Co-Hosted by the
Huntsville Air Defense Artillery Association and the
North Alabama Chapter of the U.S. Field Artillery Association
Ancient Order of St. Barbara Awardees
(Huntsville – Redstone Arsenal Chapter of the Air Defense Artillery Association)
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MAJOR GENERAL FRANK LOZANO
Major General Frank Lozano exemplifies the highest standards of integrity, moral character, outstanding competence, and professionalism that the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara represents. Throughout his distinguished military and educational career, MG Lozano has made significant contributions to the Air Defense Artillery (ADA) branch and the broader field of Air and Missile Defense. His leadership and dedication have been instrumental in advancing the capabilities and readiness of our nation’s defense systems. MG Lozano’s career is marked by a series of strategic and impactful assignments that have led to his current assignment as the Program Executive Officer for Missiles and Space where he has particular and direct impact on all Army Air Defense capabilities. It is also notable for this nomination that in this position, he also impacts all long-range precision and area effects offensive fires weapon systems, a specific interest to the Field Artillery branch. From 2017 to 2020, MG Lozano served as the Project Manager for the Lower Tier Project Office where he successfully led the research, material development, testing, procurement, fielding, sustainment, integration and modernization of all PATRIOT Air and Missile Defense components including PATRIOT Advanced Capability 2 and 3 (PAC-2/3) Missiles, Launchers, Radars, Command and Control assets, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense System (LTAMDS) and integration with the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System assets. The sum values for these efforts were over $8.8 billion for the U.S. Army and $45 billion in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) over the Program Objective Memorandum. His prowess, vision, and desire to improve the Air Defense Branch’s ability to protect our forces gave way to numerous historic milestones in each of the aforementioned air defense systems. As the executive leader of PEO Missiles and Space, he has been at the forefront of most Air and Missile Defense weapons development and fielding, and has influenced the same at some of the highest forums of our government. His visionary approach has resulted in the deployment of cutting-edge technologies that have significantly bolstered our defense posture. His work as the PEO has not only strengthened the ADA branch, but has also had a profound impact on the Field Artillery branch where he has led the development and fielding of precision and area effects weapons. In addition to his military contributions, MG Lozano has been an advocate for education and professional development within the Army. He has mentored countless Department of the Army Civilians and officers, sharing his knowledge and experience to help them grow and excel in their careers. His leadership style is characterized by a commitment to excellence, a focus on continuous improvement, and a deep sense of responsibility to his country and his fellow soldiers. Beyond his uniformed service, MG Lozano has dedicated himself to improving his community through church leadership, philanthropic club involvement, and helping children’s sports, furthering the evidence that he is worthy of this Ancient Order. For his exceptional service, unwavering dedication, and significant contributions to the Air Defense Artillery branch and the field of Air and Missile Defense, Major General Frank Lozano is worthy of the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara. His career is a testament to the values and principles that this prestigious award represents, and his continued service is an inspiration to all who serve in the defense of our nation.
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SERGEANT MAJOR (RETIRED) DAVID POEHLEIN
Since retiring as the Operations Sergeant Major for the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Command in 2015, Sergeant Major (Ret) Poehlein has continued to support the Air and Missile Defense mission and his local community of Huntsville, AL. From 2015-2018, Mr. Poehlein supported the US Army Aviation and Missile Command’s (AMCOM) G35 Strategy, Plans, and Concepts Section as a Senior Missile Analyst. He served as the Missile Subject Matter Expert in the command and in that role; informed, advised, and prepared the CG, Deputy to the CG, Chief of Staff, and Command Sergeant Major (CSM) for all Army Requirements Oversight Council, Strategic Portfolio Analysis and Review, Army System Acquisition Review Council, AMD Council of Colonels and General Officer Steering Committee, and Materiel Release engagements. Among the many accomplishments during that time, he led stakeholder discussions with Letterkenny Army Depot and PEO Missiles and Space to develop courses of action to provide two seed vehicles to 35th ADA Brigade’s Avenger Battery. Mr. Poehlein received the AMCOM CG’s approval and executed the plan which allowed the Avenger Battery to rotate their HMMWVs through the Materiel Support Command-Korea’s 10/20 rebuild program; the first time the prime movers had been rebuilt since arriving in Korea. He also encouraged the AMCOM CSM to begin participating in the ADA Regimental CSM’s Quarterly VTC. From 2018 to the present, Mr. Poehlein has supported PEO Missiles and Space’s Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense (SHIELD) Project Office. He supports the PM SHIELD Future Integration Office by conducting recurring tag ups, technical interchange meetings, and Independent Research and Development briefings with industry partners to maintain situational awareness of new and legacy weapon systems that fit within the PM SHIELD portfolio and to show opportunities to incorporate industry efforts into the PM’s product timelines. Mr. Poehlein also maintains the PM SHIELD 30 Year Roadmap. For the past three years, Mr. Poehlein has supported the Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) High Energy Laser (HEL) and High-Power Microwave (HPM) Transition Team (TT). During this time, he has coordinated and executed over a dozen Soldier Touch Points; logging more than 1,000 Soldier hours capturing comments to ensure prototype systems are safe and have a Soldier Centered design. Mr. Poehlein recently assumed the duties as the acting Transition Project Lead where he supports the Army’s technology maturation and leads the transition of IFPC-HEL and IFPC-HPM to an acquisition pathway that meets the Army’s modernization priorities in delivering the Army of 2030 and informing, shaping, and designing the Army of 2040. Mr. Poehlein volunteers his time as the VP of NCO and Soldier Programs in the Redstone Huntsville chapter of AUSA; coordinating University of Alabama Huntsville Military Appreciation, Sergeant John Ordway Leadership Award, and Veterans Day Breakfast events. Mr. Poehlein has also served as the President of the Army Space Professionals and Redstone Arsenal Sergeants Major Associations (RSASMA). While serving as the RSASMA President, the association hosted the Annual National E9 Reunion. For his exceptional service, unwavering dedication, and significant contributions to the Air Defense Artillery branch and the field of Air and Missile Defense, Sergeant Major (Retired) David Poehlein is worthy of the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara. His career is a testament to the values and principles that this prestigious award represents, and his continued service is an inspiration to all who serve in the defense of our nation.
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Honorable Order of St. Barbara Awardees
(Huntsville – Redstone Arsenal Chapter of the Air Defense Artillery Association)
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MR. TIMOTHY ANDERSON
Timothy A. Anderson distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the U.S. Government from May 12, 1987 to present. Mr. Anderson began his support of the defense of the U.S. as an Air Force Officer, serving as Air Attaché to Burma; Deputy Commander for Range Support, Camp O’Donnell, Republic of the Philippines, Commander of the 555th International Materiel Squadron (United States Air Force (USAF) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) for CENTCOM and PACOM); Defense Contract Management Agency Northern New Jersey (Picatinny Arsenal), and Deputy Director F-16 Contracting Office. He retired into the civil service supporting Headquarters Secretary of the Air Force and was the Director of Contracting, Information Directorate, Air Force Research Lab, in Rome, New York. There, he pioneered the use of an Other Transaction Authority consortium that, in 3 years, resulted in upgrades and improvement on all 60 platforms flown in the USAF. Mr. Anderson joined the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in 2020 Deputy Director for Contracting in Tactical High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and was selected as Director for Contracting in January 2022. He was responsible for the Acquisition Category I THAAD Missile Product Office contracting efforts supporting development and production of THAAD Interceptors. He built a team of 32 contracting professional, mission-focused business advisors who obligated $4.9 billion in FY20 to FY24 and oversees an active portfolio of over $22 billion. As the senior matrixed acquisition functional employee, he advises the THAAD Project Manager (Army Colonel) and two Product Managers (Army Lieutenant Colonels) on implementing sound contracting strategies, policies, and processes (per MDA Directives, Manuals, and Procedures). Mr. Anderson led a team in the contract award of an 8th THAAD Battery for the U.S. Army. His management further ensured continued support for maintenance and sustainment of United Arab Emirates Batteries, as well as $2 billion for seven future Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Batteries. Mr. Anderson served as Acting Deputy Director for Sensors and Services for the Contracting Directorate, MDA, from November 17, 2023, through February 4, 2024. During this period, he supervised the Contracting Directorate portfolio to include research, engineering, advisory, facility and services support as well as space and ground sensors, providing cross-section support across all of MDA. As the THAAD Missile System Director of Contracting, Mr. Anderson supported the Air Defense Artillery Warfighters by helping to continuously improve the THAAD Weapon System. During his tenure, numerous THAAD Interceptors were developed, produced, and delivered to the U.S. and its Allies, greatly enhancing the capability of the Warfighter.
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MR. TOMMY CALHOUN
Mr. Tommy Calhoun is recognized for outstanding contributions to the Air Defense Artillery through his service in multiple leadership roles on Northrop Grumman air and missile defense programs for the U.S. Army, U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and the Department of Defense. His career with Northrop Grumman spans 25 years and encompasses critical roles on the U.S Ground Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) program, the U.S. Army’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), and Poland’s WISLA IBCS Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Mr. Calhoun currently serves as Northrop Grumman Program Director for Poland’s WISLA IBCS program. Poland is acquiring IBCS as the centerpiece of its modernization program for Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) and is the first ally to do so. As the WISLA IBCS Program Director, Mr. Calhoun is responsible for program performance and manages a geographically distributed work force of 270 personnel in Huntsville, Alabama and Warsaw, Poland. In this capacity, and in his prior role as Deputy Program Director, Mr. Calhoun has successfully managed the delivery of the first IBCS enabled PATRIOT Battalion to Poland for WISLA. Mr. Calhoun’s stewardship of the program produced near flawless execution of system integration and checkout and new equipment fielding of IBCS in support of the U.S. Army. Poland’s planned declaration of Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the WISLA program later this year is a testament to Mr. Calhoun’s leadership and many contributions over a six-year period. Prior to his current role, Mr. Calhoun served as the Business Financial Manager for the IBCS program during a period which spanned program standup and early design and development. Mr. Calhoun has also served in several business management roles in support of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, the nation’s operational defense against long-range ballistic missiles. Mr. Calhoun’s leadership and management of these critical programs within the Air and Missile Defense mission area has been exemplary and merits recognition through award of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His career, service and many contributions to the Air Defense Artillery embody the spirit and sense of commitment epitomized by Saint Barbara.
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MR. STEPHEN CASE
Stephen Case embodies the spirit of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara through his unwavering dedication, exceptional competence, and steadfast integrity. As a Department of the Army Civilian, Mr. Case has been an indomitable force within the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space for the past eighteen years, serving in a multitude of roles that have significantly advanced the Air Defense Artillery Branch and the broader Air Defense enterprise. Mr. Case’s journey is marked by a series of accomplishments that underscore his commitment to excellence. He has served as a Product, Program, and Project Manager, as well as Deputy Manager, where his strategic vision and meticulous execution have driven numerous programs to success. His tenure as an Assistant PEO and Deputy Assistant for International Affairs further highlights his ability to navigate complex diplomatic landscapes, fostering international cooperation and strengthening global defense networks. One of Mr. Case’s most notable achievements is his instrumental role in establishing the Integrated Fires Rapid Capability Office. This office has become the cornerstone for Integrated Air and Missile Defense and Offense, a testament to his foresight and leadership. Under his guidance, the Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems Product Office was formalized from the Counter Rocket and Mortar Project Office, laying the foundation for a more integrated and responsive defense infrastructure. This initiative is pivotal in preparing the Air Defense enterprise for the multi-domain operations battlefields of the 21st century. Throughout his career, Mr. Case has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character. His selfless service to the United States Army Air Defense Artillery Branch is evident in his tireless efforts to innovate and improve defense capabilities. Beyond his civil service, he also serves as a Brigadier General in the US Army Reserve. Whether serving in the Front Office of the PEO as the Deputy DASM and Deputy Chief of Staff or leading groundbreaking projects, Mr. Case has consistently prioritized the mission and the well-being of those he serves. Stephen Case’s exceptional leadership, unwavering commitment, and outstanding contributions make him a deserving candidate for the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His work has not only advanced the Air Defense enterprise but has also set a benchmark for future generations of defense professionals.
