INDIAN HEAD, Md. –
Expeditionary Exploitation Unit 1’s (EXU-1) Dr. John McCarthy recently received the University of Virginia’s (UVA) Adelle F. Robertson Award, which recognizes faculty members who demonstrate excellence in teaching and a commitment to public service. Dr. McCarthy serves as EXU-1’s senior program advisor and the Operational Requirements, Resources, and Continuous Improvement Department Head, which provides analysis, advice and continuous improvement consultation to command leadership and management personnel at EXU-1. At UVA, he serves as part-time faculty at their School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS), teaching a variety of graduate level and professional subjects.
“UVA SCPS’s devotion to its students and curriculum is unmatched when it comes to quality academic programs centered on the non-traditional, adult learner,” said Dr. McCarthy. “The leadership, faculty and staff are the heartbeat of the school, and it is their commitment to excellence that drives success at UVA SCPS.”
The Adelle F. Robertson award is the SCPS’s highest honor and characterizes the life of Robertson, who served as Dean of the UVA Division of Continuing Education from 1978-1986. The award criteria centers on three primary areas: teaching, public service or scholarship. In addition to teaching, Dr. McCarthy also develops new curriculum and syllabi, as well as contributes to the development of new academic programs at UVA. Dr. McCarthy wears many hats and provides the same level of service to EXU-1, where he serves as the senior level expert in strategic programming and resource planning for EXU-1’s mission and operations, as well as the chair of its Capability Improvement Program.
“I am truly humbled by my selection for the Adelle F. Robertson Award. Being singled out for such an honor is difficult because success for me, regardless of the endeavor, depends on the efforts of so many who are willing to put forth maximum effort to achieve a successful end state,” said Dr. McCarthy. “My teaching focus is first and foremost on student learning and success in the classroom and as a mentor/advisor to students beyond a particular program or course of instruction…to be successful, and certainly successful enough to be recognized for an award such as this, everyone and everything involved in the process (students, school staff, the quality of the curriculum etc.) have a huge role to play in that outcome.”
EXU-1 is an operationally deployable Type II, Echelon V command aligned under Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD). The unit hosts a variety of platoons designed to collect, process, exploit and analyze improvised threats, advanced weapons systems, munitions, ordnance, unmanned systems, and strategic infrastructure on land and sea to provide real-time targeting information and intelligence to EOD forces. EXU-1 was commissioned in June 2018 as an Echelon V afloat command and reports to NSWC IHD Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Correll, who serves as the immediate superior in command to EXU-1.
NSWC IHD — a field activity of the Naval Sea Systems Command and part of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Establishment — is the leader in ordnance, energetics, and EOD solutions. The Division focuses on energetics research, development, testing, evaluation, in-service support, manufacturing and disposal; and provides warfighters solutions to detect, locate, access, identify, render safe, recover, exploit and dispose of explosive ordnance threats.