WASHINGTON - Teams and individuals from the Program Executive Office for Aviation were recognized in three out of 16 categories at the 2009 U.S. Army Acquisition annual awards ceremony Oct. 4 at the Crystal City Gateway Marriot.
The ceremony paid tribute to the uniformed and civilian professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to provide combatant commanders and their Soldiers the weapons and equipment they need to execute decisive, full-spectrum operations in support of the overseas contingency operations.
Some 139 nominations were received from the field. Only 18 were recognized.
"Our people - military and civilians are our most important asset," said Dean Popps, acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. "Tonight, we honor our finest - you."
PEO Aviation was recognized in three categories for the Army Acquisition Excellence awards. The AAE recognizes an Army acquisition work force member or team whose performance and contributions set them apart from their peers. The nominees work at all levels of the acquisition community, from senior leadership to newly hired interns. Any Army acquisition work force member, team or joint program, active duty military, including reserve component Soldiers, and civilian employees, are eligible for award nomination. The awards directly reflect the outstanding achievements in support of the Soldiers and the Army's transformation efforts.
John Caraway was awarded the Individual Sustained Achievement Award as the program manager for Aviation Systems within PEO Aviation.
The Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor Team was recognized for excellence in the Equipping and Sustaining Our Soldiers Systems category.
The Common Systems Integration Product Management Office Team from the Project Office of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems was recognized for excellence in Information Enabled Army.
The Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space was recognized in the Technology Continuous Process Improvement category for the Hellfire Captive Carry Monitoring in the Joint Attack Munitions Systems Project Office.
Other nominees from PEO Aviation included: Ronald Smith, Lt. Col. Thomas Todd, Col. Keith Robinson, and the office for Contracting Process Improvement within the Project Office for UAS.
"Oct. 7 will mark the 8th anniversary of our operations in Afghanistan," Popps said. "We will have been in Iraq for almost six years. These young Americans were raised in time of peace but they are raised their right hand to defend us during war. Believe me, we could not be in better hands.
"We're here to showcase our Army Acquisition Corps for continuing to support those Soldiers. Let me assure our communities and our families that we are continuing to rapidly and successfully equip our force. You, our acquisition community, are the ones who equip and sustain the most powerful Army in the world."
This year's ceremony highlighted two themes that are of special interest to the acquisition community: the 2009 as the Year of the Noncommissioned Officer and the 20th Anniversary of the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps. (PEO Aviation release)
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