by Stephanie Vendrasco, H-53 Public Affairs Officer

NAVAIR Patuxent River, MD -- Lt. Col. Stewart Gold, Heavy Lift Helicopter program deputy program manager for Logistics, recently received the 2006 Captain Virgil J. “Virg” Lemmon award for naval aviation maintenance excellence.

“The Captain Virgil J. Lemmon Award for excellence in aviation maintenance is a prestigious award which recognizes aviation maintenance officers who have made the most significant contributions to the aviation maintenance and logistics field,” said Rear Admiral William Shannon, Assistant Commander for Logistics and Industrial Operations. "Lt. Col. Gold has provided many significant contributions to the improvement of Navy and Marine Corps logistics support. He is recognized by us all in AIR 6.0 as a professional Aircraft Maintenance Officer whose inspirational leadership has resulted in unparalleled improvements to the H-53 Program and the overall Naval Aviation Maintenance Program."

It was during the late sixties and up to and through the eighties that Captain Lemmon, now deceased, built the modern, largely automated and still evolving maintenance and supply management information systems in use today, including AV3M, NALCOMIS, AZ rate for the Navy and Maintenance Admin MOS’s for the Marine Corps.

“Receiving this award came as a complete surprise and is accepted with gratitude and humility,” said Gold. “Gratitude for the very hard work that hundreds of people who support The Marine Corps’ Assault Support Aviation and U.S. Navy Helicopter Mine Countermeasures and Combat Support undertake daily. And humility, that stems from a very cursory reading of Captain Lemmon’s career accomplishments.”

Working just as hard to ensure dedicated populations of trained personnel were in place to manage and support these newly established systems, Lemmon was the primary force behind the establishment of the Aviation Maintenance Duty Officer designator.

“Lt. Col. Gold is a stellar example of the excellence in maintenance officers recognized by being awarded the Capt. Lemmon award,” said Tom Laux, Program Executive Officer Air ASW, Assault and Special Mission Programs. “It is because of Lt. Col. Gold’s standards and motivation, and other maintainers throughout the Navy and Marine Corps just like him, that the Naval Sir Systems Command continues to provide the fleet what they need, when they need it, wherever they need it.”

Gold, a team heavy lifter since 2004, is a 1973 Parris Island graduate and has been deployed with Operations Frequent Wind and Eagle Pull, for the evacuation of Saigon and Phnom Penh, Vietnam.

“I am extremely fortunate and proud to be a part of an outstanding mutually supporting Navy and Marine H-53 logistics team that makes it their personal business to find ways over, under, around or through obstacles to get what the fleet needs,” said Gold. “Any recognition directed toward me belongs equally in the lap of every member of Heavy Lift Nation.”

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Photo Caption 1:
All in a days work for many Marines whose job it is to make it happen by whatever means necessary – this time it is atop a H-53 rotorhead.

Photo Caption 2:
Marines secure the rotor blades on an H-53 aboard ship.