NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — One individual and one team from the Program Executive Office for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs (PEO(A)) took top awards at the 2013 Department of the Navy’s Acquisition Excellence Awards Program ceremony June 13 at the Pentagon.

The annual Acquisition Excellence Awards Program honors individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions in promoting competition and innovation in the Navy and Marines Corps acquisition process throughout the fiscal year.

"Being recognized for creative and effective solutions that benefit the Navy and Marine Corps team and set new standards in the acquisition arena is quite an achievement," said Rear Adm. CJ Jaynes, program executive officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault and Special Mission Programs, which supports the two winning program offices. "I'm extremely proud to have the best of the best on our team."

Capt. Dean Peters, program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Presidential Helicopters Program (PMA-274), prospective commander for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, and NAVAIR’s assistant commander for Research and Engineering, was selected as the military Acquisition Professional of the Year for achieving significant Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VXX) milestones and program events during 2013.

“As a program manager, recognition as an Acquisition Professional of the Year only makes sense as a reflection of the tremendous team of professionals at the Presidential Helicopters Program and the collaborative spirit of the many stakeholders across the Department of the Navy and DoD, without whom the success of the program would not be possible,” Peters said. “All of these folks applied their knowledge and expertise in determining solutions to difficult problems, which is what being a professional is all about.”

2013 was a critical year for the VXX program and Peters accomplished key goals while effectively managing the complex network of stakeholders throughout the DoD, the White House, Congress, industry and the media for the high-visibility program.

His team determined an innovative acquisition strategy that leveraged mature aircraft technology with existing flight certifications, and integration of highly-capable mission systems designed by the government. This strategy decreased the overall program schedule by 68 months and reduced the required program funding by $1.36 billion, returning those funds to the Navy for use in other program efforts.

 Under Peters’ leadership, all required acquisition documentation for proposing the VXX system and establishing programmatic baselines were validated, including the acquisition strategy review. The request for proposal to contract for engineering and manufacturing development was released with an on-time start of source selection for a prospective prime contractor. The contract was subsequently awarded May 7.

The V-22 Joint Program Office (PMA-275) Multi-Year Program II (MYPII) team won the Dr. Al Somoroff Award for its resourceful approach in controlling cost and driving affordability consistent with defense spending initiatives.

V-22 MYPII team members who shared the award include Marine Corps Col. Greg L. Masiello, William Buchanan, Marine Corps Lt. Col. Eric Ropella, Jack Fulton, Stephanie Diehl, Chris Francino, Pamela Gray, Greg Webster, Kate Feely, Kevin LaBove, Barbara Reithmaier, Jennifer Shawky, Lori Muirhead, Phillip Ramon, Doug Harris, Frank Heinsohn, Ron Spirito, Tyler Markel and April Martin.

“I am very proud of the V-22 personnel receiving this award. They’re a diverse and extremely capable team, and they remained flexible in overcoming many challenges,” said V-22 Joint Program Manager Col. Daniel Robinson. “Their achievement was accomplished by significant upfront planning, exploring innovative strategies and by applying acquisition best practices, and their efforts resulted in a second multi-year procurement that saves the taxpayer nearly $1 billion over single-year procurements, as we deliver more than 100 V-22s to the Marines and Air Force.”

The MYPII contract yields significant results; negotiations enabled an additional aircraft in fiscal 2014 without an increase to the budget and the contract provides fixed pricing for future quantities, which Congress used to add another.

# # #