Picatinny's highest-ranking civilian to receive Presidential award for exceptional service

By Ms. Audra Calloway (AMC)June 4, 2010

Picatinny's highest civilian to receive Presidential award for exceptional service
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

PICATINNY, N.J. - Picatinny's senior civilian will receive a 2009 Presidential Rank Award during a ceremony at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery June 28.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh will present the award to Dr. Joseph A. Lannon, director of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

The Presidential Rank Award is a formal recognition given to federal senior executives and career senior executives for their exceptional long-term achievements. There are two categories of rank awards: Distinguished and Meritorious.

McHugh will present Lannon with the Distinguished Executive Rank Award. Lannon is one of only seven Army senior executives receiving this particular honor this year. Lannon received a Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award in 2004.

According to the Office of Personnel Management Web site, each year the President recognizes a small group of career senior executives and senior career employees with the Presidential Rank Award.

Recipients of this prestigious award are strong leaders, professionals, and scientists who achieve results and consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service.

Executives from across government are nominated by their agency heads, evaluated by citizen panels, and designated by the President.

Lannon was selected to the Senior Executive Service in March 1991 and has served as the director for Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Centers since 2005.

As the ARDEC director he leads the development of innovative armaments technologies and products to support the warfighter and assures that systems evaluation and armaments concepts are effectively provided at all phases of the research, development, engineering and production processes.

He is responsible for management of more than 3,400 people, for armaments program direction and for effective functioning of the center.

Since 2005 ARDEC has provided warfighters with more than 144 materiel and urgent materiel releases of armaments materiel. The organization has received many awards during Lannon's tenure, including 21 Army Greatest Inventions awards.

In November 2007 then-President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez announced that ARDEC, under Lannon's leadership, won the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige Award for organizational performance excellence.

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