HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command and Team Redstone members received awards honoring their commitment to national defense.
The Air, Space and Missile Defense Association presented achievement and service excellence awards to local government and contractor employees in recognition of their achievements in the development, test and deployment of air, space and missile defense systems during the ASMDA annual membership luncheon Feb. 23.
Rick DeFatta, ASMDA president spoke at the luncheon and thanked all those who attended.
"It is a great honor to have the opportunity to help lead this organization that I have been a part of for a while," DeFatta said. "It is made up of a great mixture of individuals across industry and the military. We do great work and we look forward to continuing to do that.
"We have a very impressive slate of awardees across all of the organizations on Redstone Arsenal," he added. "It is great to read their accomplishments and we are proud to be able to provide technical and other awards."
During the luncheon, ASMDA presented 14 total awards, with five of them going to members of USASMDC/ARSTRAT
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Stephanie Chrisley of SMDC's Air and Missile Defense Directorate for her efforts as the project manager and engineer for the Test Execution Support Division's Zombie Pathfinder short range ballistic missile system.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Walter Trammell of SMDC's Space and Strategic Systems Directorate.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Team Category is awarded to SMDC's High Energy Laser Division Maneuver Fires Integration Experiment Team for conducting testing of a High Energy Laser configured on the High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck in April 2016 involving multi-service participation included the Army Air Defense Fires Center of Excellence and the Fort Sill, Oklahoma, Battle Laboratory as part of the Maneuver Fires Integration Experiment.
"The entire team is proud of this recognition," said Adam Aberle, SMDC high energy laser technology development and demonstration lead. "The team worked really hard in putting the High Energy Laser Mobile Test Truck together and configured it so we could take it out to Fort Sill and demonstrate the potential for a laser test bed.
"We gave the team a two-month window to integrate in a timeframe that is normally six-months to a year to make happen," he added. "I am really proud of the team and the job they did pulling it together and the success we had."
The Technical Achievement Award in the Team Category is awarded to SMDC's Wideband Division, G-6 SATCOM Team for providing support to the U.S. Strategic Command.
The Service Excellence Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Wheeler "Chip" Hardy, of SMDC's Space and Strategic Systems Directorate for leadership and technical roles in program management, test planning and execution, and systems engineering.
"Chip Hardy has done a phenomenal job," said John London, SMDC Technical Center chief engineer. "There is no better team. We have some of the best people in the Tech Center. It is technically challenging and our own people stepped up to fill the gap and resolve any issues that arose."
Besides SMDC, several Team Redstone employees were also recognized for their contributions. The awardees are as follows:
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to David Foxall of the Defense Intelligence Agency/Missile and Space Intelligence Center.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Bryan Keener for his work as the program manager for Aegis Weapon Systems Program Development.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Contractor Individual Category is presented to Mark Harper and Brent Mitchell, of PeopleTec, Incorporated.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Team Category is awarded to Marshall Space Flight Center's Jacobs ESSSA Group, RS-25 Engine Systems Team.
The Technical Achievement Award in the Team Category is awarded to MDA's Ballistic Missile Defense System Hardware-in-the-Loop Framework Development and Integration Team.
The Service Excellence Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Rod Haverkamp of the Lower Tier Project Office, Program Executive Office Missiles and Space.
The Service Excellence Award in the Government Individual Category is presented to Terry Kline of MDA for directing the agency's discrimination and countermeasure mitigation programs.
The Service Excellence Award in the Contractor Individual Category is presented to Tyler Womble, from Parsons, Inc., for support to the MDA director for Test, Test Policy and Controls Directorate.
The Service Excellence Award in the Team Category is presented to MDA's Standard Missile-3 Block 2A Cooperative Development Project Test Team.
In 2016, ASMDA provided 16 full scholarships for 9- to 11-year-olds to attend Space Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and awarded three Loretta Spencer Scholarships and a General Dodgen Memorial Academic Scholarship.
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