Hanscom personnel capture AFLCMC acquisition awards

  • Published
  • By Mark Wyatt
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – The winners of 2017 Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Acquisition Management awards were announced during a ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, Nov. 7.

The ceremony, held via VTC, included Hanscom and six other operating locations. The awards recognize AFLCMC teams and individuals who have demonstrated excellence in managing acquisition and test programs.

“Representing your PEO [program executive officer] and directorate here today is a huge accomplishment,” said Kevin Keck, Acquisition Excellence and Program Execution director, to the more than 60 nominees. “I congratulate our finalists and our award recipients throughout the center.”

Capt. Gabrielle Noce, Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate advanced multimedia network program manager and electronic warfare program manager, won the Outstanding Acquisition Manager award in the captain and below category.

Noce managed more than $1 billion in special operations programs while serving on a six-month Special Operations Command Ghost deployment.

Brian Davies, a program manager trainee for three C3I and Networks programs, is the Outstanding Program Manager Trainee Award recipient.

Among myriad other accomplishments, Davies led the $42 million Fourth Global Hawk Program.

Brian Ruhm, Battle Management Program Executive Group portfolio manager to the program executive officer, captured the Outstanding Acquisition Staff award in the Civilian Category.

During the award period, Ruhm proactively engaged with the secretary of the Air Force for acquisitions on designing and training a new monthly activity-reporting tool that resulted in 100 percent participation for on-site acquisitions training and perfected reporting.

In the Senior Foreign Military Sales Program Management Award category, William Cook, branch chief for Qatar Programs, Battle Management International and Foreign Military Sales Division, captured the award.

Cook served as the Battle Management program executive officer’s lead systems integrator of the $12 billion Qatar Integrated Air and Missile Defense portfolio, expanding Air Force programs from $500 million to $1.95 billion for Qatar.

Dr. Donald Hoying, Battle Management program manager for the Strategic Warning and Surveillance Systems Division at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, won the Outstanding Civilian Acquisition Category III Program Manager award.

As program manager, Hoying led a multi-faceted $630 million program to sustain and modernize five Early Warning Radars in support of Missile Warning, Missile Defense, and Space Situational Awareness.

Lt. Col. Timothy Helfrich, materiel leader for the Communications Systems Quick reaction Capability Brand, is the Outstanding Military Acquisition Category II Program Manager recipient.

Helfrich led an 83-member team, managing the Acquisition Category II-equivalent Battlefield Airborne Communications Node program and directing operations for three quick reaction capability programs, three rapid innovation fund projects, 18 small business innovation fund programs, and operations for a tactical data link network laboratory.

Col. Andrew Knoedler, division chief for the Airspace Mission Planning Division in the Battle Management Directorate, won the Outstanding Military Program Management Acquisition Category I.

Knoedler led his division in the development of mission planning software for 26 aircraft. He leads a $1.3 billion portfolio; executing a $493 million annual budget serving an acquisition category one program and nine acquisition category three programs to migrate aircraft from legacy planning systems to the Joint Mission Planning System.

This was the fifth annual LCMC acquisition management awards ceremony.