January 31, 2025

Brian Farlow (SDA)

I received the following note from Brian Farlow’s Government customer and would like to recognize Brian with this PRIDE Award. Thank you Brian for representing Qualis so well and taking care of our customer.” I just wanted to reach out to let you know how helpful Brian Farlow is as a member of the SDA team: Recently I requested he assist in the execution of the SDA custody layer architecture conference. He showed up and was of great help to the organization by making sure the event went off without a hitch. Brian’s experience running ITT meetings for SDA, as well as his career USAF experience was invaluable to execution of an important event at Meadows. It was a super long day of execution (~0700-1900) and my team in the WIC was completely tapped out for personnel; Brian’s help made the event far more successful than it would have been otherwise.” Jonathan Maginot, Warfighter Integration Cell, Space Development Agency- Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

GWEF Collateral Cybersecurity Team (Maria Byrd, Tasha Childres, Hagan O’Brien) (TMAS II)

I received the following from Diana Hartzog, AFRL/RWOC Information System Security Manager, “I just want to say thanks for opening up the door for me to sit down with your collateral Cyber team. Wow, they are a great motivated team. I shouldn’t be surprised, though, with what I know about the rest of your team!! They were able to shed some light on some obstacles I was having and opened up communications for future correspondence and the sharing of processes, procedures, and RMF documentation. I just wanted to say thank you. They were very welcoming and eager to share!” Thank you Maria, Hagan, and Tasha for always representing Qualis with professionalism and for sharing documentation and processes in the interest of supporting fellow Air Force units. Your efforts do not go unnoticed!- Nominated by Amber Harvey, CLIN6 Task Lead

Robert Schmidt (TMAS II)

I received the following from Billy Gannon, Configuration Manager at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF): “I wanted to pass onto you some great work by Robert. He is always one to help and to do whatever he can to benefit the team. In this particular case he was able to put aside things he was working on and help our newest employee Tabitha get her NIPR setup so that she could get started training and working. Robert went above and beyond to get her information regarding her status on her network connectivity. The great thing is that NIPR is not Roberts responsibility and yet he is still willing to do whatever is needed to help the team succeed. I wanted to pass on my appreciation for Robert and all he does here at the GWEF and for Qualis.” Rob — thank you for always doing what is necessary for team success and delivering solutions to all issues, big or small. –Nominated by Amber Harvey, CLIN6 Task Lead

January 17, 2025

Eetu Kohtanen (ESSCA)

“Eetu has been a model employee and receives many kudos from our branch and project customers. NASA Team Lead, Lowery Duvall recently wrote:

Dr. Eetu Kohtanen is an extraordinary engineer. He adeptly applies his advanced knowledge of structural dynamics and acoustics to a wide-range of problems including flow-induced vibration in a nuclear thermal propulsion reactor, rotor-dynamic stability assessments of rocket engine turbomachinery and cryo-cooler refrigeration pumps, signal analysis of fluid-structure interaction of vibrating bellows, and fluid-structure interaction of rocket engine turbopump inducers, impellers, & turbines. Eetu also demonstrates a unique acumen for explaining complex problems simply and effectively. He perceptively uses the appropriate level of detail to communicate with his audience, while intuitively navigating around unnecessary complications. The extraordinary quality of his analyses are beyond thorough. And yet the quantity of his work does not suffer for it. He produces a remarkable volume of outstanding products. He is willing to learn new tools, while he searches for opportunities to improve methods and processes. All the while, Eetu graciously accommodates and helps others. In doing so, he has made invaluable & essential contributions to NASA’s missions, and he sets a distinguished example for other engineers to emulate. –Nominated by James Bruce, Vice President of NASA Programs

Gary Sellers (ESSCA)

From NASA Customer: I wanted to reach out and let you know that Mr. Gary Sellers deserves some big Kudos for his efforts before the holidays. He worked to gather information on two different projects with extremely tight deadlines and ever-changing requests for information. He worked diligently in providing information and graphics for all configurations (which included building new CAD models for each) requested by the customer for the EUS Transporter effort. All of this was done to provide input for a Joint Control Board meeting and there were many times the customer came in with last minute requests. In the middle of all of that, he worked to complete an even tighter deadline for producing graphics (again, requiring model updates) for the 30% TRR USA SQA chart package. This one was requested by the customer the morning of the due date and after we submitted the information, the customer requested changes at the “11th hour”. Gary made the requested updates and delivered the updated graphics before the submission deadline.- Nominated by James Bruce, Vice President of NASA Programs

 Scotty Anthony (ESSCA)