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MAJOR CATHERINE COLLINSWORTH
Major Catherine L. Collinsworth has made tremendous contributions to Army Air and Missile Defense throughout her 14+ years of Military Service. MAJ Collinsworth is a consummate leader and professional who has advanced the Air Defense Artillery portfolio of capabilities through a variety of positions. Her contributions as an Acquisition Officer with Integrated Fires experience in high priority Army programs such as Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) and Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) demonstrates her significant contributions to the Air Defense Artillery and Fires community. In her role as Assistant Product Manager for M-SHORAD, she led the fielding for New Equipment Training (NET) for the First Unit Equipped (FUE) in Germany. No small feat as she routinely engaged with senior acquisition leaders on M-SHORAD system configuration. While serving as Assistant Product Manager for LTAMDS, she led efforts for system integration and testing within the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) construct and Integrated Fires Test Campaign. MAJ Collinsworth also led the LTAMDS Integrated Product Teams and working groups supporting sensor production and development. She also led the LTAMDS Milestone C document and artifact initiative to develop requirements, establish timelines, and identify stakeholders in support of the acquisition strategy. MAJ Collinsworth’s military training includes graduation from the Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course, SIGINT Course, Military Intelligence Captains Career Course, Weapons Intelligence Course, Intermediate Level Education at the Naval Postgraduate School, and is an Acquisition Corps member with Practitioner Certification in Program Management. Her civilian education includes a Master of Science in System Engineering Management from the Naval Postgraduate School and Batchlor of Science in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Memphis. Due to her meritorious contributions to the Air Defense Artillery community, MAJ Catherine Collinsworth is highly worthy of being inducted as a member of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. MARK DILLINGER
Mr. Mark Dillinger has served as the Strategic Sourcing and Category Management (SSCM) Division Chief, Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), since 2023 and before that as the branch chief for Strategic Sources. He leads a multifunctional team of contract specialists, contracting officers, and acquisition business specialists. Mark’s experience, background and technical competence is unsurpassed. Through his engagement with industry and mission partners, his team has provided advisory and contract support services for the following during his tenure as branch chief and division chief: Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense (SHIELD) program, Search Track Acquire Radiate Eliminate (STARE) program, Integrated Fires Missile Command (IFMC), Patriot, Sentinel, Javelin, Strategic and Operational Rockets & Missiles (STORM) to include Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Improved Armored Cab (IAC). He directly supported both PEO Missiles and Space and PEO Aviation programs/requirements by assisting with contract requirements package development, contract vehicle selection, and acquisition lifecycle management. Under his leadership, the SSCM’s impact on the overall strategic approach to procurement focusing on optimizing the acquisition of goods/services within the specific product and service categories has been critical optimizing buying power. Through the analysis of spending patterns, identification of opportunities for cost and developed strategies to improve supplier performance for major weapons systems. Mark understands the importance of identifying the preferred suppliers or industry partners that can provide exceptional value, quality, and services to the Warfighter. The sources that have been identified through his engagement play a crucial role in category management by reducing costs, improving quality, and streamlining overall procurement timelines/processes. He creatively developed plans to assist in the efficient evaluation of government solicitations which ensured the most qualified and cost-effective suppliers have been selected for performance in support of mission partners. Mr. Dillinger’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. JACOB DIVOLL
Mr. Jacob Divoll has distinguished himself as an outstanding contributor to both the Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery for over 20 years. In his current role as the BlueHalo Vice President for Space and Command and Control, Jacob is directly responsible for the cost, schedule, and technical performance of the Phoenix, CATANA, and JEMS programs. This includes the production, development, and sustainment of numerous Fires products to include a classified Space program and C2 enablers for both for the US Army and Missile Defense Agency (MDA). In this capacity Jacob and his team are the primary customer contact for all program activities where he frequently interfaces with senior Space and Missile Defense Command and MDA leadership. Prior to serving in his current capacity, Jacob made substantial contributions to Integration and test activities spanning from development of individual systems like the MAST missile system to full scale distributed real-time Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) ground testing of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) for the Missile Defense Agency. He also directly supported MDA / DES as the lead of the MDA/ESI Analysis Team in execution of HWIL Architecture Analysis for MDA Ground Test (GT) and representing SSF in the MDA Test Joint Analysis Teams (JAT). Furthermore, Jacob executed missile defense analysis for the US-Turkey Bilateral Study using EADSIM, including radar design and scenario definition, as well as developing Perl scripts to automate the transfer of data between EADSIM and the Post Engagement Ground Effects Model to facilitate easier analysis. Finally, he was lead analyst on a Navy Theater Missile Defense (TMD) Study, using EADSIM and CAPS to develop scenarios, determine system operating and defended areas, post process and analyze simulation data regarding NATO sea-based capability. Jacob has made a significant and lasting impact on the Air Defense Artillery and Field Artillery branches. He has earned numerous BlueHalo Special Recognition, Excellence and Achievement Awards and has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity, moral character, and professional competence. He is most deserving of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARCELLA DUNCAN
Lieutenant Colonel Marcella A. Duncan has made tremendous contributions to Army Air and Missile Defense throughout her 29+ years of Military Service. She has been instrumental in the development, fielding, and delivery of capability to Army ADA units, equipping them for defending critical, strategic assets. As examples of these contributions: LTC Duncan was instrumental in development of the strategy for transitioning programs and technologies from the Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office to PEO Missiles and Space; LTC Duncan led planning and execution activities for THAAD modernization efforts; LTC Duncan secured and defended funding for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept and Sentinel A3 programs. All of these efforts provided significant increases in capability to US Army and allied air defenders and demonstrate a commitment to excellence in support of Army ADA. LTC Duncan’s military education includes the Logistics Captain’s Career Course, the Army Acquisition Foundation Course, Command and General Staff College, and numerous acquisition courses. She is acquisition certified in the fields of Program Management and Contracting. Her civilian education includes a Master of Business Administration with emphasis in Acquisition and Procurement Management from Webster University. LTC Duncan’s military career has had and continues to have significant positive impacts on Army Air and Missile Defense. It is clear she has dedicated her career to the betterment of Army ADA, and she has been effective in accomplishing that goal, making her worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of St. Barbara.
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MS. REBECCA GOINS
Ms. Goins has served in multiple capacities during her 21 years as a Department of Army Civilian, having started her career as an Electronics Engineer at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) and the Defense Science and Technology Organization (DSTO). Since 2022 she has served in a supervisory capacity as Director, SE&I, SHIELD Project Office leading a team of 80+ multidisciplinary engineers to include all Systems Engineering, Cyber, Software, Safety, Modeling & Simulation and Analysis expertise for the SHIELD Product Offices. As Director of SEI at SHIELD, she serves as a “Chief Engineer”, where she leads the technical functions for an expansive portfolio of AMD weapon systems consisting of Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD), Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC), Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target (PATRIOT), Land-based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS), and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). Ms. Goins works tirelessly to continuously improve the effectiveness and performance of the AMD weapon systems she supports by promoting maximum innovation, collaboration, and teamwork within and between the technical, programmatic, and logistics elements of SHIELD. Furthermore, she proactively seeks technical interchanges with SHIELD’s sister project offices within the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space to strengthen every aspect of the sensor-to-shooter kill chain and ultimately produce weapon systems in which the sums truly are greater than their parts. Ms. Goins is a consummate professional Army Civilian and is committed to excellence in everything that he does. She has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character throughout his career and is extremely worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. BILLY GRAVITT
Billy R Gravitt is currently a Branch Chief for US Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) for Air & Missile Defense Systems team. He has over six years supporting missile defense. In addition to ACC-RSA, he has worked for US Amy Space & Missile Defense Command (SMDC), US Army Program Executive Office Missiles & Space (PEO MS), Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in various contract specialist, Contracting Officer, and Chief roles. In Mr. Gravitt’s current role, his AMD Cross-Functional Team support includes modernization SGT STOUT and the Indirect Fire Protection Capability. Notably, he also enabled support of Indo-Pacific and European theater Air Defense, procuring 2,000+ Stinger Missiles, 12 National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) with Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), 10+ SGT STOUT, 20 Avengers (w/ Stinger), and Iron Dome. Mr Gravitt’s team has provided surge lifesaving security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s aggression and support Israel’s defense from Iran and its proxies. Efforts have also sustained and strengthened deterrence and prioritized China as America’s pacing challenge, which aligns with the 2022 National Defense Strategy and DOD’s 2025 Pacific Deterrence Initiative. Lastly, his efforts enabled an Industrial Base capable of sustaining fielded systems, maintaining pace with Army modernization efforts & postured to surge in support of Large-Scale Combat Operations, thus enabling the Army of 2030. Mr. Gravitt’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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COLONEL STEVEN GUTIERREZ
COL Gutierrez is currently serving as the Project Manager for Directed Energy (DE) with an Air Defense Artillery modernization portfolio that includes the Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD), the Palletized-High Energy Laser (P-HEL) 10kW-class and 20kW-class systems, and the Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) within the Directed Energy Prototyping Office. His leadership and acquisition acumen enabled the Army to leverage and integrate current DE technologies into existing Army platforms. This resulted in the rapid delivery of prototypes with residual combat capability to meet Combatant Commanders (COCOM) Counter Unmanned Aircraft System requirements. COL Gutierrez masterfully architected and executed a plan to deliver DE M- SHORAD prototypes to CENTCOM within 81 days of a Chief of Staff of the Army directive. The RCCTO deployed the DE M-SHORAD prototypes with Soldiers from the 4-60th Air Defense Artillery Regiment (ADAR), Fort Sill, Oklahoma, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve integrating the systems into a layered Air Defense warfighting mission. COL Gutierrez executes his duties in close collaboration and synchronization with the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS) Office, Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, the Air and Missile Defense Cross Functional Team, the Air Defense Artillery Brigade Army Capabilities Manager, and the Air Defense Artillery School Commandant’s Office. COL Gutierrez holds a Master of Science in Management – Acquisition and Contract Management, a Master of Public Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He has supported the Air Defense Artillery Branch and associated activities during his over 32 years of Army service in various Infantry, Signal Corps, Missile Defense Agency, PEO STRI, and RCCTO assignments. COL Gutierrez’s dedication to mission success and selfless service to delivering capabilities to the Warfighter reflect great credit upon himself, the Air Defense Artillery Community and the United States Army. He is hands down, more than worthy of recognition by award of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. AMY HALL
Ms. Amy Hall is the Director of the Technology Security / Foreign Disclosure (TS/FD) for Assistant Program Executive Office – International (APEO-I) under the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS). Ms. Hall is known throughout the Department of Defense, and Air Defense Artillery community as one of the top Engineer Experts supporting PEO MS on exportability features and releases for PATRIOT, LTAMDS, STINGER/AVENGER, SENTINEL radars, IFPC, and MEADS systems. Ms. Hall’s support to the Air Defense Community spans back twenty-five (25) years with her initial support to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in 1999. Ms. Hall was handpicked due to her varied ADA experiences for her current position by the APEO-I and has been charged with the responsibilities to oversee the Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure (TSFD) “Pipes” and export control for the PEO’s Programs of Record (POR) and other non-PORs with international aspects. Her attention to detail has resulted in timely Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure (TS/FD) approvals for ADA systems whose modality of sales are foreign military sales. She was an initial catalyst that worked, staffed, and coordinated ADA systems and other PEO MS PORs in an accelerated TS/FD determinations for Ukraine Presidential Drawdowns, and other critical US technology protection requirements for implementation prior to any exports or disclosures to support the Presidential Drawdowns. Prior to this assignment, Ms. Hall held Key Leadership and Engineering positions that directly and indirectly supported Air Defense Artillery missions. Ms. Amy Hall’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. EILEEN HIPE
Ms. Eileen Hipe has served as the Policy and Assessments, Review and Compliance, and Government Purchase Card Division Chief, Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), since 2023. Prior to her assuming this role, she was the Deputy to the Commander for the 409th Contracting Support Brigade located in Sembach, Germany. She leads a team of acquisition professionals who support both United States Government employees and Industry partners. She has served in various acquisition/procurement roles for over 37 years within the federal government and has been in leadership roles since 2009. Eileen’s knowledge, skills and business acumen are the gold standard. She successfully leads a team of procurement analysts who daily demonstrate an unmatched mission focus and readiness in support of the ACC-RSA Missile and Space (M&S) Directorate and their supported Program Executive Offices (PEOs). During FY 2024, her team performed 146 pre-award compliance reviews with a total long-term potential value of $119.3B. The review of these Missiles and Space contracting actions contributed greatly to ACC-RSA’s successful FY24 award of 14,389 contract actions totaling $28.3B. Rapid responses and innovative approaches were delivered to M&S customers positively impacting mission and milestones. Under her leadership, the Policy division supported Major Weapon Systems procurement, Foreign Military Sales, NDAA Section 1244 Authorities interpretation and implementation for efforts in support of Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. Her team directly supported AGMS, ATACMS, GMLRS, HYDRA, Hypersonics, IBCS, IFMC, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS), MLRS, Javelin, NASAMS, PATRIOT, PAC-3, TOW, PrSM, and Sentinel. Ms. Hipe’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. JOHNNIE IRBY
Johnnie Irby III is currently a Division Chief for US Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) for Tactical Missiles. He has over twelve years supporting missile defense programs such as PAC-3, PATRIOT, Counter Rocket Auxiliary Mortar (C-RAM), and TMDE. In addition to ACC-RSA, he has worked for C-RAM project office and US Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) in various contract specialist and program analyst roles. In Mr. Irby’s current role, he provides direct support to Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space (PEO MS). He maintains close coordination with Army leadership, Futures Command, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), DASA(P), DASA(DEC), industry and other organizations. Mr. Irby has in his portfolio: JAVELIN, HELLFIRE, Switchblade missile, Air to Ground Missile System (AGMS), and TOW. All these products in his contractual portfolio are an important U.S. Army warfighter requirement to meet mission support. Mr Irby leads and manages 35 contract personnel and is well known throughout the Department of Defense as one of the top contracting professionals in the acquisition community. Mr. Irby’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER THREE MICHAEL KELLY
CW3 Michael Kelly’s 20 years of service to the Nation are a model of strong moral character and unassailable integrity. As a Construction Engineering Technician, his technical expertise and tactical knowledge are unparalleled, and greatly contributed to both regional and strategic missile defense. CW3 Kelly is presently serving as the Prime Power Technician in SMDC’s Army Capabilities Manager (ACM) for Strategic Missile Defense (SMD). Over the past 24 months, CW3 Kelly served as the ACM SMD’s primary advisor and representative on prime power operations for the AN/TPY-2 Forward-based Mode (FBM) radar, a core component of the Department of Defense’s Missile Defense System (MDS), located forward in three Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) in support of regional and homeland defense. In this role, CW3 Kelly teamed with HRC, SMDC G1, the U.S. Army Prime Power School, and the 249th EN BN to ensure FBM Missile Defense Batteries (MDBs) received and retained sufficient MOS 12P Soldiers to enable 24/7/365 operations. CW3 Kelly ensured a follow-on contract was initiated and funded in INDOPACOM and initiated in EUCOM IOT provide contracted power technicians to augment MOS 12P Soldiers at (3) FBM MDBs ensuring uninterrupted power to the warfighter. CW3 Kelly worked with both MDA and Program Manager Expeditionary Energy and Sustainment Systems (PM E2S2) to plan and execute removal of legacy MEP-810A generators and installation of recapitalized MEP-810D HEMP Hardened prime power generators at the FBM MDBs in the INDOPACOM, EUCOM and CENTCOM Areas of Responsibility (AORs). Finally, CW3 Kelly advised both ACM-AAMDC and ACM SMD of future power initiatives such as MDA’s Power Distribution System (PDS), an INDOPACOM-specific system, and the DOTMLPF-P implications associated with PDS employment. Awarding CW3 Kelly the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara recognizes his past achievements but also celebrate his ongoing influence as a leader and mentor in the artillery profession.
