The Army has named three recipients of the 2022 Lieutenant General (Retired) Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award to honor their demonstrated excellence in logistics.
At his retirement in 1981, Lt. Gen. Gregg was the Army’s highest-ranking minority Soldier. Named for Gregg, the first African American Active Duty Army officer to reach the rank of Lieutenant General, who completed his Army career as the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS), G-4, the Gregg award seeks to recognize influential logistics leaders credited with making unparalleled improvement to Army sustainment operations.
Gregg award winners are selected by a panel led by the Army’s DCS, G-4. Like previous winners, this year’s awardees have made exceptional contributions in the logistics field, but their contributions have extended beyond logistics to yield an immense benefit to the Army and the Nation. In evaluating this year’s awardees, the Army changed the rules to form three separate categories for selection. Nominees now can consist of a uniformed Army leader, a Department of the Army civilian employee, and a “legacy honoree,” who served in a Logistics community leadership position.
Major Michael “Mike” McCrory, Battalion Executive Officer in the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, is recognized for leading 39th Movement Control Battalion efforts to process the vast numbers of Afghan travelers arriving in Germany after the Army withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021. Of the many superbly qualified commissioned, warrant, and noncommissioned officers considered in this category, Maj. McCrory demonstrated excellence in logistics by supporting 12,000 people coordinating an interagency task force of medical and educational providers, as well as government officials and representatives.
McCrory distinguished himself by ensuring his team fed 8,000 people three meals a day, had clothing and basic necessities, and reunited separated families. He then shared his experiences and best practices with the rest of the Army, including in an Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin article documenting the tasks, conditions, and procedures leading to his success.
Department of the Army Civilian, Frank Zardecki, Deputy Installation Commander at Tobyhanna Army Depot, earned the top honor in the Department of the Army Civilian category. The award panel recognized Mr. Zardecki for his strategic efforts to maintain and advance Tobyhanna’s long-term viability.
Zarkecki’s work included designing and implementing a unique mentoring program at Tobyhanna to introduce second-line leaders to the perspectives, processes, and challenges of high-level decision-making, and to help them build collaborative networks throughout the organization. He is credited with broadening experience across mission and mission support functions, best practices implementation, and building a coalition of empowered junior leaders.
Retired General Gustave “Gus” Perna earned the Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Arthur J. Gregg Sustainment Leadership Award as a Legacy honoree. The former Commanding General of Army Materiel Command (AMC), Gen. (Ret.) Perna also served as the Chief Operating Officer for Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the U.S. government-wide COVID-19 accelerated response operation established in May 2020. Under Gen. Perna’s leadership, OWS brought together government and private entities to handle COVID vaccine development and distribution.
While commanding AMC, Perna led the logistics headquarters responsible for equipping and sustaining a Total Army ready to fight and win in current and future operations. During his last year in uniform, he co-led OWS, saving lives and positively changing the course of the world’s worst pandemic in more than a century.
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