By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs

In a ceremony to honor teams and the value of teamwork within NAVAIR, Vice Admiral Wally Massenburg, Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, presented the highest team honor, the Commander’s Award, to six outstanding teams.

“Acknowledging the accomplishments of NAVAIR teams has been, and will continue to be, a command priority,” Massenburg said. “The Commander’s Award recognizes the achievements of teams as they successfully support the main goals of the Command.”

The ceremony was held on Monday, June 21, in the atrium of the NAVAIR headquarters building at NAS Patuxent River, Md., and broadcast simultaneouosly via video teleconferencing to all major NAVAIR sites, including Cherry Point, China Lake, Jacksonville, Lakehurst, North Island, Orlando, Pt. Mugu and the Washington Liaison Office.

Winners of the Commander’s Awards were chosen from five categories: Program Management; Engineering, Testing and Technology; Logistics/Industrial; Business Operations; and Quality of Service.

According to Massenburg, each of the winning teams was chosen because it best epitomized NAVAIR’s goals to balance current and future readiness; to reduce the cost of doing business; to improve agility; to ensure alignment; and to be motivated by fleet-driven metrics.

Within each category, Massenburg also gave an honorable mention to two teams by having their members stand to be recognized by their peers. A letter of commendation - signed by VADM Massenburg - was read as representatives from the winning teams accepted their trophy.

In the category of Program Management, the Commander’s Award went to the Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) Team from the Advanced Tactical Aircraft Protection System Tactical Aircraft Electronic Warfare program (PMA-272). According to their commendation letter, the team’s effort in producing and installing critical life-saving ASE on rotary and support aircraft for the Aviation Combat Element of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force now deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom was an extraordinary accomplishment.

“Your participation and the contributions of your team are not only directly responsible for saving Marine Corps aircraft deployed in the war against terrorism,” the letter states, “but in saving the lives of those aircrew, as well,”

Honorable Mentions in the Program Management category went to the E-2C Communications, Navigation and Identification (CNI) Team from the E-2/C-2 program (PMA-231), and to the Integrated In-Service Reliability Program Team from AIR-6.2.

In the category of Engineering, Testing and Technology, the winning team was the National Airworthiness Team from AIR-4.0P. Their commendation letter states, “Your team significantly increased the warfighting ability of our deployed forces by releasing more than 1,200 Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom-specific flight clearance actions, forming the basis for the fleet to release their aircraft in order to perform their missions.” The letter goes on to say, “Adding an interactive flight clearance request capability to your Web page enabled the Fleet to submit a request for a flight clearance from anywhere in the world at any time of the day or night.”

Honorable Mentions in the category of Engineering, Testing and Technology went to the Corrosion Fleet Focus Team from AIR-4.3.4.1 and the Multi-Mission Helicopter Fleet Support Team from AIR-3.1.2Q.

The winner of the Commander’s Award in the category of Logistics/Industrial was the NAVAIR Depot AIRSpeed Team, a joint team with representation from the three NAVAIR depots (Cherry Point, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fl.; North Island, Ca.). According to the letter of commendation, “Your use of Theory of Constraints, Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma to transform the way the depots do business has increased aircraft availability to the Warfighter. By reducing cycle time, increasing throughput and decreasing work-in-progress on multiple product lines, your team has kept less aircraft in the depots and more aircraft on the flightline.”

Honorable Mentions in the category of Logistics/Industrial went to the Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) Virtual Fleet Support Team from the Conventional Strike Weapons program (PMA-201), and the T-45 Aircraft and Engine Contractor Logistics Support Team from the Jet Flight Training System program (PMA-273).

This year for the first time, there were dual winners in the Commander’s Awards category of Business Operations. The NAVAIR Depot AIRSpeed Team won a second Commander’s Award – to be shared with the Streamlined Delivery Order Process Team from AIR-2.5.1.3. According to the commendation letter to the NAVAIR Depot AIRSpeed Team, each of the depots has made significant contributions to “eliminate non-value-added process; reduce waste and standardize process flows.” The letter highlights the following examples, “NADEP Cherry Point reduced the average cycle time on the H-53 Standard Depot Level Maintenance (SDLM) from 309 to 292 days. NADEP Jacksonville reduced component work-in-progress by 13 percent and reduced fleet degraders by 63 percent. NADEP North Island reduced the cycle time in the Landing Gear Shop for many critical fleet degraders by 68 percent.”

According to the commendation letter for the Streamlined Delivery Order Process Team, “Your team implemented a low-risk/high pay-off streamlined approach to processing delivery orders. Your efforts reduced the traditional order process timeline by 25 percent.” The letter goes on to state, “Though your team’s outstanding skills in recognizing roadblocks and creating a problem-solving approach to order completion are a benefit to NAVAIR, the true beneficiary is the Fleet, as we more quickly process orders to respond to their needs.”

Honorable Mentions in the category of Business Operations went to the MH-60 R/S Common Cockpit Multi-Year Procurement Team from H-60 Helicopter program (PMA-299), and the Workforce Shaping Team from AIR-6.0 and AIR-7.0.

In the final Commander’s Awards category of Quality of Service, the winner was the Government Travel Card Agency Program Coordinators Team from AIR-10.2. The commendation letter from VADM Massenburg states, “Your team’s outstanding efforts in the management of the Government Travel Card program resulted in a maintained delinquency rate of 2.33 percent for 2003 – far beneath the Department of the Navy goal of four percent.”

Honorable Mentions in the category of Quality of Service went to the NAVAIR Depot AIRSpeed Team from the three NAVAIR depots, and the EA-6B Integrated Maintenance Concept Team from EA-6B program (PMA-234).

A separate award recognizing excellence in a leader or leaders who make a significant improvement to the quality of worklife for the NAVAIR workforce, the T. Michael Fish Award, was presented at the end of the program to Karen Holcomb, Director of Strategic Business Operations/Assistant Commander for Corporate Operations.

Holcomb, who was surprised as the award recipient, received the honor for exceptional service in shaping the Naval Air Systems Command organizational culture and strategic direction. According to the award citation read at the ceremony, “You epitomize the philosophy of making people a top priority. Your legacy is about developing people, recognizing their gifts and capabilities, enabling them to create their future beyond what they ever thought possible, and ensuring employees maintain a balanced work and family life.”

At the close of the ceremony, VADM Massenburg encouraged those participating to renew their efforts daily. “Never forget who you work for, and never forget that what you do truly matters,” he said. “Let’s make sure the Fleet has the best support it can get when it needs it and where it needs it.”

For more information about the NAVAIR Commander’s Awards program, contact the NAVAIR Headquarters Public Affairs Office at 301-757-1487.