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MS. JENNIFER S. KIMZEY
Jennifer Kimzey is currently a Division Chief for US Army Contracting Command – Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) for Tactical Missiles. She has three years supporting missile defense programs. In Ms. Kimzey’s current role, she provides direct support to Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space (PEO MS). She maintains close coordination with Army leadership, Futures Command, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), DASA(P), DASA(DEC), industry and other organizations. Ms. Kimzey has in her portfolio: Stinger, National to Advanced Surface to Air Missile (NASAMS), Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC), and Maneuver Short Range Air Defense system. All these products in her contractual portfolio are an important U.S. Army warfighter requirement to meet mission support. Ms. Kimzey leads and manages 45 contract personnel and is well known throughout the Department of Defense as one of the top contracting professionals in the acquisition community. Ms. Kimzey’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. YVETTE KRASTS
Ms. Krasts has served as the Pricing Division Chief, Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), since 2021. She leads 55 geographically dispersed cost and price analysts that support the largest Army Contracting Center. Under her leadership, the Pricing Division supports the goals of: (a) reducing procurement acquisition lead time-placing capability in the hands of the Warfighter quicker, (b) facilitating pairing of pricing Government Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with Industry SMEs to address and negotiate prices resulting -saving taxpayer dollars (c) reducing excessive profit rates that are currently experienced throughout the Department of Defense (DoD); (4) reducing the average number of days required for solicitation and contract peer review boards by enabling SMEs to readily address cost/pricing issues and; (5) providing increased representation to address, in real-time, cost/pricing issues at the Command and Office of the Secretary of Defense-level peer reviews; thus, expediting approvals. Her technical competence is unsurpassed. Through her coaching, training and mentoring, her team assists and advises on some of the most challenging problem sets and was responsible for supporting over 68 PEO Missiles and Space and PEO Aviation programs/requirements during FY24. The support provided level support to include negotiations, cost analysis, acquisition planning, and source selection evaluation board planning in support of requirements valued at $145B for acquisitions spanning 10 years. Her division directly supports the following programs: AGMS, ATACMS, GMLRS, HYDRA, Hypersonics, IBCS, IFMC, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS), MLRS, Javelin, NASAMS, PATRIOT, PAC-3, TOW, PrSM, and Sentinel. Ms. Krasts’ career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. JERAD MABON
Mr. Mabon has honorably supported the US Army Air Defense Branch for 11 years. His career covers working as a Management Support/Planning Analyst to Supervisory Program Analyst to Chief of the Programming, Planning, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) Division for Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space. He leads the PEO MS PPBE team providing oversight of obligation and budget execution of over $15.3B dollars across 146 funding lines (multiple appropriations/multiple portfolios). These efforts ensure that warfighters are receiving the most up-to-date and mission essential equipment. He excels at teamwork and the mentoring of others; and demonstrates daily his capacity to ensure critical execution of financial and manpower related matters in a timely, efficient, and effective fashion to support the PEOMS mission. Mr. Mabon has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Mercer University and a master’s degree in business administration and management from University of Alabama Huntsville. He holds Advanced Business-Financial Management Certification. Mr. Mabon has been recognized for his outstanding contributions with numerous Special Act and Performance Awards. He always prioritizes mission success and makes himself readily available to take on any task needed across the PEO MS Business Enterprise to deliver capability to the field. His intelligence, fairness, unquestionable integrity, and complete loyalty elicit the respect of all who know him and work with him. Mr. Mabon is the consummate professional and serves as a preeminent role model for subordinates, peers, and senior leaders. His service to the Army, the PEO MS and the Department of Defense (DoD) is highly valued. Mr. Mabon’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. TIMOTHY MCRAE
Over the past 20 consecutive years, Mr. Tim McRae made multiple significant contributions to the Air and Missile Defense mission both as a U.S. Army officer and Department of Defense civilian. He joined the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as an Army Major in December 2004, serving as Deputy Director for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Operations Directorate. During this critical time in missile defense history, his program enabled the 100th Missile Defense Brigade to establish GMD initial operational capability on September 30, 2004, per the Presidential directive. Mr. McRae retired from the Army in 2008 and transitioned to the Federal Civil Service where he continued to serve at MDA. In 2016, Mr. McRae was selected for the Senior Executive Service. Over the past two decades, Mr. McRae held major leadership assignments at the MDA to include, the GMD Program Office, the MDA Targets and Countermeasures Program Office, and the Program Executive Office for Programs and Integration. In every assignment he was directly responsible for fielding air and missile defense capability to the warfighter. Since January 2020, Mr. McRae served as Program Director, GMD, at Redstone Arsenal, AL with a staff of over 800 military members, government civilians, and contractors, as well as an annual budget over $1 billion. He is responsible for developing, testing, fielding, integrating, and sustaining the nation’s strategic defense capability to protect the U.S. against intermediate and long-range ballistic missile attacks. Over the past four years, Mr. McRae envisioned, planned and led many extraordinary changes in the program, to include the planning, acquisition and development of the Next Generation Interceptor, the next evolution of the GMD weapon system; transition of the program from a single, bloated legacy contract to the more agile GMD Futures contract structure; and transfer of overall GMD integration role from a prime contractor to the government as Weapon System Integrator. Mr. McRae works tirelessly with warfighters in the 100th Missile Defense Brigade and USNORTHCOM to deliver, ensuring our nation possesses the Air and Missile Defense capability to defend against potential adversaries. Mr. Tim McRae’s significant contributions to the Air Defense Artillery (ADA) mission embodied the spirit, integrity, sense of sacrifice, and commitment epitomized by Saint Barbara and he is most worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. KYLE MERRITT
Mr. Kyle Merritt serves as the Deputy for Assistant Program Executive Office – International (APEO-I) under the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS). Mr. Merritt is known throughout the Department of Defense, Security Assistance Management Directorate (SAMD), Army Security Assistance Enterprise (ASAE), and Air Defense Artillery community as one of the foremost deliverers of Air Defense Capabilities to Partner Nations (PNs). Mr. Merritt has directly and indirectly supported for a decade plus, the PEO MS, on providing PNs PATRIOT, LTAMDS, STINGER/AVENGER, SENTINEL radars, and IFPC. Mr. Merritt’s support to the Air Defense Community spans back to the largest PATRIOT sale to United Arab Emirates (UAE), with additional support and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to all sixteen (16) PATRIOT Partners and has diligently worked over the years to craft approvals to add another 16 countries. Mr. Merritt worked meticulously to provide the first ever Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) with PATRIOT to Partner Nation Poland. Mr. Merritt’s decade plus experience working Air Defense Artillery Systems and Security Assistance / Cooperation programs shaped his selection to be handpicked for his current position as the Deputy for the APEO-I. While in his current position, he continues to work past generations of Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Systems and has a responsibility working emerging ADA Systems like MSHORAD, LTAMDS, Sentinel A4 Radar, IFPC Inc 2, and the new technology of the Army’s Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Weapon System and Long-Range Hypersonic Weapons for releases and export to potential Partner Nations. Mr. Kyle Merritt’s numerous meritorious contributions to the Air Defense Artillery community make him highly worthy of being inducted as a member of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. KRISTEN MITCHELL
Kristen E. Mitchell is awarded the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara for her significant contributions to the Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) team over the past nine years. Kristen has been instrumental in developing five C-UAS ACAT III Program of Record (PoR) Program Office Estimates (POEs) which were validated by PEO Missiles and Space commanding general. These estimates totaled $9.5B and were used to create five Acquisition Program Baselines (APBs) and Program Initiation briefs for C-sUAS in support of post Milestone C decision. Kristen’s hard work and dedication has helped turn Fixed Site – Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS), Mobile- Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System (M- LIDS), Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor (KuRFS) Family of Radars, Interceptors, and Handheld/Dismounted systems into kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities that the War Fighters can rely on for years to come. Ms. Mitchell’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. NEMIAH MOORE
Mr. Nemiah Moore has a distinguished career with over 25 years of support to Air Defense. Mr. Moore enlisted in April 1998 as a 14T PATRIOT missile launcher crew member, and completed advanced individual training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in 1999. He was assigned to B-Battery 1/203rd ADA (PATRIOT) from 1999 to 2003, where he reached the position of team leader, and rank of sergeant. During his time with B-Battery 1/203rd, he deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH and participated as a crew member for multiple Patriot flight test missions. In 2003, Mr. Moore joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and was commissioned as an officer in the Alabama Army National Guard in 2005, where he still serves and is now a battalion commander. Mr. Moore’s civilian career has always been in support of Air Defense. Out of college in 2005, he was hired by Boeing as an Industrial Engineer, responsible for production engineering of Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 seeker components and Ground Midcourse Defense interceptors. From 2009 to 2020, he worked directly for the Missile Defense Agency as a civilian engineer supporting mission assurance and quality engineering for the Ground Midcourse Defense Program. In 2020, he transitioned to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Project Office as the Chief, Secure and Advanced Technologies Division, responsible for the development of cyber secure weapon systems, developing emerging technologies to support future capabilities, and program protection. In this position, he works directly with the Army Warfighter to define THAAD requirements and receive input for improved capabilities. He currently is still in this leadership role within the THAAD Project Office.
