish (CBR-D Division Facility Manager)
Flamish was recognized with the DON Civilian Service Achievement Medal for his role in the transfer of the CBR-D function from NSWC Dahlgren Division to NSWC IHD over a period of approximately two years.
His efforts in managing facility preparations for the first contingent of transferring personnel created a professional setting for new arrivals. He ensured each transferring employee had a furnished office space with telecommunications connectivity, while also taking the initiative to have personalized nameplates designed, produced and affixed to each office cubicle.
His close liaison with information technology personnel ensured that more than 30 transferring personnel were up-and-running on their first day. Flamish moved boxes, cabinets, furnishings and other items for the transferring personnel while ensuring accurate accountability of more than 100 line items of minor property and equipment.
Given the magnitude of this endeavor, he addressed the inevitable issues that arose and followed up to ensure resolution and customer satisfaction. In addition to coordinating more than 30 routine facility trouble calls, Flamish was the central contributor in addressing more serious facility issues, such as flooding and broken concrete floors. He treated the transferring employees as his customers, ensuring that they had power, air condition and a pest-free working environment.
Richard Warder (CPS Senior Project Manager and Engineer)
Warder received the DON Civilian Service Commendation Medal for his leadership of several overseas CPS projects. The implementation of fixed-site CPS at two overseas Aegis Ashore (AA) facilities required extensive construction and the typical difficulties associated with large-scale construction projects were exacerbated due to their overseas locations. Warder’s ability to assess and mitigate risks, coupled with his team-building ability and managerial expertise, removed barriers to completion and resulted in mission success.
Warder travelled to the AA site in Romania to accomplish CPS critical operational testing. He handled project management and logistics issues, while also operating in a reduced staffing environment due to a recent transfer of CBR-D functions between the NSWC Dahlgren and Indian Head Divisions. Recognizing the need for closer coordination across stakeholders, he established a collective protection (CP) joint integrated product team (IPT) to address joint service sustainment issues. Through his leadership and hard work, this IPT managed competing interests of each service branch while ensuring accomplishment of overall program objectives.
Warder also developed and coordinated the joint prioritization and procurement of Program Objective Memorandum funding, including initiating modernization efforts affecting the entire Department of Defense CP portfolio. Warder also oversaw the development and staffing of a business case analysis for the more efficient care and storage of supplies for the U.S. Army CP deployable medical systems, as well as overall modernization of collective protection for field hospitals.
Terri Willett (CAD/PAD Supervisory/Administrative Technical Specialist)
Willett received the DON Civilian Service Commendation Medal for her duties as the CAD/PAD Acquisition Branch manager assigned to the CAD/PAD Division, and as a CAD/PAD program analyst assigned to the CAD/PAD Joint Program Office.
Willett advised CAD/PAD program management and guided the program office in the execution of a fiscal year (FY) 2019 Procurement of Ammunition, Navy and Marine Corps (PANMC) budget of $64 million and an Operations and Maintenance, Navy (O&M,N) budget of $14.3 million. The program achieved a 96% PANMC budget obligation rate, exceeding the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) standard of 80%. Her monitoring of the FY19 O&M,N budget and advice to the assistant program manager for logistics enabled the program to achieve a 100% obligation and execution rate. The results of her budget monitoring were noted in FY17 and FY18 when the program achieved 100% and 98% budget obligation rates, respectively. Through her efforts, the OSD standard was met or exceeded in these two years.
Willett devised an alternate contracting strategy when the CAD/PAD program was running out of funding to award contracts, due to FY19 congressional budget reductions of $3.5 million to the Thermal Battery and $1.2 million to Parachute Deployment Rocket Motor program budget lines. This reduction would have resulted in the grounding of certain F/A-18 Super Hornet and T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft without Willett’s plan. She also advocated to move funding of off existing contracts and garnered support within the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations to obtain a below-threshold reprogramming (BTR) of $5.5 million from other behind schedule programs. This BTR covered the shortage of the FY19 budget reductions, which allowed the contract awards.
Her guidance to the program office’s business financial manager on the development of a FY20 contract award, obligation phasing and spend plan was essential to continued program success. She identified specific funding required immediately for labor and contract awards during the continuing resolution, which prevented the program from falling behind on obligations and execution.