NAWCWD shows appreciation to China Lake retirees

About 175 China Lake retirees attend the annual NAWCWD Retiree-Alumni Appreciation Day hosted by NAWCWD on Oct. 22 at the Dr. William B. McLean Laboratory. About 25 new-hires were also on hand to hear updates on some of the projects currently underway at the command. Photo by Dan O'Connor.

Date: 27-Oct-10
News Release Number: ECL201010271

Rear Adm. Mat Winter, NAWCWD commander, kicks off the 26th annual Retiree-Alumni Appreciation Day. Photo by Dan O'Connor.

Steve Felix, manager of the Spike missile project, gives an update on what's happening with the world's smallest guided missile, which was entirely conceived and developed at China Lake. Photo by Dan O'Connor.

About 175 China Lake retirees attended the annual NAWCWD Retiree-Alumni Appreciation Day on Oct. 22 at the Dr. William B. McLean Laboratory to get an update on some of the projects currently underway at the command.

"You should look in the mirror and say you've made a difference because you have," said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, NAWCWD commander, who recognized the retirees for their contributions to the command's mission of serving the warfighter. "There are a lot of new things going on at China Lake but remember it's all of your efforts that allowed us to get to where we are today."

Scott O'Neil, NAVAIR's acting deputy commander, welcomed the retirees to the first major event held at the McLean Lab since its grand opening on Oct. 8.

"I look at this building as a monument – not only to Dr. McLean but to you all too," O'Neil said. "You are the history and the roots of this organization."

Ruth Hogan, head of the Weapons and Armaments (W&A) Center of Excellence Implementation Team, gave an update on the Base Realignment and Closure status.

"Two years ago, I told you what our plans were," Hogan said. "It's incredible to stand up here today and show you how much we have accomplished."

At the same event two years ago, Hogan reported that five contracts had been awarded. Currently, five ribbon cutting ceremonies have been held with five more scheduled between now and September 2011.

Hogan recognized the alumni for their contributions to the value of China Lake. BRAC decision makers also saw the military value of China Lake and that value was reflected in the ranking system used to determine where the W&A Center for the Navy would be located.

"The foundation for that ranking came from the work that you all did," she said. "What we've accomplished is based on what you have contributed to the entire legacy here at China Lake."

Several NAWCWD scientists and engineers also addressed the retirees.

Dr. Ben Harvey, a research chemist who has been with NAWCWD for four years, talked about his work in biofuels research and thanked the retirees "for China Lake."

"What you built here is an amazing organization that allows scientists like me to come in and do fundamental research, to publish papers and have a purpose behind that work."

Steve Felix, manager of the Spike missile project, gave an update on what's happening with the world's smallest guided missile. Since 2006, the Spike project has recorded nine successful shots. Rick Kelly, head of Weapons Management Suite project, joined Felix and explained a new airborne launcher and fire control system that he's working on for small, tactical unmanned aerial vehicles.

Elijah Soto, deputy for the Unmanned Systems Activity, talked about the progress with unmanned systems liked Scan Eagle, Raven and Dakota.

Ken Morton, head of the Irregular Warfare Technology Office, spoke about current NAWCWD programs supporting today's warfighter like surveillance and reconnaissance systems, handheld targeting systems, miniature weapons, miniaturized stores management system, and rapid response engineering support.

"This was such a great event," said Doug Cobb, an electronics engineer who worked in the Guidance Control Branch on the Sparrow project more than half of his 36 years at China Lake. "It's very interesting to hear about the great work going on here now. I really appreciate the command sharing it with us and keeping the community informed."

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