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MS. SARAH PARKER
Ms. Sarah J. Parker is an Experienced Electronics Engineer with 20+ years of notable missile development and integration experience within the Army, working effectively with multiple agencies, organizations and countries to develop unmatched capabilities to the Warfighter. As a Department of the Army (DA) Civilian, Ms. Parker currently serves as the Technology Development Directorate (TDD) Technical Deputy Director for Missile Technology and provides oversight and technical direction to researchers, engineers, and scientists to provide the warfighter with lethal technologies and capabilities. Previously, Ms. Parker filled the role of DEVCOM-AvMC-TDD Capability Area Lead (CAL) for the Air and Missile Defense (AMD) portfolio within Missile S&T where she established, coordinated and managed a growing portfolio of Applied Research and Advanced technology, and developed programs aimed at providing advanced missile capabilities to the warfighter to counter existing and emerging threats. During this time, Ms. Parker was also involved in the Counter UAS effort by serving as the DEVCOM-CUAS Lead and participating in the coordination and development of strategies to combat the adversary drone threat. Formerly, Ms. Parker served TDD as the Deputy Capability Area Lead for Long Range Fires Missile S&T. In this role, she established, coordinated, led, and managed a portfolio of more than 20 Applied Research S&T efforts. This included development of strategic plans for S&T investments in coordination with Senior Army stakeholders and AvMC management teams to include Army Future Command (AFC) Cross Functional Teams (CFT’s), Army Fires Center of Excellence AMD-CDID, and Combatant Commands. Ms. Parker has served the Field Artillery and Air Defense community in DEVCOM-AvMC as well as the PM STORM Program Office. Her long career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the FA and ADA community make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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FIRST SERGEANT EUGENE PATTON
1SG Eugene Patton’s over 21 years of service to the nation have been a model of strong moral character and unassailable integrity. As an Air Defense Artilleryman his technical expertise and tactical knowledge are unparalleled. He has contributed significantly to the promotion of both the Field Artillery and the Air Defense Artillery in numerous challenging assignments to include Acting Section Chief on a MLRS, Gunner, Driver, and Ammunition Specialist. 1SG Patton has served as the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery First Sergeant for the 100th Missile Defense Brigade (GMD) in Colorado Springs, CO since 01 May 2020. 1SG Patton has been successful in all his duties and held many leadership positions throughout the Field and Air Defense Artilleries. He has served honorably and consistently demonstrated a never quit attitude that inspires his subordinates, peers, and senior leaders to push themselves daily. Throughout his career he has been selected as the Colorado Soldier or NCO of the year four times, Fifth Army Soldier of the Year, FORSCOM Soldier of the Year runner up, First Army Soldier of the Year runner up, and National Guard Bureau Soldier of the Year runner up. He has served as the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery First Sergeant of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade (GMD) since May 2020. The first five months of which he was a Sergeant First Class serving in the First Sergeant position. As the First Sergeant is responsible for the readiness, education, and training of all members of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery as well as the Staff. As one of the Colorado Army National Guard 14 series proponents he assists the Brigade Command Sergeant Major in career management for all 14 series Soldiers within the State as well as in Alaska and California. Due to the uniqueness of the Brigade, 1SG Patton has also provided mentorship and assistance to many Active Duty 14 series that rotate through the Brigade. Concurrently, he has been a Space and Missile Defense Command Sergeant Audie Murphy Club member and president of the club since December 2018. Considering his support to the US Army’s Air Defense Artillery forces and demonstrated commitment to our Allies, 1SG Eugene Patton is a most worthy candidate for induction to the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. PAUL PITTMAN
Paul Pittman’s distinguished career in Air and Missile Defense, spanning four decades since earning his Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1984, embodies the highest standards of integrity, moral character, and professional excellence. As Director at Torch Technologies, Mr. Pittman has demonstrated exceptional leadership and technical acumen. His expertise spans radar technology, missile systems, fire control, and simulation, making him an invaluable asset to the ADA/AMD community. Mr. Pittman’s impact on Air and Missile Defense is evident in his significant contributions to the Patriot PAC-3, Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), Lower Tier Future Interceptor (LTFI), AIAMD, and Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) programs. His individual contributions were instrumental in increasing system effectiveness and enhancing capabilities available to warfighters. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his technical support directly improved the PATRIOT system’s battlefield performance. Since then, he has made numerous significant technical contributions as an individual contributor in addition to growing, leading, and inspiring his team. Very recently, he was a critical contributor to the successful integration of older and incompatible systems with Patriot to meet urgent wartime demands. Throughout his career, Mr. Pittman has cultivated an environment of trust among employees, teammates, and customers through his honest and respectful approach. As a mentor, he has fostered the growth of numerous professionals, contributing to the long-term strength of the Air and Missile Defense community. He is quiet, thoughtful, and wise; his peers, subordinates, teammates, and customers respect him. Paul Pittman’s career exemplifies the highest standards of the Air Defense Artillery branch. His technical expertise, visionary leadership, and unwavering commitment to enhancing air and missile defense capabilities make him an exemplary candidate for induction into the Order of Saint Barbara. His contributions have not only advanced the field technologically but have also upheld and promoted the core values of integrity and excellence that the Order represents. Mr. Pittman’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. BRANDON PRICE
Mr. Price has served in multiple capacities during his 21 years as a Department of Army Civilian. Mr. Price became the Deputy Product Manager for Lower Tier Interceptors (LTI) on 16 September 2019. LTI is responsible for all ACAT-1C reporting requirements and managing an annual USG Budget of over $1.2B and an annual FMS Budget over $1B. Mr. Price holds Level III Certifications in Engineering and Test and Evaluation, Level II Certification in Facilities Engineering, and a Level I Certification in Program Management. Overall, Mr. Price has served in multiple roles within the Patriot Advanced Capabilities -3 (PAC-3) Weapon System for 17 years. Mr. Price is responsible for all functions of the acquisition life cycle including research, development, testing, procurement, fielding, and sustainment for the PAC -3 family of missiles and launchers. He has worked tirelessly to support multiple efforts with our allied partners to include adding new member nation to the PAC-3 partnership, supporting Ukraine Presidential Drawdowns, planning Defense of Guam laydown and maintaining unity among all partner nations. Mr. Price performed these efforts while simultaneously maintaining cost, schedule, and performance for US Army programs to include PAC-3 production capacity increases, modification efforts, and modernization programs. Mr. Price is a consummate professional Army civilian and is committed to excellence in everything that he does. He has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character throughout his career and is extremely worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. BRENDA RIGGS
As the Future Operations Chief for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Wargames & Exercises Division, Mrs. Brenda J. Riggs contributes significantly to the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) mission supporting forward deployed Warfighters around the world. Mrs. Riggs is an expert in operations, budget, acquisition, and contract management, which has enabled MDA to support 25-plus wargames and exercises annually and directly contributed to the Agency’s number one goal of supporting the Warfighter. Prior to her civilian career, Mrs. Riggs’ accomplishments began at 3rd Battalion 2nd Air Defense Artillery where she served as a technical and tactical subject matter expert for the Patriot Missile Defense System. She planned, trained, and executed all Missile Defense System operations for the Battalion with 15 wartime crews, creating large, significant, and highly complex defense designs. She routinely deployed to the Republic of Korea, where she conducted joint and combined theater air and missile defense operations. Mrs. Riggs later served as a defense contractor for MDA, supporting the full program lifecycle of USINDOPACOM and USCENTCOM exercises managing mission support personnel on worldwide deployments including the first-ever Korea Theater of Operations Patriot Weapon System Air Defense Exercise in 2016. Mrs. Riggs planned and coordinated the network solution enabling the Air Defense Artillery Brigade to participate in worldwide netted air battles. This event was the first step in embedding realism into the exercise by allowing CONUS-based Patriot operators to participate in the exercise from a virtual OCONUS station. As Future Operations Chief, Mrs. Riggs leads the program management of highly sophisticated and complex Missile Defense synthetic training architectures distributed across five Combatant Commands as well as to multiple U.S. allies and foreign mission partners. She is the lead strategic financial planner forecasting future funding requirements and manages the day-to-day operations of $21.6 million annual budget. Additionally, she serves as lead contributor to the U.S.-Japan Foreign Military Sales case legally binding Japan Joint Staff funds to MDA. This effort provided realistic Missile Defense System scenario modeling and simulation to six geographically dispersed Japanese Air Self Defense Force Patriot battalions during exercise RESILIENT SHIELD. Mrs. Riggs’ direct leadership, innovation and dedication to the success of the Missile Defense System Wargames & Exercises greatly enhances ADA Warfighter readiness and mission capability. Ms. Riggs 18-year career of accomplishments and selfless acts of service make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. VIRGINIA ROSACIA
Ms. Virginia “Ginger” Rosacia has served as the Source Selection Advisory Team/Advocate for Competition (SSAT/AFC) Division Chief, Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), since 2019. She leads team of senior procurement analysts who support over 650+ contracting professionals. She has served in various acquisition/procurement roles for over 38 years within the federal government. Ms. Rosacia’s knowledge, skills and business acumen are unmatched. Through her positive relationships with contracting professionals, mission partners and industry, her 6-person team has provided advisory and contract support services for the following major weapons systems during her tenure as the SSAT/AFC division chief: National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS), Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Enhancement Missile System, the Maneuver Short Range Air Defense system (M SHORAD), and the Threat Systems Management Office Electronic Warfare and Air Defense Support. The team is also supporting the source selection for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES). She directly supports Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space, PEO Aviation, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, and U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command programs/requirements by providing technical expertise and assistance to the source selection evaluation boards/integrated project teams from acquisition planning to award of the contract. Under her leadership, the SSAT/AFC collaborates with primary customers in the development of the acquisition plans/acquisition strategies for major defense weapons programs. Her team is a key component in the successful award of sole source and competitive major air defense weapons systems. These highly complex weapons systems and programs are critical in the defense of the United States of America and our allies from our adversaries. Ms. Rosacia’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. ROGER RUSSELL
Mr. Roger Russell has distinguished himself as an outstanding contributor to the Fires Community for over 20 years. In his current role as the BlueHalo Director of Laser Diagnostics Suite (LIDS) and Missile Airframe Simulation Testbed-MANPADS (MAST-M) Evolutionary Development, Roger is responsible for all incremental product changes to both efforts related to obsolescence, increased capability, cost reduction initiatives, technology protection, expanded target sets and other incremental changes. Prior to serving in this capacity, Roger has a long, distinguished history of contributions to the Fires Community that includes: supporting data collection campaigns for the Lyot Coronagraph experiment, Near Earth Asteroid Tracking experiment, Missile Defense Agency, Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and intel communities; he was the Senior Operations Test Director Quality & Mission Assurance responsible for direct data collection campaigns for the Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and intel communities; instrumental in the development of test plans, acceptance test plans, and acceptance test reports for battlespace systems before being delivered to the customer; he supported the Distributed Mission Operations Center DMOC where he worked as a systems engineer on ADA Patriot simulation scenario hosted on EADSIM; and Provided operations support to the THAAD mission from the Maui Space Surveillance Complex. Roger has made a significant and lasting impact on the Fires Branch. He has earned numerous Special Recognition, Excellence and Achievement Awards and has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity, moral character, and professional competence. He is most deserving of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. BARBARA SAUNDERS
Throughout her career, Barbara Saunders’ commitment to excellence, integrity, and teamwork has greatly benefited the Air Defense Artillery branch. In the first half of her career, she provided invaluable support to the Air Defense Command and Control Systems and Sentinel radar programs. She was a core member of the Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) testing team, and her contributions were instrumental to the successful fielding of FAAD C2. A system that continues to support current counter unmanned aerial system missions.
For the past two decades she has been at Torch Technologies where she is currently a senior director. She established and led the Innovation through Innovation business unit that focuses on maturing and transitioning Missile Science and Technology products to the warfighter. Under her visionary leadership a Soldier Touchpoint Research Center was established at Lawton\Ft Sill. This center puts into practice the desire for early solder involvement with weapon system design. Her teams also developed novel concepts for advanced missile fire control that are being incorporated into the IBCS program of record. She organized and directed an effort to explore the potential for using digital engineering as a foundational means for creating a new generation of systems engineering and design trades capability. Under her guidance, Government Owned and Government Controlled virtual composable testbeds (VCT) were created and used to support decision aids design trades for the Directed Energy (DE) M-SHORAD operational prototype. But more importantly, this groundbreaking VCT approach was used to create an interim training capability for the SGT Stout M-SHORAD system. This latter capability is resolving a significant training shortfall for the ADA Branch. She continually found ways to get air defense program offices and AvMC organizations to work together to accomplish mutually beneficial goals. Ms. Saunder’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. WILLIAM SCHNEIDER
Mr. William Schneider serves as Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Communications Security (COMSEC) Product Manager in the Targets and Countermeasures office and has distinguished himself with outstanding contributions to national defense and the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) branch. He has demonstrated leadership, extraordinary initiative and overall excellence in planning and working with the National Security Agency as well as multiple stakeholders in acquiring COMSEC equipment used in encrypting and securing critical flight test mission telemetry from adversaries. Mr. Schneider has performed this critical function for 15 years and supported approximately 30 MDA targets and test interceptors with no COMSEC-related malfunctions or missions delays. As COMSEC Product Manager, Mr. Schneider researches COMSEC shortages and requirements; develops funding requirements; and provides strategic direction for the purchase, control, and management of an MDA inventory of more than 450 items of telemetry encryption and decryption equipment valued in excess of $5.5 million. He allocates these assets to meet mission-critical needs in support of numerous internal MDA offices and test ranges. Over the years, he also supported other national assets such as the Army Lower Tier Project Office, the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, and the Navy Strategic Systems Programs by loaning them equipment and providing technical direction. Prior to his service with MDA, Mr. Schneider worked for the U.S. Army Space & Missile Defense Command Anti-Satellite Project Office and the Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control Project by developing, formulating, and defining test plans and programs. He also worked for the Army Theater Missile Defense program by writing and coordinating Program Protection Planning and Systems Security Engineering documents. Mr. Schneider has more than 60 years of U.S. Government service. He joined the civil service after retiring from a 22-year military career in the Army Military Intelligence Corps deploying to Ethiopia, Vietnam, Turkey, and Korea. Throughout his career, Mr. Schneider’s accomplishments highlight significant contributions to the ADA Branch. In addition to his achievements, he models MDA’s core values of integrity, professionalism, and dedication to the mission, making him most worthy of consideration for recognition in the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. JIMMIE SEELEY
Mr. Jimmie Seeley is a retired US Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel Air Defender. Jimmie was selected as Brigade Observer / Controller of the year and was mobilized to active duty as part of the 218th Brigade Combat Team from 2005 to 2008 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan. There, Jimmie led the Joint Operations Center for Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VI. Jimmie’s performance in this role resulted in recognition from the Commander of Combined Security Transition Command, Afghanistan and award of the Bronze Star. While serving as a U.S. Army Air Defense Officer from 1987 to 1992, Jimme served in numerous leadership positions, from Platoon Leader to Senior Instructor. Jimmie received many commendations during his Air Defense service, including being selected as “best PATRIOT System officer” from a pool of over 30 candidates within the Brigade’s “Best Crew” competition as well as being chosen from over 40 candidates for the Mentor Program at Ft. Bliss. As a result of his accomplishments, he received a letter and achievement medal from the Ft Bliss Commanding General. Jimmie also served as a guest lecturer at the Strategic Air Command Tactics School, Ellsworth AFB. As an industry civilian, Mr. Seeley continued to serve our Air Defense community, working as a systems analyst supporting the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization in numerous roles, teaching PATRIOT Missile Tactics, Techniques and Procedures for FMS cases, working with Systems Engineering teams for the Ground Based Midcourse Defense Joint Project Office organization, serving as a senior systems analysist for the US Army AIAMD project office, and leading numerous functions supporting MDA’s C2BMC Program Element. Jimmie completed his career serving the Aviation and Missile Center’s Air and Missile Defense Capability Area as a systems analyst, where he played a critical role as a team member establishing AvMC’s current Air Defense Science and Technology project portfolio. Jimmie is now retired and operating “Guinea Station Farms” in Falkville, AL with his wife, MaryBeth. Mr. Seeley’s long career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. RAYMOND SHARP
Mr. Raymond Sharp is the Northrop Grumman Vice President of Missile Defense Solutions (MDS) Business Unit (BU) in Huntsville, Alabama. His distinguished career in the U.S. Defense Industry has made long term contributions to protect the United States, its deployed forces, and allies against the full spectrum of evolving and emerging missile threats. During his over 20-year career in the Defense Industry, Mr. Sharp successfully performed in multiple roles leading industry research, development, and acquisition of air and missile defense capabilities. In his current role, Mr. Sharp supports the Missile Defense Agency’s mission of developing, testing, and deploying a layered Missile Defense System. With over 1,600 employees across eight states and four countries the MDS BU is responsible for delivering missile defense capabilities across the entire kill chain to include the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Weapon System, and the Ballistic Missile Defense System Overhead Persistent Infrared Architecture. These programs are protecting our homeland and forward deployed forces 24/7. Prior to his current role, Mr. Sharp was the Director of Programs supporting the Next Generation Passive RF Systems and Advanced Space Systems Technology. Previously, he was the Director of the Long-Range Air Defense and Detection Systems Operating Unit that focused on radar products domestically and internationally. Mr. Sharp earned a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master’s in electrical engineering from Cornell University. Mr. Sharp’s leadership over several major programs within the Air and Missile Defense enterprise has been exemplary and is most worthy of recognition by award of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His career has embodied the spirit, dignity, and sense of commitment epitomized by Saint Barbara.