Continuity testing was being conducted on a tower door in the EUS Lab in building 4205. This testing had been done multiple times before and the Technicians were familiar with executing the procedure. However, an additional step had been added to the Test Preparation Sheet (TPS). Scotty thoroughly read the TPS and noticed the new step had been skipped. Scotty stopped the work and corrected the techs. Without, Scotty’s input, the circuit cards could have been destroyed. There are 10+ circuit cards in each tower door. Scotty’s actions prevented any damage and saved thousands of dollars plus the time spent to build and test new cards. Its likely the customer would have initiated an investigation resulting in negative comments for our team. Action Taken: Scotty executed his right to pause the testing. He pointed out to his team members the new TPS step and measurement limits. Scotty’s attention to detail saved time, money and our reputation for quality work. This serves as a lesson learned for future testing and tasks.- Nominated by James Bruce, Vice President of NASA Programs

Candice Sexton (Corporate)

Requesting a PRIDE award for Candice Sexton due to her exemplary work in supporting Qualis’ AS9100 recertification audit. During this critical recertification audit in November 2024, Ms. Sexton completed numerous actions and activities in support of the audit, without which, our company recertification would have been jeopardized. This audit support was in addition to her normal daily duties, all of which continued to be performed flawlessly and timely. Throughout her work on the audit, she provided thoughtful, timely suggestions for documentation and process improvements, allowing senior managers to quickly respond to the audit requirements. Additionally, Ms. Sexton displayed superlative teamwork throughout, even when confronted with a challenging scehdule! Due to Candice’s efforts, Qualis expects full recertification from our 3rd party auditor!  –Nominated by Steven Miley, Vice President of Contracts

Andrew Demers (Corporate)

I would like to take this time to acknowledge Andrew Demers and how much of an asset I think he is to our team and company. I can’t express enough on how much I appreciate the support Andrew provided me and others during 2024. In March of 2024, I asked Andrew if he would accept some additional responsibilities with overseeing the Program Control functions, in conjunction with his current job, Pricing all our proposals, so that I could help oversee the Contracts Department while the company was going through a recapitalization. He accepted the responsibility and never missed a beat. Towards the end of our due diligence process in August, I leaned on Andrew again to help me at the last-minute with putting some financial data together that was required. Thank you again Andrew for all your hard work and dedication. Nicole Keel, Vice President of Program Control- Nominated by Nicole Keel, VP, Program Control

January 10, 2025

Scott Allison (4 TES)

Scott has become known around the office as the go-to guy for anything related to Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) document generation and editing. The program test director had been struggling with the creation of an Operational Utility Evaluation (OUE) plan. Scott stepped up and meticulously drafted the OUE plan, ensuring every detail was accounted for and every requirement met. Additionally, knowing the team was facing multiple Temporary Duty (TDY) assignments helped draft a schedule that balanced the workload and ensured that every TDY was covered. His unwavering dedication to his work demonstrates a commitment to excellence. Nominated by John Powers, Task Lead/Sr. Space Engineer– Nominated by John Powers, Task Lead/Sr. Space Engineer

 Steven Oats (UHPO)

I received an email from Steven’s Utility Helicopters Project Office (UHPO) customer, Ms. Mona Belleville – Chief, Provisioning Branch, ALC, (UHPO, Tech Data Division) praising Mr. Oats for the knowledge he brings to the UHPO Provisioning Team and for his timely execution, accuracy, and detailed taskers he completes weekly. Ms. Belleville noted that Steven is exactly the kind of support professional that they need on their team. Thank you Steven for your unwavering support of our UHPO customer! – Nominated by Amanda Brown, VP of Logistics

December 6, 2024

Juliana Coutinho (ALT PNT)

Since her start at Qualis as a Jr. Software Engineer, Juli has contributed greatly to Qualis Software Engineering Directorate’s projects and process. From automating cybersecurity compliance and process improvement to serving as primary developer on SCPI, an internal device automation tool for our engineers, her initiative has allowed her to grow her skills quickly and become an important asset to our team and company.  – Nominated by Mark Williams, Software Engineer

 Dawood (David) Muhammad (Army Aviation Systems)

