NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — A NAVAIR program manager recently won the Baltimore Federal Executive Board’s 2013 Excellence in Federal Career Administrative/Management Rookie of the Year Award.

“I am grateful for the new, exciting career opportunities NAVAIR, the Wounded Warrior Program and AIR-7.4 [NAVAIR Security Office] have provided me since I have been onboard,” said Jason Pierce, who joined NAVAIR in September 2011 as a security education, training and awareness program manager. “I just come to work each day trying to give maximum effort and providing our customers high quality services and products.”

Specifically, Pierce has led the Navy in implementing the Department of Defense (DoD) Security Professional Education Development (SPeD) program to professionally certify the NAVAIR security workforce.

SPeD includes a four-tiered certification program that is part of the DoD’s strategy to professionalize the security workforce. The program seeks to develop and strengthen a common set of core skills among security practitioners and encourage collaboration, professional development and training.

Under Pierce’s leadership, NAVAIR outpaced the rest of the Department of the Navy (DoN) for SPeD certification; more than one-third of all NAVAIR security specialists are professionally certified. Thanks to this increased security proficiency, NAVAIR received high marks at four separate oversight inspections conducted by external agencies in 2012.

“He showed great initiative in implementing his vision for NAVAIR to be the DoN leader in developing a workforce of certified security professionals,” wrote NAVAIR Director of Security and Continuity of Operations Planning David Atchison in the award nomination.

The purpose of this award is to honor outstanding federal employees who have demonstrated exceptional and meritorious work and high standards of performance in the federal government. Pierce was honored at an awards ceremony in Baltimore May 3 as part of Public Service Recognition Week.

Atchison praised Pierce’s ability to grasp new concepts rapidly, his leadership and results-oriented approach to program management, work ethic, “can-do” attitude and organizational flexibility.

“Mr. Pierce is among NAVAIR’s best and brightest,” he wrote.

Pierce has received several civil service performance awards and recognition and recently graduated from NAVAIR’s New Leader Program, a six-month, part-time leadership development program designed to develop future leaders by providing assessment, experiential learning and individual development opportunities.

“Completing the New Leader Program this past February and receiving this award have definitely been two highlights in my short time with NAVAIR,” Pierce said.

NAVAIR’s Wounded Warrior Program

Pierce, who was medically discharged from the Army in December 2009 after being wounded in Afghanistan, was hired under NAVAIR’s Wounded Warrior Program, which seeks to recruit, hire, train and retain wounded warriors from across the U.S. Since October 2010, NAVAIR has placed more than 575 wounded warriors in open vacancies and developmental programs.

“Jason is one example of what our wounded warriors have to offer in terms of their professionalism, work ethic and the skills they bring to any organization,” said Sonny Fann, NAVAIR Wounded Warrior Program outreach coordinator.

Find out more information on NAVAIR’s Wounded Warrior Program or email [email protected]. Read more about Pierce’s NAVAIR career and his path to civilian employment.