Rear Adm. Scott Dillon, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division commander, joined China Lake teammates to surprise Lea Clark with a Navy Meritorious Civilian Service award during a ceremony Nov. 9.

“Guys, thank you,” Clark said, “I never expected this. The only thing I have to say is that I never accomplished anything by myself; it was always a team effort.”

Clark currently serves as a subject matter expert for configuration management and data management as well as a technical lead for the Aviation Readiness and Resource Analysis Department at NAWCWD. With over 30 years of combined industry and federal service under her belt, Clark has supported Tomahawk, Sparrow, AV-8B and Sidewinder among other notable programs.

In addition to serving as an acting department head, Clark has made strides in helping develop the CM/DM division – the largest and fastest growing division within the Logistics competency – through the development of workshops, mentoring events and detailed training plans that resulted in six Logistics courses.

“What’s important, from my perspective, is that you’re able to balance leadership and mentorship while providing direct support to many of the products going out the door,” Dillon noted. “These awards are not given out lightly and this is a well-deserved surprise.”