Category: United States Navy

Source: United States Navy

The award, given since 2000, will be presented by the National Commander Paul E. Dillard on stage at the Legion’s national convention in Milwaukee, WI, Monday, Aug 29- Thursday, Sept. 01 2022.

Service members will be nominated by their commanding officer based primarily on the level of volunteerism they perform off-duty in a local community. Commanding officers may nominate only one sailor from their command.

Eligible Sailors must have served from Jan.1-Dec. 31, 2021, be E-5 or below during the period of service and epitomize Navy core values. Nominees may be active or Reserve, but must be outstanding military professionals. Previous winners of this award are not eligible.

Nomination packages must be contained in one PDF and be submitted on command letterhead. The package must include the following:

• Indication of the CO’s confidence in the Sailor’s professionalism as a representative of the Navy
• A description of the Sailor’s volunteer service performed
• A high-resolution JPEG full body photograph and a high-resolution JPEG head-and-shoulders photograph of the Sailor
• The Sailor’s biography
• A signed consent for release of information

The CO must also note a commitment to facilitate their nominee’s mandatory attendance at the American Legion national convention if selected. Endorsements are not required.

The CO’s description of their nominee’s volunteer efforts must include quantitative data such as hours, days, or months spent on off-duty volunteer community service. Command-sponsored volunteer activities, either on-duty or off-duty, will not be counted. This description should be provided in a bullet format.

If chosen as the award recipient, the nominee’s submitted JPEG photos will be used in printed and online material to publicize and document the award ceremony. The photo should be similar to those commonly associated with Navy leader biographies and official portrait photos.

If chosen as the award recipient, the biography will be used in the Legion’s magazine and convention program. The biography should include hometown information, as well as professional highlights and qualifications.

A written and signed statement of consent by the sailor, authorizing release of information contained in the nomination, is required per the Privacy Act of 1974. The following statement is a sample of written consent: “I, (rate/rank/full name), do hereby authorize the release of all information enclosed in this nomination package to those persons involved in the selection process.”

The American Legion will provide travel and lodging expenses for the individual winner only. The winner is responsible for travel expenses for family members or guests.

Nomination packages should be emailed to kristine.a.garland.civ@us.navy.mil by May 17, 2022. The Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) will consolidate all nominations, organize a ranking board, and recommend the top candidates to the American Legion, which will make the selection. NAVCO will inform the winner and also notify those not selected.

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veteran’s organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.

For further information, please contact Kristine Garland at to kristine.a.garland.civ@us.navy.mil The NAVADMIN can be found here:
https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Portals/55/Messages/NAVADMIN/NAV2022/NAV22079.txt?ver=jPIu6z8_YF79kydz3pQpuw%3d%3d

To view a sample package of a previous winner, visit https://www.outreach.navy.mil/Outreach/ExecutiveOutreach/. 

Source: United States Navy

The award recognizes individuals for their innovative and noteworthy achievements in the modernization and/or advancement of information technology, positively impacting the Navy’s mission for years to come.

Plante received the award for her superior leadership and significant contributions to NAVWAR’s migration to a single Microsoft Office 365 (M365) collaboration and productivity environment known as Flank Speed that will improve security and, over time, deliver additional tools to support a more productive Navy workforce.

NAVWAR Executive Director John Pope commended Plante for her success. 

“Amanda fearlessly stepped up to the plate, leading the command in the transition to Flank Speed, providing increased data security in a new cloud environment, improving user experience, and providing modern collaboration capabilities to support the distributed workforce of One NAVWAR.”

Under Plante’s lead the team successfully migrated nearly 10 years of data off six collaboration tools by the end of fiscal year 2021. To ensure a seamless transition, Plante established FS migration training, facilitating training for over 3,600 employees across the command, reducing adoption resistance in the workforce.

“This award came as quite the surprise,” said Plante. “It is an honor to be recognized by AFCEA for all my efforts leading our command through a major technology transition.”

Plante continues to support the FS migration and adoption efforts, leading a M365 Power Automate and Power Applications community which furthers NAVWAR’s adoption of the M365 Power Platform by automating manual processes such as the purchase card process. With a robust and engaging education campaign, Plante overcomes user apprehension by clearly communicating benefits of M365, presenting solutions in practical terms that resonated with users. 

About AFCEA:

AFCEA is a professional association that connects people, ideas and solutions globally by developing networking and educational opportunities and providing them in an ethical forum, enabling military, government, industry and academia to align technology and strategy to meet the needs of those who serve.

About NAVWAR:

NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.

Source: United States Navy

OSHA defines recordable injuries or illnesses as those that result in days away from work, restricted work or transfer to another job; medical treatment beyond first aid; or loss of consciousness. A case also meets the recording criteria if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional.

In 2021, FRCE recorded 36 mishaps, a 27 percent reduction compared to the previous year and a more than 60 percent decrease compared to mishaps recorded in 2016.

