Technical, business and leadership excellence was honored June 25 as 79 Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division teammates were recognized during the command’s annual Honorary Awards Ceremony at China Lake.

A separate ceremony was held June 27 at Point Mugu to recognize award winners there.

“We have the most amazing workforce,” said NAWCWD Executive Director Joan Johnson at the ceremony. “I get the privilege to do this; I love listening to the citations because it’s kind of shock-and-awe when you listen to, at an individual and a team level, what our award recipients do.”

The awards ceremony capped a day for Rear Adm. Scott Dillon, NAWCWD commander, that showed the progression of the command’s workforce. Earlier in the day, he spoke to a group of new hires.

“Those are great days,” Dillon said, “because I get to see some of the new employees who are checking into the organization and talk to them about the importance they bring into the workforce. I get to talk to them about our sincere belief that the strength of this organization really is its employees. And then on days like today, we also get an opportunity to recognize people who have put some of these words into practice.”

Dillon and Johnson recognized the following employees during the ceremony.

Steven Barlow, Donald Christian, Ricky Fielding, Brandon Munis, Steven Savage and Patrick McGarry earned the Michelson Laboratory Award. This award was established in 1966 to recognize individuals for technical excellence based on outstanding performance of individual duties. Recipients are selected for significant achievements in management and leadership which further the mission of NAWCWD or resolve specific technical problems. Winners get a “key” desk plaque and signed certificate.

Aaron Lehman received the Dr. Manuel A. Garcia Memorial Award. This award recognizes an individual’s specific achievements in the improvements to the process and execution of weapon systems test and evaluation through self-initiated activity. Winners get an engraved desk clock and signed certificate.

Michelle Kilikauskas, Daryl Giles, Danny Searle, Stuart Johnson and Michael Stenger each received the Dr. L.T.E. Thompson Memorial Award, which was established in 1956 as the center’s highest recognition for outstanding individual achievement. This award pays tribute to the accomplishments of China Lake’s first technical director. The success of China Lake in the field of ordnance was due in great part to Thompson’s initial guidance and to his skill in integrating military and civilian personnel into an enthusiastic, effective group. An individual must have already received a Michelson Laboratory Award to be eligible for the Thompson award. Winners get a medal and signed certificate.

Shawn Higgins was the 2019 recipient of the Dr. William B. McLean Memorial Award. Established in 1968, this award pays tribute to McLean, technical director at China Lake from 1954 to 1967. By his leadership, vision, and tremendous personal contributions, McLean brought lasting recognition and distinguished the reputation of China Lake while serving in this position. This award recognizes outstanding creativity among employees in furthering the mission of the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division as evidenced by significant inventions. Winners receive a medallion and signed certificate.

Mark Keenan received the Dr. Charles C. Lauritsen Memorial Award. This award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in the advancement of technology in energetic materials, ordnance, propulsion, and fusing or career achievement in the field of energetics, and honors Lauritsen’s successful development and utilization of rockets and missiles, and the establishment of the civilian-military team concept in the Navy lab structure. Winners receive a crystal with lighted base and signed certificate.

Alex Oshiro was the winner of the Dr. Twain C. Lockhart Memorial Award. The award honors Lockhart’s innovative spirit and can-do approach, which was instrumental in shaping the targets organization to what it is today, and recognizes a civilian employee who has made significant contributions in the development of target systems to meet the developmental and operational testing requirements of weapon systems. Winners get an engraved sculpture and signed certificate.

Ronald Pruitt received the Capt. Kenneth A. Walden Memorial Award, which honors Walden’s personal involvement in providing motivation and leadership to others to achieve technical and operational objectives. It is designed to recognize civilian or military personnel at NAWCWD who have made significant strides in personal development, career advancement, or contributions to mission accomplishment in technical and operational goals within the last three years. Winners receive an engraved sculpture and signed certificate.

Bryce Vorphal was the 2019 recipient of the Cmdr. Clifton Evans Jr. Memorial Award. The award is named for Commander Clifton Evans Jr., who served at the Naval Air Missile Test Center in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and established testing programs for missiles to determine resistance to radio frequency interference. The award is to recognize civilian or military employees at NAWCWD who have made significant contributions in Information Warfare including electronic warfare, countermeasures and counter-countermeasures. Winners get an engraved sculpture and signed certificate.

Jacob Bell and Meagan Boley were the recipients of the Logistics Excellence Award, which was established to recognize NAWCWD employees, civilian or military, for specific efforts that enhance logistics professionalism and contribute to the corporate success of the Logistics and Industrial Operations competency through outstanding innovative logistics program management and enhanced quality of service. Winners get an engraved sculpture and signed certificate.

Robin Hoffman, Frank Roberto and Diana Sliva earned the Business Management Excellence Award. The award was established in 2012 to recognize those in administrative, business and/or support related positions for excellence in business management or other business related services in support of NAWCWD’s mission success. The award focuses on those in any of the various fields of business management, operations or support and who provide the much needed and highly valued administrative and management services within the competency or program/project offices. Winners receive an engraved sculpture and signed certificate.

The Business Management Excellence Team Award went to Let’s Go Team. The members of that team are: Richard Cracraft, Catherine Debord, Kate George, Julie Gervais, Jean Johanboeke, Victoria Pinto, Josie Plumhoff, Julie Gildea, Dustin Kirby, Kathryn Lynn, Wendy Miller, Christopher Perkins and Leticia Solano.

Three teams received the Warfighter Support Award, which was established to recognize NAWCWD employees, civilian or military, for specific efforts that provide in-service support for weapon systems and/or improve warfighter operational capabilities/readiness. Recipients have demonstrated outstanding fleet support, which enhance or greatly improve the operational capabilities and readiness of warfighters. Nominees must receive official recognition from an operational activity (active or reserve) identifying the value and improvement provided to the warfighter. Teams selected receive one glass sculpture engraved with team name, and each team member receives a coin and signed certificate.

The first team to receive the award in 2019 was the Skywalker Team. Members were Travis Canfield, Nicholas McGaha and Shawn McGann.

The second team to receive the award was the Precision Attack Weapon Systems Team. Members were John Hyatt, Dale Harper, Benjamin Tchinski, James LeBlanc, Lori Best, Jan Murphy, John Bradley, Brenda Wall, Christina Evans, Jennifer Diaz, Lacy Paulsen, Amanda Ehler, Stacy Potten, Stanley Smith, Michael Konicki and Scott Murphy.

The third team to receive the award was the Rapid Attack Information Dissemination Execution Relay (RAIDER) Team. Team members were Erik Eldridge, Christian Aranda, Philip Breedlove, Robert Croxson, Eric Dictson, Derek Fitchett, Rachel Gains, Richard Hambrick, Bonnie Haydu, Austin Herrera, Scott Higgins, Ted Karageorge, Radley Obligacion, Michael Ongaro, Alex Oshiro, Kevin Phan, Octavio Perez, Paul Thien, Oswald Yang, Christopher Antonsen, Amanda Carson, Christopher Gonzales, Robert Jones, Dominic Rich and Andrew Walters.

“I’m so proud of everybody here,” Johnson said while giving the ceremony’s closing remarks. “I’m immensely proud of being a part of NAWCWD. You all are doing tremendous things for the warfighter every single day. This is one day out of the year we have a chance to say, ‘thank you.’”