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MR. STEVE SOLOMON
Mr. Steve Solomon currently serves at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) as Division Chief of Target Launch Operations for Targets and Countermeasure and also served as Flight Test Division Chief for Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD). He has distinguished himself with over 24 years of outstanding contributions to the defense of our nation, allies, and deployed forces from ballistic missile threats. He demonstrated superb leadership, extraordinary initiative, and overall excellence in planning and executing target launch operations for 27 missile defense test events since 2019. Each test required years of planning, coordination, and ensuring trained and qualified personnel were available to execute these complex launches of MDA’s fleet of threat-representative targets. The tests demonstrated critical missile defense technologies and weapon system effectiveness supporting worldwide deployment of the Patriot, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense, and GMD systems and the Initial Operational Capability declaration of the Long-Range Discrimination Radar. Additionally, he provided vital leadership and expert launch teams supporting various multi-national test events with Japan and our North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, validating critical interoperability with our partners to defend against regional missile threats. Mr. Solomon managed a diverse government and industry team of over 100 personnel and demonstrated teamwork, technical expertise, sound engineering judgement, and exceptional problem-solving abilities to overcome a myriad of obstacles in order to successfully execute each of these flight test missions. Furthermore, as the GMD Flight Test Division Chief, he directed a team of over 30 personnel to plan and conduct multiple flight tests in support of the development of our nation’s first Homeland Defense system. This included Flight Test Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon System (FTG)-15, which was a historic, operationally-realistic flight test with numerous “first-ever” accomplishments to include the first intercept of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile-class target by the GMD system. FTG-15 was the Agency’s top priority for 2017 and was a critical milestone for the deployment of 44 Ground-Based Interceptors at Fort Greely Missile Field-1 supporting the U.S. President’s goal. Throughout his career, Mr. Solomon’s accomplishments highlight significant contributions to the Missile Defense mission toward protecting our Warfighters and ensuring they have the most capable systems to defend our nation and deployed forces. In addition to his achievements, he models MDA’s core values of integrity, professionalism, and dedication to the mission, making him most worthy of consideration for recognition in the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MS. CARLY SPILAR
Ms. Spilar has honorably supported the US Army Air Defense Branch for 13 years. Her career covers working as a Program Analyst and Supervisory Program Analyst in Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space Programming, Planning, Budgeting and Execution Division. She leads the PEO MS Business Team providing oversight of obligation and execution of $15B annually. In addition to these duties, Ms. Spilar’s implementation of sound financial and budgetary best practices, and her relentless pursuit of business efficiencies have directly led to additional resources to numerous PEO MS Weapons Systems to maintain threat overmatch and sustain a high level of readiness. These efforts ensure that warfighters are receiving the most up-to-date and mission essential equipment. She excels at teamwork and the mentoring of others; and demonstrates daily her capacity to ensure critical execution of funds in a timely, efficient, and effective fashion to support the PEOMS mission. Ms. Spilar has a bachelor’s degree in general finance from University of Toledo and a master’s degree in business administration and management from Texas A&M University. She holds Advanced Business-Financial Management Certification. Ms. Spilar has been recognized for her outstanding contributions with numerous Special Act and Performance Awards. She welcomes new challenges and is always willing to help others. Ms. Spilar is fully focused on mission support to protect the warfighter and critical U.S. assets globally. Ms. Spilar is unsurpassed in her professionalism and dedication; traits evidenced through her willingness to ensure execution of mission. Her service to the Army, the PEO MS and the Department of Defense (DoD) is highly valued. Ms. Spilar’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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LIEUTENANT COLONEL RYAN SUNDERMAN
LTC Sunderman was commissioned as an Infantry Second Lieutenant after completing Officer Candidate School. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Upper Iowa University and an MBA from Texas A&M University-Central Texas. His military education includes various courses in Infantry and Acquisition, with certifications in Contracting (level three) and Program Management (level two). LTC Sunderman is responsible for all functions of the acquisition life cycle including research, development, testing, procurement, fielding, and sustainment for the M-SHORAD family of systems to include SGT STOUT, Stinger, Avenger, and the Next Generation Short Range Interceptor programs. Under LTC Sunderman’s leadership, the M-SHORAD Product Office achieved unparalleled success in accelerating the Army’s air defense capabilities for Multi-Domain Operations. He oversaw the diverse and efficient team that built, tested, and successfully achieved First Unit Equipped (FUE) status for SGT STOUT for US Army Europe, marking the first significant advancement in Army Air Defense assets in twenty years. LTC Sunderman’s guidance fostered continuous innovation and the application of adaptive acquisition concepts, particularly in managing the Next Generation Short Range Interceptor (NGSRI) program to support the Army’s Air and Missile Defense (AMD) modernization priorities. His efforts directly contributed to the Army’s objectives to rapidly integrate and synchronize requirements development, acquisition processes, and resources, delivering AMD capabilities to warfighters at the speed of need. LTC Sunderman is a consummate professional Army Officer and is committed to excellence in everything that he does. He has demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character throughout his career and is extremely worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. STAN THOMAS
Over the past 47 years Mr Thomas has made significant contributions to the Department of Defense particularly in the Air Defense Community, both as an Officer in the United States Marine Corp (USMC), and later as a senior civilian with the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). His distinguished career in Air Defense includes service as the senior acquisition officer for the HAWK missile system in the Marine Corps during the 1990’s marking the start of a long and storied history in the missile defense community. Over the past two decades Mr Thomas has held every critical position in MDA responsible for delivering missile defense capabilities to the warfighter including the Principal Deputy to the MDA Program Executive for Programs and Integration, where he was responsible for the integration of BMDS programs including the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD), Targets and Countermeasures, Israeli Programs, and the Global Deployment Program Office. He has also held positions as the THAAD Deputy Project Manager, Sensors Deputy Director, and the Director for Acquisition Policy, Planning, and Assessment for MDA. In short, no one at MDA has had as much diverse and successful program experience as Mr Thomas. However, his most notable contribution to the Air Defense community are his 10 years of leadership as the Program Executive for the Targets and Countermeasures (TC) at MDA where he developed threat relevant, cost-effective target solutions for testing the BMD system. As the PE for Targets and Countermeasures, Mr Thomas led a workforce of 380 technical experts with a budget of $500M+ and played a pivotal role in the execution of every major system tests for THAAD, AEGIS, and GMD conducted by MDA in the last decade. One of the most complex targets ever produced by Mr Thomas and team is the C4/Orion 50S XLT used on FTG-15, FTG-11, FTM-44 and FTX-43 is designed to replicate a threat intercontinental ballistic missile. Without these successful threat representative targets, MDA cannot validate the efficacy of the BMD systems delivered to the warfighter. Today Mr Thomas leads the MDA Transformation Task Force, responsible for identifying and developing advanced frameworks, models, and tools to improve decision making, enabling the rapid and saleable deployment of BMD capabilities for the warfighter. Mr. Thomas’ career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. MARK THORNTON
Mr. Mark Thornton is the Northrop Grumman Chief Technology Officer of Missile Defense Solutions Business Unit in Huntsville, Alabama. Over a 40-year distinguished career in the Defense Industry, Mr. Thornton has made long term contributions to protect the United States, its deployed forces, and allies against the full spectrum of evolving and emerging missile threats. In his current role, Mr. Thornton develops innovative missile defeat technologies and concepts through internal research and development to enable the Missile Defense Agency’s mission of developing, testing, and deploying a layered Missile Defense System. His architects, engineers and scientists are responsible for developing system architectures and designs for emerging technology areas across the entire missile defense kill chain from modeling and simulation, threat definition, threat detection, threat tracking/fusion, battle management and fire control. Prior to his current role, Mr. Thornton was the Director of the Missile Defense Weapon Systems Operating Unit that included the Ground-Based Midcourse (GMD) Fire Control, Ground Support Systems, In-Flight Interceptor Communications System Data Terminal, and the GMD Communications Network. Previously Mark had leadership roles with the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications Program where he was key to the design, development and delivery of every capability build initially deployed into the Combatant Commands. Mr. Thornton’s leadership over several major programs within the Air and Missile Defense enterprise has been exemplary and is most worthy of recognition by award of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His career has embodied the spirit, dignity, and sense of commitment epitomized by Saint Barbara.
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MR. MICHAEL TICE
Michael J. Tice has provided valuable contributions to the Air Defense Artillery Soldier since 2010. Initially supporting the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Project Office, he provided direct support to the Project Manager in assessing the project office organization, strategic planning and efficiencies in advancing the Army IAMD Program which had recently executed its Milestone B Defense Acquisition Board. He transitioned to the Cruise Missile Defense Systems (CMDS) Project Office (now SHIELD Project Office) in 2011, providing direct Strategic Planning support to the project office, to include development of critical briefings, information papers, white papers and fact sheets to support strategic planning and communications for the project office. As a result of his efforts, he was asked by the Project Manager to play an instrumental role in the organizing and development of a manning plan for a newly designated product office within the project. Mr. Tice transitioned to government service and has served as the Deputy Product Manager, Air and Missile Defense Mission Command Product Officer, Integrated Fires Mission Command Product Office since February 2022. During this period, Mr. Tice was instrumental in the advancement of the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) software development efforts as it progressed through the execution phase of the Software Acquisition Pathway, including attaining a Full Rate Production decision. IBCS has fielded its base program which seamlessly integrates the IBCS with the Patriot and Sentinel A3 sensors and the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-2, PAC-3, and Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) effectors. His efforts similarly advanced the Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2) and the Air and Missile Defense Workstation (AMDWS), both of which are integral to the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense. Mr. Tice’s expertise and tireless dedication to his job and the Air Defense Artillery Soldier have demonstrated selfless service and set an example for fellow employees while gaining the respect of his leadership and his government and industry teammates working to deliver the Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense capability to the Air Defense Artillery Soldiers.
