Indian Head, Md. –
Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) employees shone during the FY24 NAVSEA Excellence Awards, April 30 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D.C. Nine command employees received awards, including six individuals from the Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) Acquisition Team and three from the Corporate Operations Leadership Training Team.
“Our teammates excelled again this year, winning an impressive 24 awards – nine individual and 15 teams – in 22 award categories across the NAVSEA Enterprise,” said Dr. Martin Irvine, Jr., Executive Director for the Naval Surface Warfare Centers and Naval Undersea Warfare Centers.
Due to their timely and innovative response to the Secretary of Defense’s January 2024 call for low-cost C-UAS options in the Red Sea, NSWC IHD’s C-UAS Team members John Allen, Charlie Brown, Tanya Busayadilok, John Stansberry, Henry Chade and Kurt Weisel received the Excellence in Acquisition Award for their outstanding contributions.
As noted in the award’s citation, the C-UAS team’s use of innovative acquisition methodologies allowed for the rapid delivery of “novel C-UAS systems to the fleet, achieving first-of-its-kind closed-loop guided HVP and C-UAS engagements at sea.” Through their efforts, the team advanced the Navy’s C-UAS capabilities and revitalized the NAVSEA workforce by “providing lower-cost options to counter the C-UAS threat and paving the way for future innovations and deployments.”
In another display of NSWC IHD achievement, the Corporate Operations Leadership Training Team — including James Sherman, William Shea and Christine Farrell — took home the Mentor of the Year Award. The trio was cited for “their exceptional work in developing and delivering a comprehensive leadership course that has significantly impacted the organization's culture and productivity.”
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.