ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — APG celebrated the C5ISR Hall of Fame Class of 2023 on June 22, 2023, in the Myer Auditorium and virtually on Microsoft Teams.
APG Senior Commander and Commanding General of CECOM Maj. Gen. Robert L. Edmonson II hosted the event alongside the ceremony’s official party who presented the inductees with tokens of appreciation and their C5ISR Hall of Fame trophies.
The official party included: Edmonson; Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, program executive officer of PEO C3T; Joseph Welch, director of DEVCOM; Mark Kitz, director of PEO IEW&S; Col. Greg Napoli, chief of staff of Army Futures Command’s N-CFT; and Emily Feely, mission operations director of ACC-APG.
Edmonson opened the ceremony with remarks, showing his admiration for the audience’s attendance.
“Events like this ceremony allow us a much-needed opportunity to not only reflect upon our distinguished past, but also to look ahead towards the future,” he began.
Edmonson recognized the dedication it took to uphold the Army’s mission.
“It takes a great deal of innovation, collaboration and courageous stewardship to develop, modernize, field and sustain the C5ISR technologies that ensure that our Army remains the best in the world,” Edmonson said. “It is our people who are tasked with the crucial mission of keeping our Soldiers equipped with state-of-the-art C5ISR systems while simultaneously maintaining legacy platforms that are in use today.”
“I am proud to be among you. We are the best Army in the world because we have the best workforce in the world,” Edmonson continued. “Today we honor five remarkable leaders who have worked diligently throughout their careers.”
Following Edmonson’s remarks, the C5ISR Hall of Fame Class of 2023 was formally inducted.
Col. (Ret.) James F. Costigan
Costigan served as the CECOM military deputy for Operations and Support from 2005-2007. He played an important role in the Base Realignment and Closure that relocated CECOM and C5ISR mission partners from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey to APG.
Costigan provided the audience with a few words of advice.
“The people who make the biggest difference in your life aren’t the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards,” he said. “They simply are the ones who care the most. [So] be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”
Stephen D. Kreider
Kreider served as the PEO for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors from 2012-2016. Previously, he was the Director for Combined Test Organization, establishing the Network Integration Event, the premier C5ISR system testing event prior to Project Convergence.
Kreider challenged the younger generation to find people they can sit down with to reflect and hold open discussions.
“It’s all about your relationship with people,” he stated. “Go find senior leaders, mentors and staff and realize the value of the experiences they had and use them.”
Steven Pizzo
Pizzo began his career in 1986 as the chief of the Engineering Division for the Center for Electronic Warfare/Reconnaissance Surveillance and Target Acquisition before he served as an electronics engineer for EWRSTA. He is recognized within the research and development community as one of the Army’s most distinguished systems engineers and is also known for his innovative contracting techniques.
Pizzo said he felt “special” being recognized with his mentors who have also been inducted into the C5ISR Hall of Fame.
“The organizations change names. They were combined. They were split. They moved. But the mission was important, and it always continued,” he stated.
Edward J. Plitcha
Plitcha is nationally renowned as an inventor and subject matter expert across a multitude of fields, including chemical engineering, research and development, power and energy technologies, and environmental control systems. He is the principal inventor of the high-voltage stable electrolytes that enabled the most popular rechargeable battery chemistry today—the lithium-ion battery.
Plitcha called his career in the Army “a remarkable journey.”
“I was not alone in my endeavors and certainly could not have success in obtaining my achievements and recognitions over the years without the support and collaborations with my esteemed colleagues, both past and present,” he said.
Frank W. Zardecki
Zardecki served as the deputy to the commander at Tobyhanna Army Depot before retiring after 60 years of government service. His efforts helped establish TYAD as the premier electronics depot in the DoD and as a major employer in the Northeast. He was instrumental in developing and mentoring the TYAD workforce to ensure TYAD would lead the DoD organic industrial base well into the future.
Zardecki called the TYAD workforce the “biggest reward.”
“It’s all about the people,” he said. “And if we’re going to survive into the future, [we’ve got to] develop a good workforce behind [it].”
About the C5ISR Hall of Fame
The C5ISR Hall of Fame recognizes and memorializes former members of the C5ISR community, which includes both Soldiers and civilians from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command C5ISR Center, Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications – Tactical, Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, and Network Cross-Functional Team who have made a significant and enduring contribution to the community and the Army.
This was the eighth induction ceremony for Hall of Fame and the fourth since it was renamed as C5ISR.
To watch the ceremony, visit: https://dod.teams.microsoft.us/l/meetup-join/19%3adod%3ameeting_995636d88e8d4a75b7d6b7ac767f35ad%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22fae6d70f-954b-4811-92b6-0530d6f84c43%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225367987d-e4d5-4dc5-b5b6-6b7ef39f5fbc%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d.
To see photos from the event, click here to visit the CECOM Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAKCcy.
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