2008 SWO awards recognize acquisition excellence

  • Published
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  The Electronic Systems Center honored its best of the best for acquisition excellence on Oct. 29 at a packed Hanscom Minuteman Club during the 2008 Shiely, Wright and O'Neill Awards Banquet. 

General Bruce Carlson, Commander Air Force Materiel Command was the guest speaker for the banquet and joined Electronic Systems Center Commander, Lt. Gen. Ted Bowlds in presenting the awards. 

The first award presented was The Harold M. Wright award which is given annually to two civilian employees within ESC, recognizing them for their outstanding contributions to the Center's mission. The award is given in honor of Harold M. Wright, the then Electronic Systems Division commander's chief technical adviser, from 1969 until his retirement in 1973. 

The awards are presented in two categories: GS-13 and below and GS-14 and above. The 2008 winners of the Harold M. Wright Award are David Setser of the 551st Electronic Systems Wing in the GS-14 and above category and Linda Sasser of the ESC Contracting Division in the GS-13 and below category.

As chief of the AWACS Net-Centric Capability Integration Branch for the 551st Electronic Systems Group, Mr. Setser solved the E-3 Warfighter's Urgent Operational Need for Internet Relay Chat capability on deployed E-3 aircraft. He anticipated the user's needs and worked seamlessly with Air Combat Command and the 552nd Air Control Wing to develop focused requirements. Mr. Setser exceeded the warfighter's accelerated need date by compressing a six- month multi-agency process to just five days. His program was critical to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom operations at Sohil Larem and Phatan Gahr, helping secure the ground commander's objectives in the 2008 Iraqi spring offensive. He also championed ESC Net Centricity efforts by leading developmental efforts across wings and services. Mr. Setser led ESC's $9 million Line-of-Sight/Beyond Line-of-Sight initiative at Empire Challenge 2008, shattering traditional communication stovepipes. In addition to his work, Mr. Setser supports his community by providing support for church youth group cancer awareness activities.

As program manager for Advisory & Assistance Services Contracts, ESC Contracting division, Ms. Sasser spearheaded the transition of centralized management and performance-based approach to provide A&AS for the entire Center. Ms. Sasser is the central figure in saving ESC a projected $300 million in acquisition support costs over the life of the two newest A&AS contracts. Her disciplined performance-based principles saved scarce taxpayer dollars for increased capability for the warfighter. As the ESC Professional Acquisition Support Services contract Task Order selection chair, Ms. Sasser simultaneously led Fair Opportunity competitions in two phases awarding 24 Task Orders valued at over $700 million. She also led and mentored 24 technical evaluation teams, which relied heavily on her advice through more than 150 Task Order proposals. Ms. Sasser serves her community as a volunteer with Billerica Youth Basketball, Worcester Veterans Shelter and AFCEA membership.

The next award presented was the Lt. Gen. John W. O'Neill award which is given annually to two military officers within ESC and recognizes those officers who made outstanding contributions to the Center's mission. The namesake for the trophy, Lt. Gen. John W. O'Neill, served as the Electronic Systems Division commander from July 1964 to July 1967. The awards are presented in two categories: major and below, and lieutenant colonel and above. The 2008 winners of the Lt. Gen. John W. O'Neill Award are Lt. Col. Brian Ruhm of the 350th Electronic Systems Wing in the Lieutenant Colonel and above category and Capt. Louis Duncan of the 551st Electronic Systems Wing in the Major and below category.