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COLONEL RUSSELL WAGNER
Colonel (COL) Russell O. Wagner has distinguished himself with outstanding contributions to the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Branch in his current role as the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director of Wargames & Exercises (DTW). He has served the United States Army and our Nation with absolute distinction and unwavering commitment to our Service Members and government/civilian workforce. He has spent his career leading and commanding formations from Platoon through Combat Lifesaver Battalion/Brigade level while deployed to numerous locations including Afghanistan, Iraq, United Kingdom, Germany, and many others. Before his arrival at MDA, he was assigned to the Joint Readiness Training Center Operations Group where he served as a Task Force Senior Observer, Controller, Trainer. Colonel Wagner holds a Master’s Degree in Security Policy from Georgetown University. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (four awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), the Army Commendation Medal (two awards), the Army Achievement Medal (five awards), the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal (two campaign stars), the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (two awards), the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon (four awards), the Valorous Unit Award, and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. He also has received the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, and the Ranger Tab. From July 2022 to present, COL Wagner has served the ADA in MDA as DTW Director and provided Missile Defense Modeling and Simulation support to all Combatant Commands worldwide on behalf of the Director for Test. His leadership ensured timely and accurate Modeling and Simulation support for the entire Missile Defense portfolio including Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, AEGIS, Ground-Based Midcourse Defense, and Patriot weapon systems. His technical expertise ensured the Warfighter was fully prepared to defend the U.S. Homeland and allied forces abroad. Under his tenure, his directorate supported no less than eight Operations Plans across five Areas of Responsibility and sustained countless certifications of weapons system crews, command decision authorities, and senior Combatant Command leader. He leads and supervises a joint workforce of 100-plus military, civilian, and contractor personnel in the execution of over 35 global Wargames and Exercises with an estimated budget of over $30 million. COL Wagner’s significant contributions to the ADA mission span a career of selfless service, integrity, and professionalism, making him a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. JOSH WATSON
Mr. Joshua L. Watson has distinguished himself as an outstanding contributor to the Air Defense Artillery for over 20 years and represents the kind of member within the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara that past, present and future members will be most proud. Joshua currently serves as Lockheed Martin’s THAAD Chief Engineer (Director). In this capacity, he is responsible for all engineering processes and procedures, master test plans, risk plans, environmental test plans, requirement allocation, system architecture design, system integration and system test. Mr. Joshua Watson holds an undergraduate in aerospace and mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has a long and distinguished history of contributions to the Air Defense Artillery with a relentless focus on the Air Defense Artillery mission and our Soldiers. In addition to his work on the THAAD program, Joshua served as the Engineering Manager for THAAD the targets and countermeasures program. In this role, Mr. Watson was responsible for integrating threat data into all aspects of THAAD targets, countermeasures and reentry vehicles providing operationally realistic targets that meet flight test objectives. Joshua’s leadership in driving technical excellence, execution and innovation using collaborative teams has produced effective change for the Air Defense Artillery and has strategically positioned our Air Defense Artillery forces and enterprise to meet today’s challenges and tomorrow’s threat environment. His work directly led to multiple successful flight tests and three Urgent Material Releases to the Army’s Air Defense Artillery force in fulfillment of the USFK JEONS. For over 20 years, Mr. Joshua Watson has made significant and lasting impacts on the Air Defense Artillery. He has earned numerous awards for excellence in leadership and engineering both as a Team Lead and as an individual. He is most deserving of induction into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. DAVID WEATHERFORD
Mr. David L. Weatherford is recommended for the Honorable Order of St. Barbara in recognition of his 24+ years of exceptional support to Army Air Defense Artillery (ADA). Mr. Weatherford began his civil service career as an Industrial Engineer with the Industrial Operations Division of the Aviation, Missile, Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), specifically supporting the Lower Tier Project Office (LTPO). While supporting the production of PATRIOT ground hardware, Mr. Weatherford established himself as a critical team member in the development, production and fielding of PATRIOT Radars, Launchers and other support equipment. While working with PATRIOT production, he was instrumental in initiatives such as “Grow the Army” and “Pure Fleet” that involved the fielding of two additional PATRIOT battalions and a sweeping modification program to keep the entire fleet of PATRIOT relevant against evolving threats. Mr. Weatherford also supported the international PATRIOT programs by assisting several global partners with their initial fielding of PATRIOT. Currently he is focused on the next generation of Air and Missile Defense Sensor as he serves as the production lead for the Lower Tier Air and Missiles Defense Sensor (LTAMDS). Mr. Weatherford’s civilian education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and a Master’s Degree in Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He has his Army certification in Engineering and has received extensive DoD training in engineering and leadership. Mr. Weatherford has dedicated his career to the betterment of Army ADA and has been effective in accomplishing that goal, making him worthy of induction into the Honorable Order of St. Barbara
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MS. LEJEANIA WOOD
Ms. Wood is currently serving as the Deputy Director for Directed Energy (DE) with an Air Defense Artillery modernization portfolio that includes the Directed Energy Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD), the Palletized-High Energy Laser 10kW-class and 20kW-class systems, Army Multi- Purpose High Energy Laser, Integrated Fires Protection Capability-High Energy Laser (IFPC-HEL), and Integrated Fires Protection Capability-High Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM) within the Directed Energy Prototyping Office (DEPO). Her leadership and acquisition acumen enabled the Army to leverage and integrate current DE technologies into existing Army platforms. This resulted in the rapid delivery of prototypes with residual combat capability to meet COCOM Counter Unmanned Aircraft System requirements. Ms. Wood supervised a plan to deliver DE M-SHORAD prototypes to CENTCOM within 81 days of a Chief of Staff of the Army directive. The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technology Office (RCCTO) deployed the DE M-SHORAD prototypes with Soldiers from the 4-60th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve integrating the systems into a layered Air Defense warfighting mission. She was also integral to the upcoming deployments to support the Operational Assessment of IFPC-HPM at multiple locations, well ahead of schedule. Ms. Lejeania M. Wood has provided over 16 years of support to Air Defense Artillery Soldiers and programs leading cross-functional teams, which delivered on time and within budget to programs supporting the RCCTO, Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space, Missile Defense Agency, and PEO Aviation. Ms. Wood’s career of selfless service to our Nation, integrity, professionalism, and significant contributions to the ADA mission make her a worthy inductee into the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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MR. NICK WYKOFF
Mr. Nick Wyckoff has distinguished himself as an innovative leader for Air Defense Artillery with 21 years of experience at Boeing. Nick has a long history of contribution to weapon systems supporting Air Defense Artillery. He has been a team lead on numerous rapid development efforts supporting contingency operations including designing the test and verification program for the AN/TPY-2 deployed to Israel, developing the testing methodology and scenario design for the Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) phase 1 test program, the development of installation of the C2BMC Node at Ramstein AFB and was part of Operation Burnt Frost. Nick was the Missile Defense Agency Lead for Scenario development from 2005 to 2011, developing test scenarios for 56 ground tests, wargames and exercises that provided the data to operationally field BMDS capability deliveries and integrate PAC-3, THAAD and their supporting systems into the overall architecture. These test programs included distributed test events utilizing deployed Warfighters to exercise the system under simulated Operational conditions with operators on console, refining Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) in threat realistic scenarios developed from intelligence. For the Israeli AN/TPY-2, early THAAD siting analysis for Guam, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, and PAA-1, Nick led the MDA/DE initial siting analysis and test verification for those prospective deployments working to mitigate electromagnetic interface and frequency spectrum challenges with the Host Nation locations and ultimately providing the test conditions used to refine the TTPs for those locations. This early work for the Israeli AN/TYP—2 helped to burn down site integration risk and enabled rapid insertion of the capability into an active combat zone. Nick’s subject matter expertise was requested and exercised during Operation Odyssey Dawn (2011) (and later Operation Unified Protector), for the development of USNORTHCOM Defense of Homeland MCOs response plans (2008-2011), and for about a dozen small activities supporting CRAM development and employment in North-Central Iraq (2006-2010). Mr. Wyckoff’s dedicated support of the Air and Missile Defense community has been exemplary and is most worthy of recognition by award of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. Nick’s career has embodied the spirit, dignity, sense of commitment epitomized by Saint Barbara.
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Ancient Order of St. Barbara Awardees
(North Alabama Chapter of the U.S. Field Artillery Association)
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Lieutenant Colonel (United States Army, Retired) Michael Fitzgerald
LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and a lifetime commitment to the Field Artillery branch. Mike has contributed immeasurably to the Field Artillery community over a professional career spanning more than twenty-eight years as a Field Artillery Officer and defense contractor; providing technical expertise in support of the Field Artillery’s rocket and missile programs and the development and fielding of precise, long-range, and lethal fire support to the current and future force. His in-depth experience and knowledge in both the tactical and defense acquisition disciplines have been instrumental in the fielding of numerous systems to include the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Mid-Range Capability and multiple Air Defense programs.
Following his retirement from the Army in 2020, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald joined the Mid-Range Capability program office as the Senior Program Analyst and Operations Director. Starting as one of the original team members, he joined initially when the program was part of the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technology Office (RCCTO) and was instrumental in the program’s transition to PEO Missiles and Space. In this rapid prototyping program, his efforts led to the successful fielding to the first Multi-Domain Task Force within the 36-month deadline set by the Secretary of the Army and Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Prior to his retirement, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald served as the Warfighter Operational Support Division Chief for United States European and Central Command at the Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, AL. In this capacity, he played an integral part in flight test FTM-44, which saw the successful interception of a target ballistic missile with the SM-3 Block 2A. Additionally, he led his team to establish and integrate the AN/TPY-2 radar into a CENTCOM location.
Preceding his Missile Defense Agency assignment, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald served as the Product Manager for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept (IFPC Inc 2-I) air defense program. Under his three-year command, the program completed the design and prototyping of the government-designed Multi-Mission Launcher (MML). Additionally, under his leadership, the MML was successful in firing five different missile types, paving the way for the future Indirect Fire Protection Increment 2 (IFPC-Inc2).
LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald also held additional Army Acquisition positions supporting the Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery to include Assistant Program Manager for the M142 HIMARS launcher and Assistant Program Manager for the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS). During his assignment supporting the M142 HIMARS, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald led multiple New Equipment Fielding events and oversaw the successful software integration of the HIMARS launcher with the GPS system on the C-17 Globemaster. The maturation of this effort provided constant GPS updates from the C-17, thereby minimizing the time needed to be ready to fire and providing the capability of conducting long-distance Field Artillery raids. During his assignment at the JLENS Program Office, he established a test location at White Sands Missile Range which led to a successful integration with the United States Navy and a flight test with the SM-6 missile.
Prior to being assessed into the Acquisition Corps in 2004, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald served admirably in both cannon and rocket Field Artillery units. Initially commissioned in 1997, he attended the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course with the follow-on assignment to 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment (1-7 FA) in Schweinfurt, Germany. While at 1-7 FA, he served as Platoon and Battalion Fire Direction Officer, Battery Executive Officer, and Battalion Maintenance Officer, later deploying to Kosovo as part of Operation Joint Guardian. In this capacity, he directed the first operational fire mission since Desert Storm and reestablished fire mission capability with the OH-58D helicopter. After this assignment and graduation from the Field Artillery Captains Career Course, he served as the commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Service Battery for 6-27th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, later deploying to Iraq in 2003 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lastly, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald demonstrated his commitment to community service through his leadership roles with the North Alabama Field Artillery Association since 2014. As Chapter President, he successfully revitalized the dormant chapter, growing its active membership to over 108 members and earning an Honorable Mention in the 2022 annual membership drive. Under his leadership, the chapter has made a significant impact on the local community, donating thousands of dollars to veteran support groups and foster home charities, and awarding over $50,000 in scholarships to deserving high school seniors and college freshmen through its established scholarship program. Following his tenure as President, LTC(Ret.) Fitzgerald continued to serve the chapter as Vice President before transitioning to his current role on the Executive Council, further exemplifying his dedication to giving back to the community.
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Mr. Michael Turner (Posthumous Award)
Mr. Michael Turner demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and a lifetime commitment to the Field Artillery branch. Mike has contributed immeasurably to the Field Artillery community over a professional career spanning more than twenty-nine years at the Aviation and Missile Center; providing technical expertise in support of Field Artillery’s rocket and missile forces enabling the development and fielding of precise, long-range and lethal fire support to the current and future force. His in-depth science and engineering efforts have been instrumental in the fielding of numerous systems to include the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), Guided MLRS (GMLRS), Extended-Range GMLRS (ERG), the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), and the Precision Strike Missile.
As a Senior Electronics Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center, Mike was extensively involved in the development of the Guided Multiple Launched Rocket System (GMLRS) munition from technology demonstration through production. He was a member of the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) team that designed, developed, and built GMLRS rockets flight tested during the Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD) program in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He additionally provided invaluable support as the program transitioned to Systems Design and Development, Milestone C, through Full Rate Production. Mr. Turner also supported the development of the follow-on GMLRS Unitary program to add a precision strike capability used extensively in support of the Global War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other combat operations throughout the world to include the current conflict in Ukraine.
Mr. Turner is recognized as an expert in his field as evidenced by receipt of numerous awards over his career. His awards include the Department of the Army Research and Development Achievement Award for Technical Excellence in 1999 for his work on the GMLRS ATD and the Science and Technology Transition for Affordability Award in 2001 for his efforts in transitioning the GMLRS program into the acquisition phase.
Mr. Turner’s leadership as the Fires Capability Area Lead (CAL) from 2014 to 2022 directly resulted in the transition of multiple Science and Technology (S&T) efforts that transitioned to Programs of Record, providing additional capabilities to the Field Artillery. Mike’s effort’s directly contributed to the development of long-range lethal fire support to include Tail-Controlled GMLRS (TCG), Low Cost Tactical Extended Range Missile (LC-TERM), and Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile (LBASM). The TCG S&T effort paved the path and transitioned technology to the Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) Program Office (PO) for the ERG program which extended the range of the GMLRS system. Additionally, the LC-TERM effort developed navigation, propulsion, and warhead technologies which enabled the successful development of the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1. Lastly, under Mike’s leadership, AvMC successful demonstrated anti-ship technologies which have recently transitioned to the STORM Project Office for the PrSM Increment 2 Program.
Mike’s years of support to the Field Artillery and expertise enabled him to provide valuable counsel as the S&T Advisor to three Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) Cross-Functional Team (CFT) Directors. Mike directly contributed to and assisted in the development of the US Army’s Long-Range Fires Strategy approved by the Army and Department of Defense (DoD) Senior Leaders. This included the reprioritization of S&T efforts for the four increments of the PrSM missile, the experimentation efforts for the Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML) which successfully culminated in the firing of PrSM missiles as part of Valiant Shield 2024, and maturation of the Sensor-Fuzed Weapon for GMLRS and Modular Payloads supporting PrSM Increment 3.
