REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Army Materiel Command recognized 11 of its own across the enterprise Sept. 22 here with the 2021 Louis Dellamonica Award for Outstanding U.S. Army Materiel Command Personnel of the Year.
“I want to accentuate the importance and value of this award,” said AMC Commander Gen. Ed Daly, who presided over the awards ceremony at the command’s headquarters. “This is a highly prestigious award and the individuals who receive it have demonstrated how important they are to our Army.”
Daly went on to thank the recipients for “the great work you and your teams have done and continue to do for our Army and our nation. You make AMC what it is today.”
The Dellamonica Award winners represent AMC and its major subordinate commands:
-- Jonathan Hardage - Headquarters, U.S. Army Materiel Command
-- Todd C. Cobb - U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command
-- Crystal W. Galloni - U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command
-- Corey J. Hotle - U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command
-- Clyde Surratt – U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command
-- Brent M. Depauw - U.S. Army Contracting Command
-- Richard Baughman - U.S. Army Financial Management Command
-- Milford L. Sexton Jr. - U.S. Army Sustainment Command
-- Christopher S. Denning - U.S. Army Installation Management Command
-- William G. Fischer - U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
-- Ehren M. Whitmore - U.S. Army Security Assistance Command
“This was a complete surprise, but I am tremendously honored and humbled,” said Hardage, an attorney/advisor for command contract decisions and associate command counsel at AMC headquarters since 2017.
His nomination lauded Hardage as a superb bid protest/litigation attorney who “provided tremendous lead trial attorney support for the defense of procurements from protests filed at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC), and the HQ, AMC. Mr. Hardage personally handled some of the most complex bid protest litigation within AMC.”
In addition, Hardage used his wealth of knowledge and experience as a government contracts law attorney to advise and assist contracting and source selection personnel in the successful implementation of corrective action, including advice on the amendment of solicitations, evaluation of revised proposals and drafting of new award decisions. In doing so, the command noted he achieved an unprecedented level of success in avoiding subsequent litigation once a protest had been resolved.
“The thing I most like about my job is the legal research and writing aspect of it,” said Hardage. “I really enjoy writing persuasive briefs and legal arguments and finding prior decisions that directly support our legal arguments. We often work on some really important and high dollar value procurements. I’m a naturally competitive person and like winning, so I take great pride in being able to craft great arguments in response to the protest allegations that can persuade GAO to rule in the Army’s favor.”
Hardage added that after being with the Army for almost 13 years “it is far more rewarding than private practice ever was. Instead of representing multiple clients who come and go, I now have one permanent client, the Army, and am able to dedicate myself fully to helping the Army’s mission. I feel like I have a real sense of purpose and take a great deal of pride in ultimately ensuring that the Soldiers get the goods and services they need to perform their mission.”
The Dellamonica Award was established to recognize outstanding work accomplishments that have significantly contributed to the AMC mission and overarching goals and objectives. Each year, AMC selects employees, both military and civilian, below the rank of General Officer and Senior Executive Service level, who meet the established criteria. Nominees are judged on how their initiatives measurably improve their work environment and AMC’s mission, how they motivate and inspire fellow employees to improve or increase the quality of their own work, and how well they are viewed by peers, subordinates and supervisors.
The award is named in honor of Louis Dellamonica, a general engineer whose 65-year career at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada, exemplified integrity, innovation, leadership and outstanding dedication to the AMC mission.
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