Our customer, Jamie Hardy, the Materiel Release Chief within the Utility Helicopter Program Office (UHPO) provided the following comments relative to Qualis support: “I currently have the privilege of having David Muhammad support me in support Materiel Release efforts within UHPO. Over the last several months Mr. Muhammad have done an outstanding job in ensuring all MR efforts have been completed on-time thus providing new innovations and capabilities to the War Fighter. The Qualis LLC Utility Helicopter Project Office (UHPO) Logistics Materiel Release Team in coordination with the U.S. Government has recently received approvals for three materiel release efforts from the AMCOM Commanding General (CG), MG Lori Robinson. All Systems, software, and equipment must be deemed safe, suitable, and supportable prior to fielding to the Warfighter. Hardware and software that fall within the requirement of a release effort can take anywhere from 12-24 months from inception to final approval. The Qualis team is responsible for leading IPTs, developing regulatory documentation, executive briefings, serving as a liaison between UHPO stakeholders, external government agencies, MACOMS, PEO Aviation, AMCOM, and ensuring that all 31+ extensive requirements have been met and approved in accordance with Army regulations. This summer, the team received Conditional Materiel Release (CMR) approval of the Common Infrared Countermeasures integration on both the HH-60M MEDEVAC and UH-60M Helicopters for U.S. Army Forces Command. The CIRCM system provides near spherical coverage of the host platform to defeat IR seeking threat missiles providing flexibility to adapt to technology and threat evolution. This fall, the team received Full Materiel Release approval for the Airframe Mounted Rescue Hoist (AMRH) integration on the UH-60M Helicopters for the U.S. Army National Guard. The AMRH system aircraft modification enables the pilot and crew the means to attach, raise, and lower external static and dynamic loads to and from the aircraft, increasing mission capabilities. These capabilities are imperative during natural disasters, rescue, and relief missions. The team successfully briefed the MG Robinson in person on the effort as part of the approval process. The team also received CMR approval for the software 4.0 update with MAGNA-F on the UH-60V Helicopters. The software update enhanced engine exceedance timers and provides interface of the CIRCM and MAGNA-F. The MAGNA-F system provides increased anti-jamming capability to the fleet.” – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 Pat Levesque (TMAS II)

Highlights that should be recognized:1. Maintains a great relationship with an external contractor, participating in multiple meetings each week as well as reviewing their work/documentation for the team. Providing excellent feedback to the external contractor working with the operation research Center Scheduling Optimization Model (CSOM). This model is fully integrated into CSE Eglin and CSE Edwards and will schedule the missions for a full week at the click of a button. Pat was solely responsible for the code to verify all missions are valid prior to this model running. 2. Rewrote the mission calendar in CSE Eglin allowing us to remove a third-party tool (Infragistics) which was a very difficult task. Many on the team refused to take this task on and Pat volunteered, this entailed months of works to manually program what the third-party tool did automatically. This calendar is used daily by the Chief of Scheduling and for multiple users throughout the entire Eglin community. It is a very pivotal part of CSE Eglin and the users were adamant that it had to maintain the same feature set as the existing calendar. Pat has excelled in completing this task. 3. Pat is a very thorough software engineer, paying close attention to detail. She goes above and beyond the required process by providing test case documents for all change request that she accomplishes. She also accomplishes 4-5 change request (CR) out of 15-19 CR builds compared to other developers on the team that typically contribute 2-3 CRs max. From the Gov. Lead: We are very thankful for the work that Pat does for our team and appreciate all of the extra work and dedication she has shown through the years. With a mixed team, it is difficult for me to nominate civilians for awards when my star team member is a contractor. Please note that if she was a civilian member, she would receive countless awards from the government. – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

 Rachel Anthony and Kaitlyn Hardin (TMAS II)

“I am writing this email to formally commend the superb support by Rachel Anthony and Kaitlyn Hardin during my time executing the AFMC EN Tabletop Exercise (TTX) at the Eglin SVTC Facility. Rachel and Kaitlyn exemplify the Air Force core value of service before self by going above and beyond (A&B) to support my mission earlier than expected on Tuesday November 5th, and rescheduling the SVTC schedule for Wednesday November 6th access of the facility. AFTC/EN thank them for their superb effort in supporting an important mission for the Test Center. “Joshua Y. Vu, Ph.D., PMP Chief, Test & Evaluation Division, Air Force Test Center – ENT – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

November 22, 2024

Jeffrey (Jeff) Jones (ARC)

“In recognition for direct support to the FEM-02 Level III Training Event. As the PCIL Lab manager for DTL, Jeff Jones responded timely to the needs of the training event coordinator, to bring the PCIL lab up to a training operational state, a lab that is primarily designated for testing, This was in direct response to the primary training lab becoming un-operational, and ultimately needing an immediate remedy. Due to the Jeff Jones actions, he successful coordinated with the Hardware Team, and the Test Execution Team to install OPDASH 2.0 and bring up all comms equipment to 100%. This training event supported a highly visible MDA Defense of Guam initiative. These actions reflect great credit upon himself, DTecLogic and the Missile Defense Agency.” – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 Samantha Dobbins (SDA)