Mr. Mike Turner’s storied career spanning many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian have been exemplary and is a model of selfless service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets and Missiles is unparalleled. As a Leader, his contributions to the Field Artillery’s modernization for over two decades in numerous challenging assignments has brought great credit to himself, AvMC, and the United States Army. ______________________________________________________________________________________
Honorable Order of St. Barbara Awardees
(North Alabama Chapter of the U.S. Field Artillery Association)
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Mr. Grant G. Chandler
Mr. Grant G. Chandler is the Chief Engineer for the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) under the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space (PEO MS). Mr. Chandler demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and commitment to the Field Artillery branch.
Mr. Chandler is a consummate professional who has significantly advanced the Field Artillery and broader fires portfolio of capabilities and progressed the scientific and technological field of hypersonics for the U.S. Army. Soldier focused; Grant’s leadership, expertise, and past support to Artillerymen and Warfighters have had a profound and positive impact on the branch and the service. His contributions have been instrumental to the Army delivering long range precision fires to the joint force, the service’s number one modernization priority.
In his current role as the LRHW Chief Engineer, Mr. Chandler oversees all aspects of Research, Development and Engineering with a program budget of more than $5.3B across all appropriations in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP). As a joint venture with the Navy, Mr. Chandler’s leadership on the LRHW Program has been instrumental in the development and delivery of prototype systems in coordination with our joint partners. That effort has yielded new missiles, command and control systems, and ground support equipment; providing combatant commanders with the ability to defeat adversary Anti-Access, Area Denial (A2AD) threats and conventionally strike strategic targets at ranges in excess of 1275 nautical miles. This novel capability is central to the Army’s multidomain operational concept for fires and supports its strategic role in enabling the joint force. Having served in the Army Hypersonics Program Office since its inception in 2019, Mr. Chandler’s relentless pursuit of cutting edge scientific and technological solutions to numerous engineering challenges, highlights the resilience and determination he has demonstrated for many years in support of the warfighter. Furthermore, his meticulous stewardship of the Army’s industry partners and commitment to modernization has accelerated the fielding of capabilities to the force and our understanding of the hypersonic field of study overall.
Beyond hypersonics, Mr. Chandler has a long history of dedicated service to the Fires community. Prior to serving as the Chief Engineer for the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, Grant served as the Chief Engineer and Program Director for the Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) developed by the US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC). The first major development program successfully undertaken by the government industrial base in more than 30years, MML yielded the initial Indirect Fire Protection Capability (IFPC) Increment 2-Intercept concept which incorporated a Miniature Hit to Kill (MHTK) and filled a critical gap in the U.S. Army’s Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar capability. His hard work and dedication were instrumental in the success of that project and the current state of that program as an open-architecture multi-role missile system capable of supporting the warfighter in a variety of scenarios. This effort, coupled with his years of dedicated service for to AMRDEC, which also included extensive work in the Joint Attack Munition Systems (JAMS) Project Office as a young engineer, outline a continuous history of support to the fires community across a range of fire support initiatives that have advanced the state of the branch.
Since entering government service nearly 18 years ago, Mr. Chandler’s meritorious contributions to the Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery communities in general, and the LRHW Project Office in particular, distinguish him as being highly worthy of induction as a member of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara.
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Mr. Joshua A. Cobb
Mr. Joshua A. Cobb has served as a support contractor for the AvMC Fires Capability Area Lead (CAL) supporting Rocket and Missile Modernization for the U.S. Army Field Artillery modernization efforts. In his capacity as a contractor support engineer, he has supported the trade study the Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML) effort from the beginning and was instrumental in the AML’s conceptual design. Over the last 5 years, Josh has accepted every challenge, met every planned test and SIE, and has risen to become the Programs Chief Engineer for Mr. Lucas Hunter’s program at AvMC.
Josh ensured that Monte Sano Research Corporation (MSRC) efforts directly led to funding availability for the AML program, supporting their build up and deployment for both the demonstration in 2021 at Fort Sill, then Project Convergence in 2022, Valiant Shield in 2024, and now Project Convergence for 2025. This system has shown the possibilities for an Autonomous Field Artillery System supporting Maneuver Formations, DIVARTY, and the Combatant Commanders. AML has now matured with multiple live fire tests and demonstrations to TRL 6 and is transitioning to the Long-Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team, at FT. Sill, OK.
Additionally, over his military career as an artilleryman, Josh has deployed twice as an artilleryman, at the Platoon Leader level with A Battery, 1-181st FA BN supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, and again as the HHB Commander, 1-181st FA BN while also supporting AMRDEC and the Palletized Field Artillery Launcher (PFAL) as a support contractor, and now the Army Aviation and Mission Center. In his capacity as a National Guardsman, he supported AvMC’s efforts in PFAL and AML through coordinating with his Brigade and Battalion to support various User Juries with MLRS crewmen, Master Gunners, Logistics, and Maintenance personnel.
Josh Cobb continues to support the Field Artillery in the Fires Capability Area of AvMC by providing advice gained through many years of engineering expertise and combat deployments during his continued military service. His ability to understand challenges presented and provide plausible solutions has been instrumental in the Field Artillery’s continued success in Modernizing the Rocket and Missile formations.
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Mr. Evan Ezell
Mr. Evan Ezell is fully qualified to receive the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian has been exemplary and is a model of self-less service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets and Missiles is unparalleled. He has contributed significantly to the Field Artillery’s modernization over the past two decades in numerous challenging assignments to include supporting the Extended Range Propulsion Project for Precision Strike Missile and the Direct Support Fires Technology (DSFT) rockets project, and the Autonomous Multi-domain Launcher (AML) Science and Technology (S&T) demonstration effort.
Evan’s expertise and success with international affairs has proven significant partnerships across multiple S&T programs and was instrumental in helping transition S&T efforts to other partner nations. His efforts were instrumental in establishing and finalizing the Long Range Precision Fires Partnership agreement with Australia, and has initiated multiple other S&T efforts with our NATO Allies.
Currently, Evan is serving as the Deputy Fires Capability Area Lead (CAL) responsible for all early 6.2 S&T efforts supporting the Field Artillery Rocket and Missile Formations. As the deputy, he is also a key S&T advisor representing AvMC to the Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) Cross Functional Team (CFT) and Army Futures Command Joint Modernization Command and is responsible for advising the One-Star Directors on the direction and prioritization of Rocket and Missile S&T supporting the PrSM program, as well as the Experimentation and Study Staffs across the Long Range Precision fires community of interest. In this capacity, he supports over 100 military, civilian, and contractor personnel in the Missile and Rocket modernization enterprise with and in the absence of the CAL.
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MAJ Brendan Georgas
MAJ Brendan Georgas is the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Production and Modernization Assistant Product Manager (APM) for the Army’s MRC Product Office under the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space (PEO MS). MAJ Georgas demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and commitment to the Field Artillery branch. MAJ Georgas is a consummate professional who has made significant contributions and advanced the Field Artillery portfolio of capabilities. His leadership, expertise, and support to Artillerymen and Warfighters in this role have had a profound and positive impact on the branch and helped to shape operations globally.
In his current role, MAJ Georgas leads the production and modernization of the Army’s newest fires platform, which is one of the highest priorities in the long-range precision fires portfolio. He expertly developed and executed the production strategy of MRC systems under the Middle Tier of Acquisition – Rapid Prototyping pathway and supported the transition of the program from the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office to the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space. He led multi-functional teams of professionals across the program office and with a variety of stakeholders across the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of the Navy, Department of the Army and the MRC contractors. In all domains, he leads with purpose and passion, helping to meet program and Warfighter requirements. Through his leadership, the program has produced and fielded the second MRC battery to the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and is managing the fabrication of another two batteries in progress.
While overseeing modernization efforts of the MRC system, MAJ Georgas has worked hand-in-hand with both the Warfighters using the equipment and the program’s engineering and logistics teams to establish a pathway for upgrading the system, enhancing capability and survivability on the battlefield. Through his collaborative leadership style, the program developed a block modernization strategy that advances system capability while also taking into account system production, test, and fiscal realities. Through modernization, the system gains new munition capability, extended of communications and battlefield dispersion, and updated command and control capabilities that reduce the operational footprint on the battlefield. MAJ Georgas has also been the driving force for Continuous Soldier Feedback events, gathering relevant feedback on system performance and usability. Through these events, scores of system updates have been captured and incorporated into the modernization strategy making a profound impact.
MAJ Georgas has demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise across multiple areas of responsibility, significantly contributing to advancing this critical capability. His depth of system knowledge and ability to clearly communicate allowed him to facilitate understanding across the Army and Department of Defense on the MRC system. His efforts ensured that technology upgrades aligned with Warfighter priorities. MAJ Georgas also served the Long-Range Fires portfolio of capabilities while serving as a Department of the Army Systems Coordinator, managing both the MRC and Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon programs in the Pentagon. He facilitated broad understanding of program status and readiness allowing Army and program leadership the key information needed to support timely decision-making. Through his efforts, these programs have maintained critical service and congressional support necessary to deliver these capabilities to the warfighters who will strategically employ them.
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Mr. Adam Harland
Mr. Adam Harland has provided significant contributions to the Field Artillery and Air Defense communities in the areas of modeling and simulation, missile system design, concept development, and systems engineering support to the government on multiple Science and Technology (S&T) development efforts.
Mr. Harland, as a Senior Engineer at MSRC, leads a team of engineers that assist S&T leadership at AvMC with program execution by engaging with the User community to identify and shape weapon system desired capabilities, leads critical trade study and analysis activities to inform system performance requirements, and participates in Government prime contractor oversight activities for multiple critical technology development programs in support of Programs of Record. Examples include Modular Payloads, Long Range Maneuverable Fires (LRMF), and Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) programs in support of planned PrSM and GMLRS increments to improve system lethality.
Mr. Harland continues to contribute to the field artillery community through effective Industry engagement and superior technical analysis. Mr. Harland has provided insights and expertise that are critical to Army decision making and resource planning.
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Mr. Kelsey Haynes
Mr. Kelsey R. Haynes’ contributions to the development and modernization of both U.S. and strategic foreign allies’ Air Defense Systems is a testament to Kelsey’s leadership and technical strengths. Mr. Haynes currently serves as the International Director for the Integrated Fires Directorate, Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, where he is instrumental in the implementation and modernization of key strategic allies’ offensive and defensive fires systems. Kelsey has been principle to the execution of a modernization strategy for Foreign Military Sales for Integrated Air and Missile Defense, which helped to establish a new method for case development and execution of a system of systems architecture including both U.S. and Allied Partner components. These modernization efforts are significantly important not only to the U.S. interests but to fielding operational capability to allied partners.
Previously, Mr. Haynes served as the Deputy Project Manager for the Common Hypersonic Glide Body for the Army Hypersonic Project Office, Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO). Kelsey provided engineering and programmatic oversight, leadership, direction and guidance to a multidisciplinary staff to produce hypersonic capabilities across multiple services and agencies within the Department of Defense. During his tenure in this position, he was able to provide both technical and programmatic direction to a workforce of over 2,000 personnel that included civil service, support contractors, military, academia and industry. Due to his dedication and commitment to the mission the Army Hypersonic Project Office was able to produce and deliver the first few glide bodies for the developmental flight testing and the Army’s fires tactical rounds.
Kelsey also served as the Product Director for the Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) for the Army Hypersonic Project Office where he provided key strategic leadership to the workforce responsible for the production, manufacturing and testing of the system. His efforts ensured on-time delivery of the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System’s Ground Support Equipment to the 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment.
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Mr. Edwin Hogan
Mr. C. Edwin Hogan many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian has been exemplary and is a model of selfless service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets and Missiles Global Positioning System (GPS) and Alternate Navigation is unparalleled. He has contributed significantly to the Field Artillery’s modernization over the past three decades in numerous challenging assignments to include supporting the development of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), Precision Strike Missile, and multiple component S&T projects.
Edwin’s expertise and success with GPS and Alternate Navigation is widely recognized and has been instrumental for increasing the resilience of GPS of current and future Army Artillery rockets and missiles. This includes testing and integration of multiple current and emerging GPS, Alternate Navigation, and anti-jam technologies into missile navigation systems as well flight testing of these technologies to demonstrate future capabilities and provide proof that these technologies are viable.
Mr. Hogan’s expertise and efforts have revolutionized rocket and missile artillery to make precision an expected capability on advance systems. His efforts will continue to shape the future of rocket and missile radiofrequency navigation and can provide capabilities to the Army for sustained overmatch of future battlefields.
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Ms. Brooke D. Howe
Ms. Brooke D. Howe, is the Senior Manager Long Range Precision Fires Team Manager, Monte Sano Research Corporation, into the ranks of the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. Over her 20 year career she has supported the Field Artillery in numerous ways. She supported the Extended Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) Program as Lead developer and manager of the EAPS program. Most recently, she served as the support contractor for the Fires Capability Area Lead (CAL) supporting Rocket and Missile Modernization for the Field Artillery. In this capacity, her support was instrumental in helping the Fires CAL advocate for multiple Science and Technology efforts in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC) to include the Land Based Anti-Ship Missile (LBASM) Science and Technology (S&T) program, and the Extended Range Propulsion 6.2 efforts which have led to Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) RAMJET technologies.