“Throughout the years, the Safety and Occupational Health division at FRC East continued to educate employees, develop policies and procedures and implement them,” said Angelo Owens, the safety director at FRCE. “All of that, after a certain number of years, comes together to have positive effects. I believe that’s what we are experiencing here. Not only does the command support and promote certain policies and procedures in the way we perform work, we also have managers and supervisors who understand what their responsibilities are and employees who know what their responsibilities are.”

Owens and Brian Snow, the assistant safety director at FRCE, both cite participation in the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) as an important catalyst in forming the safety culture that exists at the depot. VPP recognizes employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries. To participate, employers must submit an application to OSHA and undergo a rigorous onsite evaluation by a team of safety and health professionals.

“We started on this road in 2006 with our involvement in VPP,” Snow said. “Just getting the command into the mindset to do it actually got us on the right road to reducing injuries. The application process in itself is a huge undertaking. They came in to evaluate and we did it.”

In 2019, FRCE achieved the OSHA VPP Star Status in two of the depot’s application areas—smaller subsections of the expansive facility, each consisting of no more than 500 employees—becoming the first Naval Aviation command to reach that level.

“VPP Star is the highest recognition you can achieve with OSHA,” Owens said. “When you say you are a VPP Star site, it states that your safety and health programs exceed OSHA regulatory requirements in an exemplary manner. When you consider that there only 21 VPP Star recognized sites in the entire Department of the Navy, and that we are one of them, it’s pretty exceptional.”

According to Owens, collaboration and discussion play important roles in the VPP process.

“It’s an all-hands effort and that’s the way OSHA approaches it,” Owens said. “We all need to be involved in the process. Communication is very important because it allows employees, supervisors, managers and leadership to talk about the issues we come across and how we can minimize the operational risk that we have here.”

VPP participants are re-evaluated every three to five years to remain in the program.

“We’ll be reevaluated in January of 2023,” Owens said. “What that means is that representatives from OSHA out of Atlanta, Georgia, will come to our facility for a week. They’ll bring with them a team of people who will be walking around and asking to see our programs, see our documentation of trainings and conduct periodic inspections. They’ll be going out talking to our supervisors and employees to substantiate that what we are doing on paper is what we are actually doing within our facility.”

FRCE’s participation in VPP has not gone unnoticed. The Department of the Navy is now collaborating with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on a study aimed at evaluating VPP’s effectiveness in reducing noncombat injuries. This study will evaluate five VPP establishments by comparing VPP units to non-VPP control units matched on size and function. The Navy chose FRCE as one of the five VPP participants to take part in the study.

The command was also recognized by the North Carolina Department of Labor for its efforts to keep the workforce safe by being presented two “Million Hour” awards and the depot’s fourth consecutive “Gold Award.”

To meet the Gold Award standard, an organization must have had no fatalities during the award year, and also post a days away, restricted or transferred rate at least 50 percent below the industry average. For FRCE, that means the aircraft maintenance industry. Million Hour safety awards are given to firms which accumulate 1 million employee hours with no injuries or illnesses involving days away from work. Subsequent awards are given for each additional 1 million employee hours with no injuries or illnesses.

FRCE also recently completed International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001 recertification. ISO 45001 is the world’s international standard for occupational health and safety, issued to protect employees and visitors from work-related accidents and diseases.

“You can never let up,” Snow said. “Often, you reach a goal and the tendency is to take your pack off, but we haven’t been doing that. We just continue to press forward. It’s a continuing effort.”

Owens agreed, adding that continuous effort is vital considering the scope of the depot’s safety program.

“We’ve had a good year, but that was last year,” Owens said. “We’re trying to press the gas harder because I believe when you are performing well you need to work even harder to maintain that level of performance. There are more than 53 safety and occupational health programs we oversee in various capacities, ranging from radiation safety to fall protection. We are doing a good job, but I believe we can always do better.”

While Owens and his team are proud of FRCE’s safety record and achievements, he says the main focus is on protecting the depot’s most important asset.

“As we continue to put aircraft out, we have to ensure we are doing it in a manner that protects our employees,” he said. “We genuinely care about the FRC East family and we want to ensure the people who come here to work have a safe and healthy environment to work in.”  

Source: United States Navy

The APU filter is a consumable item that is replaced after 1,120 flight hours; it is ordinarily used for one cycle and disposed of after removal. With 375 aircraft in the Marine Corps fleet, the filter is a commonly used item, with a replacement rate of about 100 a month. The quarter-sized metallic filter is available from only one source and, due to supply-chain issues, the supplier couldn’t keep up with demand. With no filters to be found in the supply system, APU engineering and logistics personnel had to come up with a creative solution to fill the needs of the V-22 aircraft and the APUs undergoing overhaul at FRCE.     

“We looked around for any retail or hidden assets that we might have stored away somewhere, but didn’t find anything,” said Joe Carson, V-22 Power and Propulsion logistics team lead at FRCE. “The filter was a consumable item, so typically the last option would be to ask engineering to reuse something that’s a disposable item—but in this case, that was the last solution we had.”

