Jeffrey “Jeff” Howell currently works at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia. His maternal grandfather and parents serve as role models in Howell’s Department of Defense career.
“My grandfather has been a big inspiration in my life. He was in the 101st Airborne Division of the Army,” Howell said. “My grandfather was extremely successful working in manufacturing plants throughout his post-Army career, so I wanted to work not just for DoD, but at a manufacturing plant as well.
“It was a great opportunity to work at Radford, because I had the unprecedented opportunity to be able to support the Warfighter by working for the DoD, and I also got to follow in my grandfather’s professional footsteps by working in a production facility,” added Howell, who has been employed at RFAAP, a subordinate of the Joint Munitions Command, for just over eight years.
Howell enjoys every moment at RFAAP, which is a government-owned, contractor-operated facility. That means the government owns the property, but a contractor is responsible for the daily operation, maintenance, and upkeep of the facilities.
Howell, RFAAP’s operations chief, built a team that he likes being around. Howell jokes they have made him look good, and he was recently recognized by the Army Materiel Command for his efforts, as Howell has been named a Dellamonica Award winner.
“I had no idea I was even nominated at all. It’s really cool to get the award,” Howell said. “It’s a huge honor.”
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.
“Jeff expertly serves the government and our industry partners with his deep technical understanding of RFAAP production processes, cost structures and the ammunition supply business. Jeff has an outsized impact on the AMC, the Army, and DoD as the issues he works to solve frequently draw the attention of senior leaders in the ammunition enterprise, JMC, the AMC commander and even the Secretary of the Army,” said Robert “Rob” Davie, the deputy to the commander at RFAAP. “He provides superb leadership to his team to accomplish exceptional technical reviews of multiple contractor proposals for modernization, identifies risks to the Army, and develops alternative courses of action that can yield better results.
“Jeff’s direct engagement, intellect, wealth of ammunition enterprise knowledge, personal relationships with his stakeholder partners, and leadership contributes directly to the success of the ammunition enterprise,” Davie added. “He holds his team accountable to high standards and compassionately coaches them to successfully reach those goals.”
Howell loves being able to help the individuals who make up his team, and he takes great pride in seeing them grow.
“I’ve hired a few folks that have come straight out of college and being able to see them go from new college graduate to being in the swing of it and hitting on all cylinders has been my favorite part,” Howell said. “The Army and DoD throws so many different curveballs so you must be open minded and ready for all of those opportunities for progress.
“If you allow yourself to get out of your comfort zone, then that is where you really see growth.”
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