Navy Lab Experts Honored with Awards

Researchers at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division (NSWCCD) are being honored for achievements that will protect the environment.

Mary L. Wenzel has won the prestigious 2002 White House Closing the Circle Award for her work in developing an innovative ISO 14001 Certified Environmental Management System (EMS) for the Lewis and Clark Class (T-AKE) Acquisition Program. (The T-AKE Class provides a two-product shuttle ship replacing the aging Combat Store (AFS) and Ammunition (AE) shuttle fleet ships.) Wenzel is detailed to the T-AKE Program Office as the Environmental, Safety and Health Program Manager. Under her leadership in carrying out Executive Order 13148 "Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management", the office succeeded in breaking new ground, becoming the first DOD acquisition program to implement an environmental management system and achieve ISO 14001 certification. This is the latest honor for the team that developed and implemented the EMS. The EMS defines the process the Navy applies ensuring the next class of combat logistics force ships and associated systems and equipment are designed and delivered to minimize effects on health and the environment. The project team of Wenzel, Mary Jo Bieberich and Lauren S. Kuhn won the FY 02 Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Naval Sea Systems Command Environmental Awards for Environmental Excellence in Weapons Systems Acquisition. It is also one of the nominees for the 2001 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award. The "Closing the Circle" ceremony is scheduled for June 4th in the auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

The Naval Sea Systems Command Pollution Prevention Working Group (P2WG) won the 2001 CNO Pollution Prevention Team Award. The P2WG assists the afloat, ashore and acquisition communities developing proactive and cost effective pollution prevention programs. Members from NSWCCD include Carlos Cruz, Robin Hays, George Filiopoulos and Doug Vaughters. Filiopoulos and Vaughters are detailed to the DD(X) and CVN(X) Project Offices, respectively, as Environmental, Safety and Health Managers.

The USS WINSTON S. CHURCHILL (DDG 81) shock trial took place off the Atlantic Coast near Florida from May through June 2001. Three successive ordnance detonations were set off in the ocean, testing the survivability of the ship and crew in a near-miss underwater explosion. An environmental team of Navy civilian employees, contractors and representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service develops National Environmental Policy Act documentation and implements a comprehensive mitigation plan. The team conducted a series of public outreach meetings with local, state and federal interested parties. Public inquiries were answered and incorporated into the documentation. The mitigation plan resulted in no "takes" of marine animals from three detonations. The successes of the team established sound baseline mitigation procedures, now available for future acquisition programs and an environmental impact statement that set a high benchmark for technical and scientific quality. The Chief of Naval Operations recognized their accomplishment with his Environmental and Natural Resources Award for 2001 in a ceremony April 30th. NSWCCD's James Craig was a member of the team.