REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (June 23, 2026) – There was something extra special about Dr. James Kirsch being named the Dr. Richard “Dick” Rhoades 2026 DA Civilian of the Year June 18.
Not only was his entire leadership team present, but his former deputy Miranda Oden, the night’s keynote speaker, was there to congratulate her former boss.
The resulting surprise left Kirsch uncharacteristically without words.
“I am a little bit speechless,” Kirsch told the crowd assembled at the Jackson Center. “I didn’t even know my team had nominated me; they pulled one over on me. If they had sent the list to me like they were supposed to … but they didn’t do that.”
Once again, the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center had a strong showing at the annual Association of the U.S. Army Redstone – Huntsville Chapter awards, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of Team Redstone civilians nominated by their commands.
In addition to Kirsch, six DEVCOM AvMC team members and matrixed employees were recognized in the Technical/Technical Management Category: Steven Braddom, Dr. Jeffrey Gaddes, Robert Olson, Larry Pledger, Bradley Easterwood and Justin Randle.
Oden, former longtime member of the DEVCOM AvMC team and current Executive Director for the Portfolio Acquisition Executive Fires, spoke of personally witnessing the impact Dr. Dick Rhoades had as a leader in the Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, which would become DEVCOM AvMC.
“The names attached to awards are never just ceremonial. They carry legacy, and I think many of you in this room who knew Dr. Rhoades would say that he carried a legacy across the community in the vision he had to progress this community forward: from a contracting perspective, from a logistics perspective, from a business perspective. Legacy is not simply what we accomplish for ourselves; legacy is what we inspire in others.”
Not just a retrospective, Oden used the keynote as an opportunity to issue a challenge to the leaders in the room.
“I want you to keep leading. I want you to keep solving problems. I want you to keep setting the standard. But most importantly, I want you to keep being you – and I am not just challenging the awardees, I am challenging everyone in the room. Thank you for the long hours, the extra effort you put in, for being who you are, and helping the Army be the best Army it can be in these very challenging times.
“My biggest challenge to everybody in this room is when you walk through the door Monday morning, find someone in your formation and tell them thank you for what they are doing. Because that thank you will go an extremely long way in making their day that much better.”
For Kirsch, the award highlighted the accomplishments of the entire DEVCOM AvMC formation during a challenging period of reorganization.
“None of us are up here for our individual accomplishments. Everything we do, we do as a team, and I tell people all over the country that when we say Team Redstone, it is not just a phrase, it’s not just wishful thinking. Whether it’s the intergovernmental team, or our industry partners, or the community of Huntsville and Madison County as a whole, it truly is a team.”
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About DEVCOM AvMC: DEVCOM AvMC is the nexus of Army aviation and missile modernization, where the operational requirements of Transformation and Training Command (T2COM) are fused with the acquisition strategies of the Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE). As the Army’s primary source of deep technical expertise, the Center provides the innovative science and responsive life-cycle engineering that allows the PAEs to execute programs at speed, delivering the asymmetric capabilities required to ensure our Soldiers dominate on the battlefield.
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