PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. - A Picatinny Soldier has received Army-wide recognition for his outstanding accomplishments in providing improved non-standard munitions to assist foreign friendly forces in the fight against terrorism.
Maj. John Todd Masternak received the 2010 Army Acquisition Excellence Individual Sustained Achievement Award during the Army Acquisition Corps Awards ceremony in Alexandria, Va., Oct. 24.
The Army Acquisition Corps awards ceremony recognizes extraordinary accomplishments by members of the <a href="http://asc.army.mil/default.cfm" target="_blank">Army Acquisition Workforce</a> and the teams they lead.
"We are here this evening to showcase the significant achievements of the outstanding military and civilian members of the Army Acquisition Corps and the greater Army Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Workforce," the Honorable Malcolm R. O'Neill, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, said during the awards ceremony.
"It is my privilege to witness the outstanding work of these acquisition professionals and to know firsthand of the great things they do for our warfighters," O'Neill said.
Masternak was honored for his service as the Deputy Product Manager for Non-Standard Ammunition in the office of the Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems, <a href="https://www.pica.army.mil/peoammo/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Program Executive Office for Ammunition.</a>
Non-standard ammunition describes munitions that aren't stocked or type-classified for use by U.S. forces. Eastern European factories manufacture the majority of non-standard ammunition and weapons used by Afghanistan, Iraq and other friendly nations for counter insurgency, counter terrorism and security operations.
The Non-Standard Ammunition Office oversees the acquisition process for non-standard munitions shipped to Afghan and Iraqi military and police forces. This oversight requires cooperative work with team members from the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, Rock Island Contracting Center, and Joint Munitions Command to bring standards similar to those used to procure and manage standard Army ammunition to the non-standard process.
"The Non-Standard Ammunition Team works extremely hard providing critical capabilities to our coalition partners overseas," Masternak said of the award. "It's an honor to be recognized for this work, and I do so knowing any success I had is a direct reflection of dedicated work by all."
Masternak assisted in standing up the Non-Standard Ammunition Office in 2008 after participating on a task force established by the PEO Ammunition to develop more effective acquisition processes for procuring and managing non-standard ammunition.
Since the office's inception, the team has established contracts for 67 separate former eastern bloc ammunition items ranging in caliber from 7.62-mm AK47 ammunition, 40 mm and 73 mm rocket propelled grenades, 60 mm and 82 mm mortar rounds, 100 mm tank rounds, 122 mm artillery rounds, and 57 mm aviation rockets.
"Our office has brought significant changes to the processes used in procuring non-standard ammunition, which has resulted in more reliable and higher-quality non-standard munitions for Afghan and Iraqi military and police forces," Masternak said.
In fact, Masternak and engineering personnel from the product office have traveled to Afghanistan and Iraq on multiple occasions to help U.S. forces on the ground fix technical issues, assess unserviceable munitions, and manage their non-standard ammunition programs.
The office has also established general specifications requiring non-standard ammunition manufacturers to obtain Army approval of top-level technical data for items procured for Afghanistan and Iraq. This requires contractors to provide critical product dimensions and display a process for controlling quality.
U.S. government technical engineers and quality assurance specialists inspect all shipments, as well as observe many lot acceptance tests on non-standard ammunition items at manufacturing facilities to ensure compliance with these quality and technical specifications.
About Us: Picatinny Arsenal is a Department of Defense center of excellence for the research, development, engineering and fielding of advanced armaments and weapon systems for all branches of the U.S. military. Known as the "Home of American Firepower," the New Jersey team of 5,000-strong provides a range of innovative technologies to support and protect today's warfighters. Learn more at <a href="www.pica.army.mil" target="_blank">www.pica.army.mil</a>
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