Congratulations and well done by Samantha Dobbins. The following was provided by a customer to Samantha’s Government lead, Dan Hanna. “Dan, G’Day from Australia. Just taking a pause from a busy schedule to reach out and let you know, Sam totally crushed it here in Australia. She did everything she could to advance the SDA equities. I think we checked in with each other daily to align and synchronize as my team understood my guidance and worked to support as best as we can. As a result, I think we moved the needle quite a bit. Working with Sam was an absolute pleasure as I sat back and observed her tenacity. I would like to sync with you and potentially your senior leaders about how we can lean forward a little harder and be a little more risk friendly. I spoke with Sam about this and she will explain to you what I mean. For now, we are in a good place and that’s largely because of the SDA champion you sent here.” V/r, Andre, Dr. Andre J. Stridiron III, Pacific Multi-Domain Training and Experimentation Capability Program Manager – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 Billy Gannon (TMAS II)

I received the following feedback from Mr. Alex Zaydman, APPS Program Manager, “I don’t usually send out a note, but Billy put on an excellent Engineering Review Board, which happens every time; however, this instance was notable in the breadth of topics covered and the way forward on all issues to capture CM for the project. In addition, Billy has been instrumental in catching the things that facilitate fabrication and installation of drawings post-delivery; showing needed follow through that helps the program from inception to installation on the CM side. Billy lends his expertise and hard work to accomplish several key efforts to include: APPS logistics/inventory tracking and process improvement, APPS procurement, and contractor leadership and direction where needed.”. Billy thank you for representing our team so well and for supporting a critical Air Force program! – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

 Kyle Brackett and Juan (Carlos) Gonzalez (TMAS II)

I wanted to send a shout out to Kyle Brackett and Carlos Gonzalez for their work on planning and beginning the execution of an infrastructure upgrade to the I-GWEF network. Due to their efforts, this network will have the ability to be monitored and managed remotely. The main advantage to this is that the team will now be notified of environmental events that may occur when the facility is closed. This is especially important due to the instability of HVAC within the GWEF. In the past, when the HVAC system has failed, there was no notification to the team save for arriving to a server room exceeding 95 degrees after a long weekend. Now, and with the future addition of more temperature/humidity sensors, the team can reassure the Government customer that their equipment/data has an additional layer of protection from loss. Thank you Kyle and Carlos!  – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Luis Rosario (TMAS II)

Luis has been instrumental in helping our team navigate the upcoming switch to semi-monthly pay periods. He created a Pay Period Hours forecast sheet so that members are completely aware of hour requirements per pay period, to include the impact of holidays and earned days off (EDOs). Members will also be able to determine anticipated pay for those periods and enable informed budgeting within their respective households. This tool was shared throughout CLIN6, as well as with fellow Eglin AFB task leads, to ensure the Qualis workforce is actively informed of impacts and requirements locally. Luis has also taken the initiative to expand his responsibilities, especially with respect to charge code maintenance and oversight, which has allowed me to focus on other Task Lead duties. His willingness to always heed the call, no matter the hour, is a testament to the hard-working, dedicated, professional that he is, as well as a direct reflection of the excellent personnel supporting Qualis. Luis – I am immensely grateful for you – Thank you!- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

November 15, 2024

Micheal (Mike) Cloyd (ALT PNT)

Letter of Appreciation Received from RWI Division Chief, AFRL Munitions Directorate: Please accept my sincere appreciation for Mr. Micheal “Mongo” Cloyd’s outstanding support to the AFRL/RWI QUICKSINK program. His efforts directly contributed to the QUICKSINK team winning AFRL/RW’s 2024 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Award for Exploratory Technology Development. Mr. Cloyd led every aspect of our test program for a complex $1.1M flight test that dropped 6 modified Joint Direct Attack Munitions from an F-15E in the Gulf of Mexico and a $42 million Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. He coordinated with the prime contractor and acted as liaison to the 780 TS on all aspects of our test program. He also navigated the various test processes for AFSEO, AFRL/RW, and AFRL/DO as our test manager. Mr. Cloyd’s efforts contributed to the team verifying weapon hydrostability, demonstrating a revolutionary maritime strike capability in support of a top INDOPACOM priority, and increasing the weapon concept technology readiness level from 3 to 4. Mr. Cloyd’s efforts reflect great credit upon himself, AFRL, and Qualis. He’s a highly valued member of the team and a pleasure to serve with. Sincerely, MARY M. GUTIERREZ, Col, USAF, Senior Materiel Leader, Technology Integration Division –Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

October 25, 2024

Alex Devito (ALT PNT)

Over the past couple of months, Alex has been hard at work developing an innovative approach to solving an ALT PNT problem, working in parallel to our primary strategy. His dedication and creative thinking have led to a breakthrough that will be incorporated into our primary approach, boosting our timing synchronization performance from millisecond-level to microsecond-level accuracy—a remarkable 1000x improvement! Alex’s efforts have not only benefited the team but also positioned Qualis as a leader in this cutting-edge technology. His contributions exemplify the kind of innovation and commitment that drive our success.  –Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Vice President of Engineering

Brian Farlow (SDA)

