NAVSEA Honors Excellence and Innovation at Annual Awards Ceremony
WASHINGTON – The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) recognized its top individual and team performers during the 2025 NAVSEA Excellence awards ceremony. The event celebrated the outstanding achievements of civilian and military personnel who have made significant contributions to the command's mission of designing, building, delivering, and maintaining ships and systems for the U.S. Navy during 2025.
Vice Adm. James P. Downey, Commander of NAVSEA and Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Industrial Operations, presided over the ceremony. He and Ms. Leslie Joseph, Deputy Commander for Total Force and Corporate Operations, presented awards to individuals and teams in 21 categories for their exceptional accomplishments across a range of categories.
"Today, we celebrate the innovators, the problem-solvers, bold leadership, and the dedicated professionals whose work ensures our Navy remains the most powerful maritime force in the world," said Downey. "The efforts of these individuals and teams directly contribute to the readiness of our fleet and the safety of our sailors."
The awards recognize excellence across competency areas, including acquisition, engineering, logistics, program management, and innovation.
Categories and winners included:
Excellence in Acquisition Award
Individual: Mr. Michael Campbell, NAVSEA Engineering Directorate
Team: Procurement Request Tool Enhancement Team
Excellence in Command Support Award
Individual: Mr. Kent Hall, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane
Team: XML Auto-Conversion Tool Project Team, NSWC Port Hueneme
Excellence in Contract Management Award
Individual: Mr. David Radell, NAVSEA Contracting Directorate
Team: Fast Attack Submarine Contracting Acquisition Team
Excellence in Engineering Award
Individual: Mr. Christopher Rodgers, NAVSEA Engineering Directorate
Team: Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport, Virginia-class Towed Systems Team
Environmental Excellence Award
Individual: Mr. Derrick Alderson, NSWC Crane
Team: AUKUS Environmental Team, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
Excellence in Facilities Engineering & Management Award
Individual: Ms. Marisa St. John, NAVSEA Total Force and Corporate Operations Directorate
Team: NSWC Crane Radiation Modernization Facilities Team
Excellence in Financial Management Award
Individual: Ms. Monique Abbitt, Program Executive Office (PEO) for Integrated Weapons Systems (IWS)
Team: NSWC Corona Navy Working Capital Fund Analysis Team
Excellence in Data Management Award
Individual: Mr. Kennith Tate, NAVSEA Engineering Directorate
Team: Electronic Class Maintenance Plan Team
Excellence in Information Technology Award
Individual: Ms. Jennifer Caswell, NUWC Newport
Team: NAVSEA Nautilus Transition Team
Excellence in Logistics Award
Individual: Ms. Heather Douglas, NSWC Port Hueneme
Team: AN/SPY-1 Depot and Harvest Team, NSWC Crane
Excellence in Operations Research & Systems Analysis Award
Individual: Mr. Minh Ly, Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization Directorate
Team: Golden Fleet Cost Estimating Team
Excellence in Program Management Award
Individual: Mr. Stephen Hoerst, PEO IWS
Team: SWRMC USS America (LHA 6) Tank and Void Inspections Team
Excellence in Safety Award
Individual: Ms. Laura McCann, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Team: NSWC Corona Close Combat Systems Team
Excellence in Readiness Generation Award
Individual: Mr. Manuel Salazar, NSWC Port Hueneme
Team: Helicopter Hangar Door Team, NSWC Philadelphia
Excellence in Force Generation Award
Individual: Ms. Amy Deguzman, Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Team: CUAS Kinetic Afloat Team
Excellence in Quality of Services Award
Individual: Mr. Brett Currier, NSWC Corona
Team: Quality of Life and Quality of Service Team, Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair Newport News
Excellence in Test and Evaluation Award
Individual: Mr. Ethan Habicht, PEO IWS
Team: Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) Team, NSWC Crane
Commander’s Innovation Award
Individual: Mr. Ayman Youssef, NAVSEA Engineering Directorate
Team: Augmented Reality Maintenance System (ARMS) Team, NSWC Port Hueneme
Mentor of the Year Award
Individual: Mr. Wilmer Ortiz Rodriguez, NSWC Philadelphia
Team: T&E Technical Capability and Training Development Team, NSWC Panama City
Strengthen the NAVSEA Team Award
Individual: Ms. Emily Hester, NAVSEA Engineering Directorate
Team: Cross-Divisional Fleet Readiness and Training Team, NSWC Carderock
Joshua Humphreys Award
Individual: LCDR Olivia Wittman, PEO IWS
Excellence in Public Affairs Award
Team: 18th International Submarine Races Communications Team, NSWC Carderock