Colonel Ruhm serves as the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System Programs, chief where he leads the nation's largest global Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program. As program manager for the $1.5 billion Air Force Distributed Common Ground System, Colonel Ruhm led simultaneous fielding of the Block 10.2 system to more than 19 worldwide sites in addition to development of next generation Block 20 acquisition strategy and deployment of DCGS Integration Backbone to Army, Navy, Marine and National mission partners. Following a catastrophic pre-ship test, Colonel Ruhm directed a comprehensive $13 million overhaul of the entire AF DCGS Block 10.2 system. Eight months after the "crash and burn" pre-ship test, Colonel Ruhm re-accomplished end-to-end test of full Net Centric capability, which resulted in slashing U-2 image processing from one hour to less than 30 seconds and data to web portal in eight seconds. He answered the Secretary of the Air Force's ISR challenge by upgrading the Kansas Air National Guard with a $24 million U-2, Global Hawk and Predator capability which advanced new Predator Net Centric software by six months. Colonel Ruhm is actively involved with the Group's Booster Club and Morale Planning Committees. 

Captain Duncan serves as the Joint Precision Air Drop System, program manager, 951st Electronic Systems Group, where he has led all aspects of the rapid acquisition and fielding of the Joint Precision Air Drop System, enabling the warfighter to make one million pounds of precision Area of Responsibility drops monthly. Captain Duncan used his joint force experience to align Air Force and Navy free fall requirements by fusing multiple users on JPADS fielding methodology and air drop request protocol. As a result of his efforts 95 percent of air drops in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom use JPADS to accomplish precision drops. He is an acquisition warrior and model joint operations officer that trained and mentored Operation Iraqi Freedom Special Forces. Captain Duncan led nine Special Operations Forces air planners as chief of Integrated Air Team and resident air support expert executing 1,544 sorties, 216 with fire support that led to the capture of 150 insurgents and 210 enemies killed in action. He meticulously validated more than 800 requests for air support and guaranteed scarce air assets were allocated to proper missions. Captain Duncan serves the community by providing briefings to local schools on potential opportunities in the military and motivating future leaders. 

The next award presented was the Maj. Gen. Albert R. Shiely Jr. Award for organizational acquisition excellence to the most outstanding Major and Minor programs at ESC. The award is named for General Shiely who, during his 31-year military career, served the Electronic Systems Division in at least six different positions, including commander. The 2008 winners of the Maj. Gen. Albert R. Shiely, Jr award are the Mission Planning Systems program from the 551st Wing and the Integrated Base Defense Security System Program from the 554th Wing.

The Mission Planning System Program is a $1.2 billion Major Defense Acquisition Program as well as a Major Automated Information System program; developing, fielding and sustaining mission planning capabilities supporting more than 40 Air Force, Navy, Army strike, UAV, reconnaissance, tanker, airlift, and special mission aircraft in addition to 36 Allied Air Forces. The program involves complex integration of requirements to provide mission data to numerous configurations of weapons, avionics and radars, and aircraft Operational Flight Programs. In a quick-reaction response to a warfighter urgent operational need, the team supported new precision strike planning and airdrop capabilities enabling never before seen delivery accuracy. The program enabled the F-15 planning environment to sustain the first-ever Small Diameter Bomb employment and enabled Beyond Line of Sight capability in the Global War on Terror. The program also saved lives in the AOR by fast-tracking the fielding of a $3.6 million revolutionary Improvised Explosive Device sensing and prediction software capability in support of joint urgent operational needs six months ahead of schedule ensuring full interoperability with joint information systems. 

The Integrated Base Defense Security System Program, 642nd Electronic Systems Squadron, developed and deployed security systems that had an immediate and critical impact on American warfighters by directly engaging enemy forces. In response to a Central Command Joint Urgent Operational Need sponsored by the Army, the squadron awarded an $81 million contract that delivers base intrusion detection systems to 91 forward operating bases across Afghanistan. In addition, the team fast-tracked and delivered $4.6 million of Tactical Automated Security System kits to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Afghanistan in less than 90 days protecting more than 9000 Marines. With innovation and process improvement as its guide, the squadron operated "outside the box" when it turned to the National Guard to install a new flightline security system to protect the $2.6 billion, C-130 fleet at Little Rock Air Force Base saving $1.2 million in cost and trimming six months from traditional contractor installation. 

Congratulations to the 2008 Shiely, Wright and O'Neill award winners.