SPAWAR civilians receive medal, award for MRAP vehicle integration

Two employees of SPAWAR recently received awards for their contributions to the agency’s armored vehicle integration program.

Joe Rodgers and Pete Ward were presented Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medals, the second-highest award and medal provided to civilian employees within agencies of the federal government.

SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, left, stands with Joe Rodgers, third from right, and his family after Rodgers received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. (Photo/Joe Bullinger)

SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon, left, stands with Pete Ward, fourth from right, and his family after Ward received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. (Photo/Joe Bullinger)

Rodgers and Ward earned the awards for service as program manager and lead project engineer, respectively, for the MRAP integration effort. SPAWAR takes mine-resistant vehicles, some that are manufactured at Ladson-based Force Protection, and outfits them with equipment and components to make them ready for the battlefield.

The secretary of defense, the secretary of the Navy and the chief of naval operations recognized the MRAP vehicle program integration efforts as the largest and fastest build-up of military technology in America since World War II during visits to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic in Hanahan.

Since 2007, SSC Atlantic has played a vital role in the MRAP vehicle program by integrating various components into vehicles to enhance war fighter capabilities on the battlefield. The challenge of the MRAP project has been to meet a strict delivery schedule on a high volume of vehicles while maintaining configuration management across multiple vehicle and variants. To date, the team has integrated more than 15,000 MRAP vehicles, most of which were shipped to Afghanistan and Iraq.

SSC Atlantic Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Urbon presented the medals during a recent “All Hands” gathering.

“These folks are so highly deserving of recognition,” Urbon said. “It is important that our entire command honors them. They have set a superior standard of performance.”

SSC Atlantic sites in New Orleans, La.; Tidewater, Va.; Washington, D.C.; and Tampa and Pensacola, Fla., tuned in for the awards presentation via video teleconference.