SDA just concluded another successful PWSA ITT Summit. Just a quick note to say that Brian’s continued support was instrumental in its success. Yes, he supports logistics and admin – almost like a Radar to COL Potter. That has been consistent and invaluable. I’m pretty sure you’re tired of me telling you how impactful that us. This ITT, though, he really went above and beyond. Two specific things. First, he stood ready to jump in and support another capability test team brief their update to ensure we delivered something rather than nothing. Although he didn’t need to brief after all, just the fact that he came readied to jump in was impressive. That kept us on track and offered a measure of confidence in our agenda. Second, in his role as the Warfighter Integration Working Group lead, he and Matt Lord quickly pulled through last minute changes in scope and flow of their briefing. That extreme flexibility helped scope the conversations more appropriately to what we needed and drive home SDA’s Warfighter-centric approach to all T&E. Thank you for Brian’s continued support. And on to the next ITT. -Beth Elizabeth Kujava, SDA T&E Lead, Integration Cell, Space Development Agency.- Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 Justin Davis (ARC)

During this past summer, Justin and Noah were tasked with overhauling the Change Management Ticketing process. The two of them worked closely with POCs from the Systems, Networking, Hardware, Property, ISSO, Cyber and CM Teams to determine the issues that each team has faced and determine potential improvements. The two of them worked together to create simplified and Owner driven processes to account for the variability of asset deployments. They utilized the skills they had picked up over the preceding year along with new ideas on code implementation. Their work resulted in greater efficiencies, streamlined tasks and checklist implementation. This entire project was planned, designed and executed by the two of them and shows their growth and increased understanding of the needs of the many and how their work could support. In addition, both Justin has explored other opportunities around the ARC as he has been in discussion with Chip Bell on the possibilities to lend his time to the Linux Admins teams to learn more about the Linux SA side of the ARC. When it comes to the Property Modernization effort Justin has been a valuable contributor to the overall success. He worked closely with his supervisor to design and document the implementation of multiple capabilities. He has also contributed heavily to the data entry side of the project, working quickly to identify potential pitfalls. Great job Justin!! Qualis Strong!! – Nominated by Jeffrey Jones, Engineer III/PCIL-Tier1 Lead

October 18, 2024

Marsha O’Brien (TMAS II)

“Multiple customers have bragged about the support and attention to detail Marsha has provided and appreciate her work ethic. One of the major contributions that Marsha has made so far is taking over the Mobile Target Container inventory and ensuring that the inventory of over 1000 containers is properly accounted for by establishing a path forward that will ensure the inventory is always current. Marsha is taking action to have all the assets uploaded into our Mobile Target Asset Tracking System. This will benefit multiple test customers, target managers, and improve the inventory process. We are lucky to have Marsha on our team.” Cheryl Stafford, Target Systems Flight (96 RANSS/RNRT) Mobile Targets Section. The 96RANSS TARGETS FLIGHT lauds Marsha O’Brien for her exceptional performance in the Threats and Mobile Targets Section. Marsha brings valuable knowledge in AF acquisition and has begun integrating her in-depth experiences with the 96 RANSS unique contracting decision process. She joined the team several months back and has made significant contributions in multiple roles that support 96 RANSS customers’ test programs. Within weeks of arriving Marsha rapidly coordinated and solidified AFOC’s long and near-term test requirements. She has been navigating a contract termination for cause to conclusion and a largest to date, contract re-solicitation to procure eighty (80) fixed target containers. Her attention to detail in managing the freight company, effectively organizing and monitoring cargo off-loads to specific locations, and product identification markings for crucial inventory control significantly reduced existing and follow-on costs to the customer. All the transport and inventory activities have expedited container shipments and placements within record time. Marsha’s clear and precise communication skills ensured the organization’s major component and critical parts contracts meet the customers’ requirements, mandatory fiscal guidelines, and certification documents requirements. She also, managed to closeout supply item purchases related to vendor invoicing, receipts, and credit returns requiring recording into the official government databases. Marsha’s ability to recognize mission challenges and recommend solutions has made her a highly valued team member.

– Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

October 11, 2024

Christine Schlipp (TMAS II)

The 780th Test Squadron executes air-to-air, air-to-ground and ground testing on munitions. The commander of the 780 TS stated the following about our very own Christine Schlipp, “I’d just like to pass along a HUGE thanks from the 780th for all the help Ms. Christine Schlipp has given us over the past several months. We’ve been executing several large purchase projects, and she’s provided outstanding support, going above and beyond to proactively assist our team during the process. She shared best practices, templates, mandatory use policies, positive feedback and offered access to tools and workshops to assist with upcoming project and procurement planning. She streamlined the AF Form 09 process for us simplifying the normal administrative effort associated with conducting high volume contract requests. Her support was paramount in the timely processing of more than six critical squadron facility and spend plan requirements with an expected $300K+ obligated within less than a six-month timeframe. We really appreciate the support.” Great work Christine and know that the 780 TS is a tough one to impress. This is even from the unit commander! Nicely done!- Nominated by Marc Peterson, SVP Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

September 27, 2024

Tonia Russon and Devon Gardner (WDTC)

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize and commend Tonia Russon, Angela Jones (Contract sub employee), and Devon Gardner for their outstanding dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence. Recently, they were assigned a challenging task that required them to be at work at 4:30 in the morning, facing an intense deadline set by our customer for next-day turnaround on data processing. The enormity of the data collection required them to work over 12 hours each day, with an additional 3 to 4 hours dedicated to processing the data. Despite these demands, Tonia, Angela, and Devon demonstrated exceptional resilience and a relentless work ethic. Understanding the critical nature of the task, they made several personal sacrifices to ensure that the job was not only completed on time but done correctly and efficiently. Their unwavering commitment did not go unnoticed. The customer was so impressed by their efforts that they shared the following commendation: “By the way, Tonia, Angela, and Devon are doing an amazing job! I am truly impressed at their level of dedication and the effort they are putting in to get everything done!” This level of recognition is a testament to the high standards they consistently uphold and their dedication to delivering excellence in everything they do. Tonia, Angela, and Devon, your extraordinary efforts have made a significant impact and have brought great credit to our team. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to excellence and for setting such a high bar for others to follow. Congratulations on a job exceptionally well done! –Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

Joshua Bost (PADRSS)

Joshua Bost is the Information Technology Systems Technician in Japan, Joshua works closely with DoD, FAA, commercial, and Host-Nation Japan program managers, engineers, and technicians to ensure comprehensive operability of the Kadena Airspace and Range Management Facility. His ability and skills earned him the distinction of being the only contractor to be awarded to the 18th WG Cyber Security Liaisons (CSL) commander assigned list. Responsibilities include but are not limited to Network and Computer Security (COMPUSEC), Emission Security (EMSEC), Identity Management, and CSL Notice and Consent Certification (TMAP). This is a significant step towards achieving the Qualis vision of “superior services and innovative solutions” and Corporate Goals (Promote leadership, High Customer rating, Growth in business, and improve company reputation in the Community). As his supervisor, I’m very pleased to witness his above and beyond approach with the program, constantly finding innovated ways to be involved. He deserves the recognition for his hard work and dedication. It’s wonderful to have him on the team! – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Project Lead

September 20, 2024

Jasmine Graves (ARC)

I would like to recommend Jasmine Graves for acknowledgement for her constant willingness to get the job done and take on any and all additional duties asked of her. Jasmine has issued and worked 495 Manage Engine Tickets this calendar year supporting the customer as well as approving conference room requests for high level test events. Jasmine has also assisted in issuing and documenting approximately 168 replacement RSA Tokens for dual authentication enabling customers access without interruption. In addition to her User Services duties, Jasmine has also taken on the responsibility of Computer Floor Monitor from 1200 to 1700 to ensure controlled access is maintained. From Jeff Hoeppner, ARC User Services Manager. Great Job Jasmine!! –Nominated by Jeffrey Jones, Engineer III/PCIL-Tier1 Lead

Cameron Crumpler (ARC)

I am extremely proud of Cameron Crumpler, he has joined the Qualis/DTL Team and really excelled. Cameron joined the team on April 29, 2024, he has closed 97 Manage Engine Tickets. I hired him to be dual headed as a Helpdesk Specialist/System Analyst. Cameron has learned all aspects of Tier1 Helpdesk as he is representing Qualis with high standards of service. Cameron is cross training as a System Analyst and doing very well. Cameron is supporting Tier1, PCIL, ISTC1 and ISTC2 as a System Analyst. Let’s congratulate Mr. Cameron Crumpler on his professionalism and high standard of service. Great Job Cameron!! – Nominated by Jeffrey Jones, Engineer III/PCIL-Tier1 Lead

September 13, 2024

Lisa McNabb, Maxim Davidchuk, Darlene Lockett (Corporate)

Qualis hosted a customer meeting in support of the US Army SMDC and US Space Force SDA on 11 September. This involved a lot of coordination and work to ensure a successful meeting for our customers. I want to personally thank, Lisa McNabb, Maxim Davidchuk, and Darlene Lockett for their outstanding support to ensure everything’s was successful. Thank each of you for your contribution and for representing Qualis so well. – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

Philip Walker (ALT PNT)