Brooke, in her capacity a Boeing and Monte Sano Research corporation engineer has been instrumental in the Science and Technology Field at the AMRDEC and now the Army Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC). Lead analyst in missile survivability team utilizing a set of tools to determine red force vs. blue force capabilities Her role as the lead analyst in an active flash laser seeker science and technology initiative, and she developed multiple missile simulation models for a 6-DOF simulation to be used for the Low Cost Tactical Ended Range Missile (LC-TERM) technologies and the Land Based Anti-Ship Missile (LBASM) program for PrSM. She participated in extensive documentation tasks for multiple simulations such as the legacy Kalman filter, flight code and the current 6-DOF program, and conducted an extended range analysis for existing missile systems that led to new modernization programs for the Army’s Long Range Precision Fires efforts.
Ms. Howe continues to support the Field Artillery in the Long Range Precision Fires modernization by providing advice and programmatic support to the AvMC Fires CAL in multiple S&T efforts. Her ability to understand the challenge presented and provide solutions have been instrumental in the Field Artillery’s continued success in Modernizing Rocket and Missile weapon systems.
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Mr. Lucas C. Hunter
Mr. Lucas Hunter’s many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian has been exemplary and is a model of self-less service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets, Missiles and Field Artillery Launchers is unmatched. He has contributed significantly to the Field Artillery’s modernization over the past two decades in numerous challenging assignments to include supporting Field Artillery Launcher (FAL) modernization, Shoot on the Move (ShOTM) effort which utilized the Multi-Mission Launcher (MML) and the Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher (AML) Science and Technology (S&T) demonstration effort.
Lucas’ expertise and success in executing S&T programs has been instrumental in informing the Long-Range Precision Fires (LRFP) Cross Functional Team (CFT) in developing requirements for the next generation launcher platform. His successful live fire demonstrations of the AML effort in 2021, in Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) 2024 and at Valiant Shield 2024 has paved the way for Human Machine Integration of launcher platforms. The AML system has provided a proof in concept that autonomously operated field artillery launcher platforms can enhance long range fires while increasing Soldier survivability. This prompted both the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and the Army to develop a Directed Requirement for the next generation Integrated Fires Launcher effort which seeks to integrate Air Defense and Field Artillery capability into one common launcher platform.
Mr. Hunter’s efforts in artillery launcher modernization efforts continue to pay dividends for the Army and OSD as he leverages the AML to prove out the next generation launcher platform. Mr. Hunter’s work with launcher development is blazing the trail for the next generation of Fires Launcher and providing the Army the ability to prosecute targets in multiple domains across Operational distances.
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Mr. Phillip N. Jenkins
Mr. Phillip N. Jenkins is exceptionally qualified to receive the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian and support contractor have been exemplary and are a model of selfless service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets and Missiles Navigation is unparalleled. He has contributed significantly to the Field Artillery’s modernization over the past three decades in numerous challenging assignments to include supporting the development of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), Precision Strike Missile, and multiple component S&T projects.
Phil’s expertise and success with Navigation Architectures has been widely recognized and has been instrumental for increasing the precision of current and future Army Artillery rockets and missiles. This includes testing and integration of multiple current and emerging navigation technologies into missile systems as well flight testing of these technologies to demonstrate future capabilities and provide proof that these technologies are viable.
Mr. Jenkins’ expertise and efforts have revolutionized rocket and missile artillery to make precision an expected capability on advance systems. His efforts will continue to shape the future of rocket and missile navigation and can provide capabilities to the Army for sustained overmatch of future battlefields.
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Ms. Leah Marie McIntosh
Ms. Leah Marie McIntosh currently serves as the Deputy Project Manager for the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) Integration Project Office under the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space (PEO MS). In this role, Ms. McIntosh demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism, stewardship, and commitment to the Field Artillery branch.
During her 20+ years of service as an Army Civilian to the Department of Defense, Ms. McIntosh has consistently demonstrated her commitment to the Fires community and to the Field Artillery. A consummate acquisition professional, Ms. McIntosh has dedicated her time, talents and leadership to the advancement of Army fires capabilities, both offensive and defensive, putting the most advanced weapon systems in the world into the hands of U.S. Army Soldiers and Artillerymen. Her knowledge, expertise, understanding of the warfighter, and relentless support to their needs, distinguishes her amongst her peers and has had a tremendous impact on the branch. In her current capacity her contributions have been instrumental to the Army delivering long range precision fires to the joint force, the service’s number one modernization priority.
As the Deputy Project Manager (Integration) for LRHW, Ms. McIntosh shoulders tremendous responsibility and is delivering for the Artillery. The importance of this system to the joint force cannot be overstated and Leah’s role in fielding command and control systems, ground support equipment and missiles that provide combatant commanders with the ability to defeat adversary Anti-Access, Area Denial (A2AD) threats and conventionally strike strategic targets at ranges in excess of 1275 nautical miles has been key and essential. This novel capability is central to the Army’s multidomain operational concept for fires and supports its strategic role in enabling the joint force. Overseeing a program budget of $10.2B across all appropriations in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP), Leah adeptly manages cost, schedule, and performance for the LRHW Battery; simultaneously balancing production and modernization efforts while coordinating a team of more than 80 Civilians, Contractors and Military Acquisition Officers. She has been instrumental in the Army’s Hypersonic Campaign of Learning (CoL) and has been crucial in managing a vast array of stakeholders from Army, Navy and other DoD Senior Leadership to industry partners, to the Fires Center of Excellence institutional base and the front line warfighter at the theater and tactical level. The result of her commitment has been the fulfillment of a mid-tier acquisition strategy that accelerated the development and fielding of the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon six years ahead of traditional Army approaches to acquisition. Furthermore, she oversaw the successful transition of the program from the Rapid Capability Critical Technology Office (RCCTO) to the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space preparing the program for eventual life cycle management.
Ms. McIntosh’s support to the Fires community however, extends far beyond her current position and in addition to her recent work on hypersonics she has had a meaningful impact on the defensive side of fires as well. Beginning early in her career, Leah performed important work as a Launcher Systems Engineer on the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, continuing to develop through various other important jobs, such as the Flight Safety Representative for THAADs testing at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), and later as a Ground Test Conductor. This led to work with the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Project Office as a Test and Evaluation Engineer where she saw extensive service at White Sands Missile Range. Ultimately, her extensive work in weapon system development would lead her to a key leadership role at the Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missiles (STORM) Office where she would perform superbly as the Supervisory Test Lead Engineer, managing multiple STORM PO test programs with OSD Oversight.
Ms. McIntosh’s outstanding leadership and decades of service to the development of Fires capabilities for the Army, both offensive and defensive, distinguish her amongst her peers and sets an example for others in the acquisition community. Her unparalleled commitment to Artillerymen, their warfighting needs, and the needs of the Joint Force is worthy of the highest praise and commendation the fires community can bestow. Based on her past, present and future work in support of the total fires enterprise it is my distinct honor to recommend her for this award.
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Ms. Janine Morse
Ms. Janine Morse is the Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Production Lead for the Army’s MRC Product Office under the Program Executive Office, Missiles and Space (PEO MS). She consistently demonstrates the highest standards of professionalism and commitment to the Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery branch and its Soldiers.
Ms. Morse is a consummate professional who has advanced the Field Artillery and Air Defense portfolio of capabilities by providing expertise and support to Artillerymen and Air Defenders in various positions. She has held various positions of leadership and support in both the MRC and Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) programs, making a significant positive impact on these branches and helping usher in these new fire platforms currently in operational use.
As the Battery Operations Center Product Director for MRC, Ms. Morse skillfully led a team of engineers to advance one of the Army’s highest-priority modernization efforts. Janine and her team rapidly progressed the MRC BOC through the design and production phase in just a year for the initial prototype battery, overcoming supply chain challenges and labor shortages experienced during COVID. Through her leadership, the team achieved their scheduled delivery date to the Army’s 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) in November 2022, with the First Unit of Issue achieved on 23 September 2023. Ms. Morse was always at the decisive point during the development and production of the system, helping to eliminate roadblocks and ensure that resources were in place to accomplish the mission. Her direct efforts also allowed the program to conduct the Army’s first live-fire of the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles, successfully demonstrating the lethality of the system.
Ms. Morse also previously supported the M-SHORAD Increment 1 program. In her role as a Senior Program Analyst, Ms. Morse was responsible for supporting the production of the M-SHORAD systems. She worked hand in hand with professionals on the engineering, production, and quality teams for both the Government and prime contractor to ensure the on-time delivery of over 36 systems to the field. Ms. Morse also managed the detailed process for developing the documentation required to transition the program from an Urgent Capability acquisition pathway to the Middle Tier of Acquisition – Rapid Fielding pathway. The approved documentation was a prerequisite for additional production of this critical Air Defense capability in high demand across the Army.
Ms. Morse once again returned to the MRC Product office and now serves as the Production Lead for this critical capability. She directly oversees the production of MRC Ground Support Equipment, maintaining synchronization across the Government, contractor, and Navy partners to produce additional MRC batteries. Her focused leadership has led to fielding the second MRC battery to the 1st MDTF at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, with two additional batteries currently in production. She skillfully maintains visibility on production progress, alerting the team of challenges and working together to overcome roadblocks to production.
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MR. Nautilus Nobles
Mr. Nautilus Nobles has a distinguished career marked by exceptional leadership, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to advancing the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Branch, the U.S. Army Field Artillery Branch, and the broader field of Air and Missile Defense. His ability to lead diverse teams, manage complex programs, and deliver exceptional results has set him apart as a true asset to the Artillery community.
Mr. Nobles has served as the Director of Operations for the Strategic and Operational Rockets and Missile Systems (STORM) Project Office, Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS), for over three years. In this capacity, he leads all Planning and Operations, Management Support, and Facilities and Property functions, supporting a workforce of more than 350 personnel. Under his strategic leadership, STORM has advanced critical systems such as the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS), and Precision Strike Missile (PrSM). His efforts have directly enhanced operational readiness and the modernization of the Army’s Fires capabilities, ensuring warfighters are equipped with state-of-the-art systems.
Nautilus’s pursuit of continuous improvement exemplifies his dedication to leadership and technical excellence. His commitment to ongoing education and certifications ensure he remains at the forefront of his field, consistently enhancing his ability to lead and inspire others. His efforts have significantly contributed to the advancement of the Artillery community, strengthening its role in safeguarding our nation and supporting allied defense initiatives.
Mr. Nobles embodies the highest standards of leadership, professionalism, and dedication celebrated by the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His visionary leadership, coupled with his demonstrated ability to deliver tangible results, has had a profound and lasting impact on the Artillery community and broader defense enterprise.
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Mr. Patrick B. Renfroe
Mr. Patrick B. Renfroe is exceptionally qualified to receive the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. His many years of service to the Nation as a Government Civilian has been exemplary and is a model of selfless service. As an Engineer in the Aviation and Missile Center (AvMC), his technical expertise in the field of Rockets and Missiles inertial navigation is unparalleled. He has contributed significantly to the Field Artillery’s modernization over the past three decades in numerous challenging assignments to include supporting the development of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) as well as Low Cost Tactical Extended Range Missile (LC-TERM), Direct Support Fires Technology (DSFT), and Advanced Hypersonic Technology (S&T) demonstration efforts.
Patrick’s expertise and success with inertial measurement units (IMU) is widely recognized and has been instrumental for reducing reliance on GPS of current and future Army Artillery rockets and missiles. This includes testing and integration of current and emerging IMU’s into missile navigation systems as well as development of advanced IMU’s that could provide game changing improvements to missile accuracy in GPS denied environments.
Currently, Patrick is serving as the Principal Investigator on multiple S&T projects developing advanced IMU’s and complementary navigation technologies. His efforts will continue to shape the future of rocket and missile inertial navigation and can provide capabilities to the Army for sustained overmatch of future battlefields.
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MS. Martha Tallman
Ms. Martha Tallman exemplifies exceptional leadership, unwavering dedication, and visionary focus, all of which have left an indelible mark on the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Branch, the U.S. Army Field Artillery Branch, and the broader field of Air and Missile Defense. Her career is a testament to her relentless commitment to excellence and mission success.
As the Director of International Programs for the Strategic and Operational Rocket and Missile Systems (STORM) Project Office, Program Executive Office Missiles and Space (PEO MS), Ms. Tallman leads with distinction. She oversees the Cooperative Programs Division, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Division, and International Strategic Operations. Under her leadership, the organization manages 88 active FMS cases valued at $8.4 billion, fostering partnerships with 18 countries. Ms. Tallman’s ability to lead complex international engagements has directly strengthened global air and missile defense capability, enhancing the strategic readiness of allied Forces in dynamic and challenging environments.
Martha’s leadership extends beyond her current role. Prior to joining STORM, she served as the International Program Management Specialist for Search Track Acquire Radiate Eliminate (STARE) Project Office. There, she played a critical role in managing the Army air defense artillery and field artillery sensor systems, ensuring they were equipped and sustained to meet the needs of the global warfighter. Her leadership in program management resulted in improved operational readiness, directly contributing to the effectiveness of U.S. and allied forces in dynamic and challenging environments.
Ms. Tallman is widely respected for her ability to lead with vision, inspire her teams, and achieve tangible results. Her focus on collaboration, innovation, and mission-driven leadership has consistently yielded outcomes that exceed expectations. She has successfully navigated complex international negotiations, ensuring the delivery of cutting-edge solutions that fortify the Artillery community’s role as a cornerstone of national and allied defense. ______________________________________________________________________________________