CDR Ashley Wright with Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) was selected among top government agency candidates to receive the 2023 Federal Engineer of the Year Award presented by the National Society of Professional Engineers.
The award recognizes exceptional technical excellence, publications, leadership and community service. Winners are selected from government agencies employing 50 or more professional engineers and CDR Wright is one of five honorees representing the Navy for his actions as a Department Head at Ship Repair Facility Regional Maintenance Center in Yokosuka, Japan.
“It’s an amazing honor to be recognized among my peers,” said Wright. “This award also reflects the combined team efforts of the wonderful people I had the honor of serving with.”
According to his nomination, CDR Wright served as the Engineering and Planning Department Head and later Waterfront Operations Officer at Ship Repair Facility Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) from 2019 to 2022 and his leadership positively impacted 7th fleet operational readiness.
He led a multinational department comprised of hundreds of military and civilian engineers and technicians in developing documents, policies and plans for US warships both deployed in the 7th Fleet theater and homeported in Japan.
Under his leadership, the team managed thousands of technical troubleshooting calls and wrote over 16,000 technical work documents annually. His planning innovations resulted in yearly increases in technical work document outputs, accelerating planning milestones by two weeks for CNO availabilities.
Among his other achievements , CDR Wright led assessment and repair of Coast Guard Cutter Waesche in 2020, mending damage to the ship and restoring operational status in 71 days.
All selectees will receive their award Feb. 24 in Washington D.C.
SWRMC provides superior ship maintenance, modernization, technical support, and training for the Pacific Fleet.
For more information on SWRMC, please visit https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/RMC/SWRMC