Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst team members were recognized for their accomplishments in 2023 during a ceremony held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst June 26. 

It was the first such awards ceremony for new Executive Director Sean D. Brennan since returning to Lakehurst, and one he called a “major celebration.” 

“We are celebrating you and our teammates, and recognizing all the incredible technical work that has been accomplished in-house at NAWCAD Lakehurst,” Brennan said. “I’ve been here almost two months and am so impressed with the collaborative work and innovation I’ve already seen across the NAWCAD Lakehurst team. You have truly aided in the success of our organization, and your efforts have directly and positively impacted the warfighter and the fleet.” 

Award winners included: 

Artisan of the Year: Jason “Hoss” Purcell was recognized for his extraordinary contributions to the Test Division. Described as a “jack of all trades, with his specialty skill set encompassing welding, machining and fabricating,” Purcell has worked on some of Test’s biggest programs, including Advanced Arresting Gear and Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. 

ALRE Employee of the Year: Michael Zieser works with the CVN Landing Aids Branch, ensuring that the fielding of a critical fleet program is accelerated and that a new system design is optimized for fleet use and supportability. He was also credited with supporting currently fielded systems and mentoring and training junior engineers.  

ALRE Team of the Year: The Land-based Optical Landing Aid (LOLA) Team was recognized for exhibiting resilience and determination while navigating technical challenges and tight timelines. Despite delayed hardware deliveries and an accelerated schedule driven by fleet demands, the team was credited with deploying the system while ensuring it met the fleet’s training requirements.  

Innovator(s) of the Year: The Wing Walker team was recognized for their work on a multi-year Naval Innovative Science and Engineering effort to prevent and reduce aircraft ground mishaps on the flight deck. Using tools like depth cameras and state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms, the team produced a working prototype of the system and conducted initial testing at Lakehurst’s Test site.  

New Employee of the Year: Albert F. Martin IV, a Logistics Management Specialist in the ALRE Department, Aviation Data Management and Control Systems (ADMACS) Hardware Branch, was credited with saving the government time and money in potential equipment and software development costs during his short time with the federal government. He was also recognized for his work as the Chair of the Professional Development Group, a career and networking group for new employees at NAWCAD Lakehurst. 

SE Employee of the Year: Michael J. Milkovitz, an engineering technician, is credited with always looking to the future for ways to improve the cryogenics community. Milkovitz wears his pride in his job on his sleeve, wearing a shirt that says, “Warning: May Start Talking About Cryogenics.”

SE Team of the Year: The Circuit Card Test and Repair Systems Lab (CCTARS) recently developed a test routine to organically support the F/A-18, EA-18G Radio Frequency Blanking Unit, improving on the currently existing circuit card tester to diagnose and test inherent faults of the circuit cards. Previously, maintainers approached similar problems by clipping and probing the devices manually. However, the lab’s approach allows them to gather more information without damaging the card while significantly increasing readiness, sustainment, and operational availability and generating significant cost avoidance.  

Supervisor of the Year: Patrick Smith, the Procurement Department Head, was recognized for being “an impactful leader, attentive listener, effective communicator, and for his ability to motivate the team to ensure mission accomplishment.” By embracing the “Get Real, Get Better” culture, Smith’s actions have reduced attrition and increased employee satisfaction. 

Sailor of the Year: Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Launching and Recovery) Chief Petty Officer Samantha Arnold served as Senior Enlisted Advisor Quality Assurance Supervisor and is now NAWCAD Lakehurst’s Maintenance Chief. During her time at Lakehurst, Arnold has displayed quality management and technical expertise, leading 40 personnel to facilitate the successful completion of 1,900 maintenance actions across the catapult and arresting gear systems. She is also credited as being the driving force behind the completion of ten developmental test events.