ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Attorney Advisor Amanda Westrich is the winner of the U.S. Army Materiel Command’s 2023 Joyce I. Allen Attorney Award. This award recognizes the AMC attorney who best exemplifies the highest professional standards in the quality of legal advice provided to clients in AMC and the Army. The award is given annually to a civilian, military attorney, or patent advisor for outstanding accomplishments in the services of the legal profession and the community.
Westrich works with federal law enforcement to protect the government from procurement fraud. She tracks, serves as a reference, and assigns these cases going in and out of APG. Westrich has served as a DA civilian at APG for five years.
“I grew up with my dad in the Navy and always wanted to serve [the country] in some capacity,” she said. “While I didn’t end up going the military route, I thought this was a good way too.”
Westrich grew up in Bel Air and attended John Carrol High School. After high school, she attended e University of Delaware as a Russian and criminal justice major. Dreaming higher, Westrich decided to attend law school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She worked as a prosecutor in Baltimore County before coming to APG to be an attorney advisor.
APG was nothing new to Westrich, as she visited frequently as a child, she said.
“I remember going to the commissary and [seeing] some of the tanks [parked around post] when I was little,” she added.
(Left) Marion Whicker, executive deputy to the commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command, (Middle) Amanda Westrich, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Attorney Advisor, and (Right) Francis King, chief counsel, AMC Legal Center – Aberdeen Proving Ground, pose at AMC’s 2023 Joyce I. Allen Attorney Award ceremony Oct. 12, 2023. |Courtesy photo.
Teamwork and mentorship
What Westrich likes most about her job, is the team she works with.
“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done is with [my team],” she said. “It’s definitely a team effort.”
Westrich said she has received mentorship from her leadership and coworkers and learns something new every day. This experience encouraged her to be a seek out to be a mentor for to her new teammates.
“I’d like to mentor and leave an impact; whether it’s improving the procurement fraud program or working on higher acquisitions or teaching new attorneys and helping them feel less intimidated [by the legal field],” she stated.
When asked what advice she had for those starting their career as a DA civilian, she said, “Connect with as many people as you can. Learn from the people around you.”
“[Working as a DA civilian] is more than a job,” she added, “It’s a way of life: traditions, cultures, and certain standards that exist working for the Army [compared to] working for a civilian agency.”
Westrich’s nomination
Westrich was nominated by CECOM Chief Counsel Frank P. King.
Her willingness to engage in some of the toughest legal problems, and diligently work to ensure that the legal action pursued is sustainable is why King nominated her, he said.
“[Westrich] contributes significantly to the AMC mission through her work providing legal advice and business judgment on acquisition matters,” King said. “Her detailed research and analysis and savvy approach to legal issues enables her to help clients solve problems. Amanda’s work supports the Army’s modernization efforts and enables readiness of combat forces wherever deployed.”
To be recognized for this award is no small feat, King said.
“This award commemorates the lifelong achievement and service of Joyce I. Allen, a luminary in the AMC Legal Community,” he continued. “One cannot strive to achieve this recognition; one is recognized by performing at a consistently high level and achieving beyond what is expected in their current position. It is the quiet professional who earns this type of recognition. Someone who performs at a high level, not to be recognized by an award, but because it is the right thing to do to support our Army.”
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