Congratulations, Philip, on this well-deserved recognition for your outstanding contributions to Qualis Science and Engineering. Philip’s exceptional talent and productivity are evident in every project he undertakes. His expertise was pivotal in the architecture and design of complex components for our cutting-edge RF Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) system. Notably, he invented advanced tools for high-frequency RF measurements, greatly improving both precision and repeatability as we gear up for delivery to the Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC). In addition, Philip’s deep knowledge of Software Defined Radios (SDRs), coupled with his ability to develop both embedded systems and user interfaces, has significantly enhanced the capabilities of Qualis’s Alternative Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (ALT PNT) systems. Previously, he architected and led the development of an SDR-based RF bench calibrator, and he is now spearheading the integration of a GPS-enhanced SDR as part of our ALT PNT transceiver system, currently in development for SMDC. Most recently, Philip developed and analyzed the field-test performance of a Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) waveform, revealing its potential as a powerful basis for conveying observables in the challenging high-multipath RF channels typical of alternative navigation and timing systems. Beyond his technical contributions, Philip’s eagerness to assist others and collaborate across teams fosters an atmosphere of improvement and innovation that inspires us all.- Nominated by Brandon Dewberry, Senior RF Engineer

September 6, 2024

Brian Farlow (SDA)

Congratulations to Brian Farlow for continuing to represent Qualis so well. I received the below note from Brian’s Government customer, Ben Michaels: I just want to highlight the great work that Brian Farlow has been doing for SDA in general and the WIC in particular. SDA is stressing immediate impact to warfighter in T1 based on 3 major capabilities: Link-16, Missile Detection, and PNT situational awareness (PNT-SA). Brian Farlow has taken strong lead in PNT-SA, ensuring that the connections are made from PWSA, through data processors and ultimately to the CCMD and warfighters. He is a central point in a diverse team working in an ambiguous environment but can transform that into clear actions. In particular, he successfully briefed the T1 leadership about his accomplishments so far, and steps to be successful in the future. Very much appreciate his support for the WIC! V/R, Benjamin Michels Chief, Warfighter Integration Cell (WIC) Space Development Agency. – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

August 30, 2024

GWEF On-Site AEDC Surge Support Team (TMAS II)

Team Members: GWEF On-Site AEDC Surge Support Team (Luis Baez, Robert Schmidt, Patterson Collins, and Patrick Cronin)

Technical Management and Advisory Services (TMAS) II Contractors supporting the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) provided surge support to advance Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC)’s Core Compliance Inspection (CCI) preparations. Team members were identified at the 96th Test Wing (96 TW) and Air Force Test Center (AFTC) level as being subject matter experts (SMEs) in their respective environments (e.g., information assurance and information technology). Through a two-week period on-site at AEDC, the team made significant progress in configuring and optimizing systems across multiple facilities. Key activities included setting up and configuring server stacks, implementing Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) group policies, deploying and configuring security tools such as Assured Compliance Assessment Solution (ACAS), and performing detailed audits of standalone and networked systems. Knowledge transfer sessions between the teams were particularly valuable and provided AEDC staff with comprehensive training on Department of Defense (DoD) policies, information assurance tools, and system management procedures. These sessions ensured that local administrators could manage and maintain systems effectively after GWEF team departure. Completion of audits and scans in various buildings, including the configuration of new systems, contributed to improving overall system security and management. Implementation of GWEF’s configuration scripts and policies was well received and demonstrated practical benefits, such as improved performance and enhanced security protocols. Upon return to Eglin AFB, the team continued AEDC support, developing over ten custom Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to facilitate continued operations at AEDC, as well as custom scripts, checklists, user guides, and audit filters. Team members have also made themselves available, real-time, for any supplementary questions from AEDC personnel. To the AEDC surge support team: take a few moments to reflect upon your accomplishments and take pride in knowing your dedication and diligence each and every day makes our companies, our customers, and the DoD mission successful.– Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

August 23, 2024

Almondrea Kirby (Corporate)

Congratulation to Almondrea for completing her Human Resources Certification. While studying and preparing for this certification, Almondrea continued to provide excellent responsiveness with an eagerness to take on additional duties and request. Job well done, Almondrea! – Nominated by Keanna Nichols, VP of Human Resources

August 16, 2024

Brian Farlow (SDA)

Congratulations to Brian Farlow for his continued outstanding support to the Space Development Agency. Brian recently received two note from his customer, Jonathon Maginot: “Great sessions with Tyler B., LTC Pierce, and with Ryan Wolff! Plus Home Day, of course. Tomorrow more sessions with Jon M and then tours with Bill Hare. Absolutely perfect coord! Thanks! Jonathon Maginot” “Ken and Matt wanted me to relay their gratitude as to your (Brian) planning efforts for their trip. It was seamless and of tremendous value to their portfolio. Jonathon Maginot”.– Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

Cory Wolfe (ESSCA)

