WHIPPANY, N.J.--Jaclyn M. D'Olivo of the Army Contracting Command (ACC), Picatinny Arsenal, N.J. received the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara Medal on June 1 at the annual All Saints Ball located at the Birchwood Manor here.

The Honorable Order of Saint Barbara Medal was bestowed upon D'Olivo by the Project Manager, Combat Ammunition Systems, (PM CAS) due to her tireless efforts and dedication on the M1156 Precision Guided Kits (PGK), a GPS guided adapter for field artillery utilized by U.S. service men and our Foreign Military allies. The event was presided over by Gen. Alfred Abramson, the commanding general of Picatinny Arsenal.

The Honorable Order of Saint Barbara is awarded to those individuals who have demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character, displayed an outstanding degree of professional competence, served the artillery with selflessness; and contributed to the promotion of the artillery branch.

Saint Barbara was the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat who was tortured and executed by her father after he discovered she had converted to Christianity. Legend has it that after her father executed her, he was struck down by lightning in divine retribution. Because of this, she soon was regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms, fires and sudden death. She became the patron saint of artillerymen from early on in the development of artillery pieces as early cannons were unreliable, and at times would explode wounding and killing their crews. Saint Barbara was invoked by these early field artillerymen in the hope she would protect them from this fate. The order is meant to link field artillerymen and contributors of the past and present in a brotherhood and sacrifices symbolized by Saint Barbara.

As the procuring contracting officer (PCO), D'Olivo is currently responsible for and has the sole execution authority for the U.S Army's contract to acquire the M1156 PGK; a contract that is anticipated to deliver $1B dollars' worth of PGK's to the artilleryman.

Through her leadership, D'Olivo provides a consistent delivery flow for this high-demand capability. In the past year, she has led contract negotiations for the inclusion of option years three, four and five, which will yield a significant savings for the government. Her leadership in this recent, major acquisition effort makes this critical capability significantly more affordable, enabling more product to be delivered to the warfighter. The significance of her efforts in support of PGK procurement were made evident during the recent U.S. engagements in Mosul, where Soldiers and Marines relied on PGK to execute fire missions that would have otherwise been denied using conventionally fuzed artillery rounds.

D'Olivo continues to make major contributions to both artillerymen and the warfighter. Her efforts and professionalism reflect favorably on ACC, PM CAS and the U.S. Army.