The filter is part of a critical oil line that helps engage the APU clutch to the mid-wing gearbox in order to start the V-22’s main engines. Fleet maintainers are instructed to replace the filters when they are found to be clogged during inspection, but the supplier was not expecting deliveries until March 2022. That meant that several aircraft would not fly until filters could be found.

“Most engineers don’t like reusing something that’s consumable, because it’s consumable for a reason,” said Rob Wansker, FRCE V-22 Power and Propulsion APU senior engineer. “So we consider, what’s the consequence of using this for a prolonged period of time? Can we push back the timeframe of replacement? We weighed our short- and long-term options, and we decided to see if we could clean and recertify the filters we had.”

Engineering consulted with the Materials Engineering lab at FRCE to determine the best way to clean the small mesh filter. After experimenting with a few scrap filters, FRCE chemist Megan Goold found a procedure that would allow the filters to be cleaned and reused if new filters were not available.

“I wanted to do the easiest cleaning possible, using materials the APU shop already had on hand that would be easily and readily available to the fleet as well,” Goold said. “The easiest thing would be hand cleaning, so we tried different things in the lab until we found something that worked.”

Isopropyl alcohol and a commonly used degreasing solvent did the trick, and engineering created a temporary instruction for depot and fleet maintainers to follow until the filters became more readily available through supply.

Another hurdle to solving this problem was that used filters were not readily available to clean. Disposable items like the filters are typically thrown away following maintenance procedures, which meant no stock of used filters existed. Wansker coordinated with depot and fleet mechanics working on V-22 APUs to encourage them to set aside the used filters in case they were needed for inspection and cleaning.

“We then took the filters that looked like good candidates, and cleaned and tested them according to the temporary procedure we had created,” Wansker said. “Once we were able to get a batch of clean filters that engineering had approved, we were able to send those directly to the squadrons in order for them to be installed on an APU.”

The engineering and logistics team had a temporary solution in place within a few weeks of identifying the supply problem. In that time, four aircraft had been grounded waiting for APU servo-valve filters, and the ability to clean and reissue the filters quickly returned those V-22 Ospreys
to duty.

V-22 team members say the incident reminds them that even projects that seem routine can have profound impacts on the warfighters they serve.

“The V-22 Osprey is a massive aircraft, and to think that our team’s assistance with this project was able to get these aircraft back in the air helps put the importance of what we do in perspective,” Wansker said.   

Source: United States Navy

The Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) program aims to train and equip Navy Reserve personnel as a firefighting force capable of rapidly mobilizing in cases of natural or manmade disasters, as well as provide relief and support for routine base functions. It was founded in 2007.

The course runs annually. It lasts nine weeks and qualifies graduates with six major certifications: First Aid Provider, Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Awareness, HAZMAT Operations, HAZMAT Mission Specific Competent Personal Protective Equipment, Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, and Aircraft & Rescue Firefighting. These graduates will also be awarded the Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC) 786B: Shore Base Airport and Aircraft Firefighter.

“This training builds the future force of Navy Reserve firefighters,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Senior Chief Anthony Pena, the CNIC F&ES Military Firefighter Program Manager. “Students enter scenarios that challenge their natural instinct to save themselves and are encouraged to focus on saving others. The skills learned during this course can be use on the first day of their operational careers.”

This year’s graduating class comprises a mixture of personnel that fall under NR F&ES. Because this year’s class was smaller in size than previous years, students received nearly one-on-one facilitation and more hands-on training time during live fire burns and practical evolutions, resulting in a distinctly high-performing and unified team.

The graduates join the more than 150 NR Sailors capable of augmenting fire stations on installations around the world. Each is assigned to one of the four detachments under the NR CNIC headquarters F&ES or the NR Europe, Africa, Central F&ES/Air Operations Unit. The unit locations were strategically chosen to best equip fleet concentration areas and support any Department of Defense (DoD) installation worldwide.

This year, nine additional students joined for the last portion of the Academy course, to participate in the Aircraft and Rescue Firefighting Course only. Many of these students were catching up on training and certification impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The certifications earned reciprocate on the civilian side, allowing NR F&ES personnel to work at both military and civilian fire stations. Graduates often attain firefighting positions in civilian fire departments throughout the U.S. during their off-duty time.

This was the 5^th consecutive year for it to be hosted in Naval District Washington at Naval Support Activity Annapolis. The continued working relationship has strengthened bonds between instructors and NR F&ES leadership and allowed for both parties to better manage processes and support.

The NR CNIC F&ES program now boasts over 190 billets, with growth expected to continue, as requests for support come from around the world. Graduates stand ready to support emergency demand signals, postured to support a variety of contingent situations. NR CNIC F&ES is always searching for qualified or highly motivated personnel to join the team – to answer the call, “Ready Now. Anytime, Anywhere.”