On May 17, 2011 at a ceremony held in Philadelphia, the Federal Executive Board (FEB) awarded a bronze medal to the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Program Management (PM) team at Lakehurst, NJ responsible for providing Peculiar Support Equipment (PSE) to Naval Aviation assets throughout the world. Also awarded a bronze medal was the NAVAIR P-3 Business and Financial Management (BFM) team at Lakehurst responsible for serving the Support Equipment (SE) acquisition communities for the P-3 aircraft. The P-3 is the Navy’s land based, long range patrol aircraft.

Each year the FEB recognizes agencies and organizations throughout the federal government for outstanding public service and excellence in government. For 2011, the PM team and BFM team from Lakehurst were honored in the Outstanding Technical Support category and Outstanding Administrative Support category, respectively.

During this past year, the PSE PM team from Lakehurst led efforts to outfit over 220 Naval Aviation sites worldwide with the aircraft SE and associated logistical support needed to sustain and maintain both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. The team, made up of a cadre of experts in the areas of engineering, test, logistics, contracting, financial management and acquisition, collaborated to deliver over 8,850 SE assets to 22 different aircraft systems, and at a value of over $96.8 million.

One of the many technical accomplishments of the team this year includes the development of a ground maintenance nose landing gear replacement part for the T-45A Goshawk jet trainer that will result in a cost savings in excess of $3.2 million over the life of the aircraft.

The PSE PM team members include: Robert Gillin, Joseph Tempel, Tom Knudsen, Aldo Bernal, Kanti Pandya, Eileen Foy, Robert Harden, Scott Dolin, Bill Deeley, Gary Andrews, Robin Bowker, Mariam Corrigan, Dave Inferrera, Tom Harder, Tom O’Leary, Erwin Sta Ines, Len Mueller, Dan Reven and Willie Cusaac.

This year, the BFM team has provided the SE acquisition community a smooth flow of funding despite having to operate under stringent and limited budgetary constraints. The team provided concise financial reports and identified critical expenditures and obligations. Their support enabled the acquisition community to leverage the use of prototype SE to eliminate approximately $1 million in engineering change proposal costs – specifically design changes that must be retrofitted to SE after being sent to the fleet.

The BFM team’s motto, “We don’t give up that easily!” is certainly a reflection of the spirit, focus and expertise they deliver on a daily basis to the Navy. Team members include: Jorge Matos, Jeanne Slomkowski, Linda Schmidt, Ginger Michel and Kristen Reinhold.