FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZ. - The U.S Army Network Enterprise Technology Command selected its top Civilians for 2021, during a virtual ceremony February 11, broadcast live on Army 365 from the command headquarters located at Greely Hall.
Earning the NETCOM HQ Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Year for 2021 was Ashworth A. Gray, from the NETCOM Regional Cyber Center- Korea (RCC-K), and earning the NETCOM HQ Civilian of the Year for 2021 was Judy K. Wick, from NETOM G-3, Future Operations Enterprise NETOPS Branch, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Presiding over the virtual ceremony was the command’s senior Civilian, Patrick Dedham, Deputy to the Commanding General.
Dedham spoke about why the incredibly-talented Army Civilians in NETCOM are critical to Army and NETCOM mission accomplishment, and how Civilians provide ‘stability and continuity’ to the Army and that Civilians in NETCOM have and continue to provide stability and continuity for the global command, employing skills that are crucial to the support of the command’s military operations.
This year’s winners were selected from the 2021 Civilian of the Month and MVP of the Quarter selectees. Gray, a Logistics Management Specialist for the RCC-K, was able to fund and maintain crucial Personal Protective Equipment and sanitizing materials during the COVID pandemic reducing overall risk and ensuring safety of the people at RCC-K. Wick, an IT Specialist in NETCOM’s G3, led NETCOM and ARCYBER efforts to manage, standardize, and sustain the Army's Endpoint Security Solution capability and endpoint management platform, top priorities for the Army.
Wick, who was surprised and humbled at earning the honor, had some good advice for others moving up in the Civilian ranks, saying people should “treat every day as a challenge, and do your best. Everything you do affects how our soldiers are capable to fulfill their mission.
Wick also said she is grateful we live in a land of opportunities for everyone. “I was able to pursue a career, actually I was a bit lucky coming out of high school working for a software development company. This is where my career started, and here I am today. Along the way, I had the support of my family, especially my father who instilled in us to work hard and ethically, and various leaders who trusted me enough to allow me to use my skills and expertise to make us all successful.”
And, as for the future, Wick said, “In less than 10 years I will finally retire, God willing. In the interim I will continue to do my best, work hard, and take every challenge that comes my way. But, most importantly, enjoy life.”
Gray spoke about the honor of receiving the award, saying he was extremely happy to receive the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, NETCOM 2021 MVP Award. “It is nothing less than an absolute honor, and I am taken aback by it, considering all my time spent in the military in various locations, and now my time here as a civilian working for the Army, it has been rewarding.”
Gray’s words of advice to others is to simply have faith.
“When your leadership hands you extra responsibilities, trust their faith in you,” said Gray. “Just because my title says Logistics Management Specialist doesn’t mean my duties and responsibilities stop here. I have taken on additional tasks like timekeeper, travel system administrator, Organization Mail Clerk, and the Alternate Maintenance Manager, among other things. Sometimes it is a lot, but it does not go unnoticed, and it obviously doesn’t go unrecognized.”
Finally, when asked what’s next, Gray said “Hopefully another Foreign Service Tour Extension to serve the soldiers, civilians, and contractors in this great organization.”
The competitors for the 2021 annual awards were all equally qualified to earn the top spot, making the final selection that much harder. The other nominees were:
Melinda S. Reed, a Budget Analyst who helped expertly manage a $37.4 million dollar budget for the RCC-Europe and RCC-K, ensuring they have what they need to meet the mission.
Bobby Richardson, an Information Technology Specialist in the Cybersecurity Directorate, who provides circuit management and oversight to ensure Installations and automated systems stay connected to the Army’s portion of the DoD Information Network, DoDIN-A.
Kevin C. Caldwell, the Administrative Officer for the RCC-Southwest Asia (SWA). Only having started working for the RCC-SWA in May of last year, Caldwell wrote a Personnel Asset Inventory Standard Operating Procedure codifying annual requirements for effective and efficient management of personnel records. Mr. Caldwell passed away due to a vehicle accident, on Dec 20. His service and his presence will be missed.
Patricia F. Zephirin, an action officer in the Cybersecurity Directorate helped innovatively change the organizational structure within the Army Training and Certification Tracking System, allowing verification of training and credentials.
Samuel B. Duran, an Operations Research Analyst in the NETCOM Data Science Directorate, leveraged cloud technology creating “Quick Strike Dashboards” that use open source technology to create user-friendly dashboards.
Daniel L. Cornell, an IT Specialist in G-3, focuses on planning, implementing, and delivering the Global Enterprise Fabric Edge compute and storage platform to the Army's portion of the Department of Defense Information Network DoDIN-A.
Michael J. Edwards, a Plans and Exercise Officer for RCC-K, set the definitive standard for delivering Cyber Training Tasks and opportunities to the staff of the entire organization.
Eddie Han, the IT Policy & Plans Lead, Internal Services Branch, RCC-K, improved processes and created templates for all actions, Memorandums of Understanding and Agreement, and memos IAW AR 25-50, simplifying action submissions and submission times for RCC-K.
Anthony (Scott) Sparks, the G-1, Human Resources Development Team Lead, developed the Command Competency Framework in order to identify competency gaps for the CP-16 and CP-34 workforce.
David Shedd, NETCOM G-8 strategic budget analyst, is one of the leads for the Program Objective Memorandum team focused on gathering, submitting, and justifying financial requirements for out years.
Biza Biza, a Logistics Management Specialist, G-4, oversees purchase and calibration contracts on Commercial-off-the-Shelf Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment across NETCOM.
Jessica Fada, a Budget Analyst in G-8, oversees the G-3 operational budget and HQ/RCC personnel actions, successfully completed the FY21 closeout on G-3's $222 million dollar budget ensuring NETCOM acquired maximum bang for the buck.
Dwight Bird, a Cyber Threat Analyst, RCC-K, conducted a detailed threat assessment of a specific critical vulnerability and ensured a Threat Advisory Message was released across the Korean Theater to mitigate the vulnerability.
Jonathan V. Johnson, the RCC-K Defensive Cyberspace Assessment & Infrastructure Branch Chief, helped developed the RCC Incident & Vulnerability Management Process Flow enabling cyber defenders to train as they fight.
Contributions to the NETCOM team from the command’s Civilian workforce was best summed up when Dedham spoke about why Army Civilians are critical to the Army.
“From the earliest days of our Army to the present, Army civilians have been critical to the success of the total force, delivering much needed supplies, treating the sick and wounded; procuring and maintaining equipment and supplies; operating state-of-the-art technologies; managing posts, camps, and stations; and caring for families,” Dedham said. “Today’s Army possesses one of the most skilled, best-trained, and highly motivated groups of civilian professionals in existence.”
For more information about NETCOM, please visit; https://www.army.mil/Netcom
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