CHIPS Articles: DON Congratulates 2013 Award Winners

DON IM/IT Excellence Awards
In recognition of its personnel’s achievements, the Department of the Navy presented awards to information management/information technology projects, teams and individuals who transformed the Navy and Marine Corps through the use of IT.

The individual award winners are:

Clyde Caminos, Research & Technology Protection (RTP) Manager; Marine Corps Systems Command: for the analysis, training and implementation of the Marine Corps Systems Command's RTP Program.

Jack Q. Mills, Director, Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC), N6 Enterprise Information Systems: for his exceptional performance leading to successful deployment of the One NAVAIR Depot Maintenance System.

Pam Wenner, Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Portfolio Manager (N614): for her support in successfully establishing the Enterprise Logistics Engineering Directorate (N6) within NAVSUP.

The winning teams are:

All Weapons Information System (AWIS) Team, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR): for the integration of NAVAIR weapons programs and other product teams into the All Weapons Information System (AWIS). AWIS now supports every conventional weapons program in the Navy as well as more than 180 product teams, which provide engineering and logistics support to aircraft, aviation equipment, and IT systems.

Manpower, Personnel, Training & Education (MPTE) Enterprise Information Management Board & Team, Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS): for proactively addressing enterprise management and governance of MPTE data assets, and controlling and protecting personally identifiable information while supporting business requirements.

Fleet Cyber Command (FCC) IT Spend Governance Team/IT Spend Governance Initiative: for the innovative use of IM/IT to meet Navy requirements without duplicating existing programming and financial management controls at FCC headquarters and globally dispersed subordinate commands. The team's advocacy increased user capability, reduced decision cycle timelines Navy wide and improved FCC mission effectiveness.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) IT Team/NCIS Data Center Reconstruction: for maintaining day-to-day operations of the outdated Washington Navy Yard facility while reconstituting capabilities at the new data center in Quantico, Va. The team's efforts have resulted in savings of more than $2.5 million and a 70 to 80 percent reduction in power and cooling requirements.

Information Technology Acquisition Approval Process (ITAAP) Team, (multiple DON organizations): for the design and successful implementation of a review and approval process designed to capture all Navy IT procurements without hindering acquisition. The ITAAP team used existing tools and melded processes of the 26 budget submitting offices into one standard process. This process was implemented in a web-based application to capture all Navy IT spend and seek economies of scale while inserting a technical authority review.

Navy Food Service Management Three (FSM3) Deployment Team, Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP): for the delivery of a much-needed upgrade to the FSM system for all Navy galleys. Implementation of FSM3 eliminated five outdated applications and reduced NAVSUP costs by more than $400,000 per year.

Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division, Newport Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) Team: for the development of the STIGManager, a multi-user, collaborative, data management solution to support STIG compliance. During the first year, spreadsheet management costs were reduced by $100,000 while $200,000 was saved as a result of speeding up the STIG review process.

Enterprise Systems Engineering Environment (ESEE) Team, Engineering Information Management (EIM) Branch, Marine Corps Systems Command: for the design and development of engineering data interoperability and data sharing capabilities across the Marine Corps. The EIM branch’s work to integrate data across disparate storage areas is moving the Marine Corps toward true data reuse and stabilization.

John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Leadership Award
The John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Leadership Award is given to an individual who demonstrates superior achievement in Navy and Marine Corps electromagnetic spectrum management and use. The 2013 winner is:

Thomas Downie, Director, Navy and Marine Corps Spectrum Center (NMSC): Downie’s in-depth knowledge and exceptional dedication to resolving countless spectrum-related challenges were essential to developmental acquisition programs and critical fleet and Marine Corps operations.

Under Downie's leadership, NMSC was recognized by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for extraordinary technical engineering support and providing increased capability to the Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism Department. Downie also assisted Program Executive Office Space Systems, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Dominance (OPNAV (N2/N6)) and the United States Strategic Command in accelerating the launch of Tactical Satellite-4 (TACSAT-4) to fulfill the Navy’s and the Department of Defense’s demand for ultra high frequency station requirements. This effort caused the reprioritization of spectrum certification requirements at NMSC, which led to three TACSAT-4 applications becoming a Navy priority.

James Hamilton Information Technology Management Civilian Marine of the Year Award
Established in 2003 and sponsored by Headquarters Marine Corps Command, Control, Communications and Computers (HQMC C4), this award is presented annually to a civilian Marine who performed special acts of noteworthy leadership and technological innovation in the area of IT management. The 2013 winner is:

Jonathan Page
Project Manager
G-6, Marine Corps Bases Japan:

Page coordinated the installation of the Enhanced Land Mobile Radio (E-LMR) across multiple locations in Japan, enabling first responders and other users to cover all of Okinawa and Mainland Japan using only one type of radio. He initiated a co-share communications partnership with Air Force units on Kadena Air Base, saving the Marine Corps hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in annual operating costs. Read the full interview with Jonathan Page in this issue of CHIPS. [make a note to link to the interview]

Federal 100 Awards
Federal Computer Week magazine presents this award to 100 government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in effecting change, progress and efficiency in determining how the federal government acquires, develops and manages IT. The three 2013 winners are:

Capt. Judith D. Bellas
U.S. Navy, Branch Chief for Clinical Support Services
Defense Health Services Systems

Bellas re-energized the Defense Department's portal for patients, which offers Tricare's 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries a single online point of entry to health services and personal health information. She led a series of development efforts that included giving individuals online access to their personal health data, such as laboratory results, medications and doctor visits.

Craig F. Brandenburg
Navy 311 Project Director
Department of the Navy (PEO-EIS/PMW 240)

Brandenburg's vision for improving the Navy's customer relationship management included a single point of entry for Sailors and their families seeking non-emergency assistance anytime, anywhere. This vision became Navy 311, a call center modeled on municipalities' centralized call centers. Navy 311 provides expanded services at a reduced cost. Brandenburg brought together logisticians, engineers and resource sponsors to transform existing services into a viable, 21st-century IT business system.

Lt. Gen. Jon Davis
Deputy Commander
U.S. Cyber Command

Davis led efforts to create operational and policy architecture for the cyber domain, including outlining missions and tasks for each of the military services. He was also instrumental in exercises that allow troops to hone their cyber combat skills through realistic network-defense training.