Cory was recognized by his customer at NASA for going above and beyond in assisting with development of current lab specifics required for the development of a new Engineering Lab Building. From the acting branch chief “Cory, Thank you for all the work you put into this. I really appreciate it. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Eugenia (Gena) Dalton (ESSCA)

Gena received a kudos from her customer for her hard work and dedication related to Life Support Systems and chemical analysis. From her NASA Branch Chief “I appreciate your work getting the IC up and going and work on chemical analysis for the chambers! ”  –Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Gary Sellers (ESSCA)

Gary assisted with a GD&T Boot Camp for Interns at NASA. He received the following comment from a customer “I would like to give Kudos to Gary Sellers….. for helping with these sessions. They did a phenomenal job in presenting this subject in away these interns could gain better understanding of the GD&T standard. Thanks to everyone for being supportive in this mentoring opportunity. Overall I believe it was a success.” Gary is always a team player and going above and beyond in his daily effort. Gary received praise from a NASA customer for his work on a Weld Table inside the “Vomit Comet” Zero G aircraft. Per his NASA customer “If I get more funding for projects, he is my go-to guy if he ever wants more design work” Gary is always a great asset to the team, doing outstanding work.– Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

George Roush (4 TES)

George Roush (4 TES) (4 TES) Space and Ground Testing Division (SGT). George has accomplished some amazing feats in his short time with us. First, he has taken the wheel on a new requirement regarding safety documents that are now required for all tests. Almost an impossible task, but he sorted it out and figured out how to get us through it with minimal impact. Second, knowing we are very short on space for new people he figured out a way to arrange new spaces for folks which will be employed starting next week. Third, there were some much needed things that the squadron needed to better perform our jobs. George managed to navigate the government wickets to pull that off and ordered and received headsets, white boards, microphones, new mice, mouse pads, keyboards, furniture, and a host of other items to make our jobs easier. All this while moving from his old house to another and dealing with the pains that come with all of that. Keep up the fantastic work George it is appreciated and has not gone unnoticed – Nominated by John Powers, United States Space Force Operational Test and Evaluation, STAR Command, Space Delta 12 / 4th Test Evaluation Squadron (TES)

Gregory “Greg” Belue (ESSCA)

Greg was part of the team awarded the “Outstanding Task Award” for February 2024 on the ESSCA contract. The award is to recognize the composites team for fabrication and assembly of the Payload Adapter Engineering Development Unit.! –Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Matthew Bader (TMAS II)

I received the following from Steven Osborn, System Administrator: “I’d like to commend Matt Bader for a job well done while reconfiguring a customer’s laptop BIOS settings to prepare it to leave the GWEF. While reenabling various settings, he noticed that there were multiple Wi-Fi settings in different locations in the BIOS and that one of them was still enabled. Matt’s actions revealed a flaw in the current procedures for preparing contractor equipment that could result in a data breach if left unmitigated. His attention to detail reflects his professionalism and the seriousness of maintaining proper security procedures within the GWEF.” Matt, thank you for always being meticulous when it comes to data security and integrity.- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Scotty Anthony (ESSCA)

Scotty continually get recognized for daily efforts going above and beyond what is required. It has repeatedly been mentioned from Team Leads, Department Managers, and Customers that he is “very skilled and hard worker. We appreciate him so much on the team. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Timothy “Daniel” Teal (ESSCA)

For receiving a NASA Marshall Innovation team for his work on the Cybersecurity Controls Team. Daniel was noted for his innovative approach to the development and implementation of cybersecurity controls on ET20 dedicated test network at MSFC. –Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Tom Hancock (JFCC IMD)

Sometimes, we need to take a pause from the normal work acknowledgements and recognize what our team is up to on the day-to-day. Tom Hancock was on his way to work when he experienced a horrific motorcycle accident. The rider was severely damaged requiring multiple tourniquets, CPR and Tom was part of the team of ordinary people who jumped out of their cars to initiate first response actions including the call to 911. This traumatic event was captured below by the Technical Director where Tom provides support by stating, “,,,wanted to pass on some recognition for your task order lead Tom Hancock. Not only is he performing outstanding on a technical and managerial level, but as a good Samaritan. On 29 July while Tom was on his way to work, he and other commuters witnessed a motorcycle colliding with an automobile on Curtis Road just outside the base. The motorcycle rider sustained numerous life-threatening injuries. Tom assisted with 911 notification, initial incident response, applying tourniquets due to the severity of injuries, and providing other medical assistance. The quick actions by him and others to coordinate emergency response and render aid were vital in assisting the rider until emergency medical services arrived. There are many actions Tom could have taken that day, but he immediately responded. In the event you were not aware of this action, I simply wanted to draw your attention to the exceptional character of Tom Hancock.” Some are prone to action when tragedy strikes, and we can count Tom among that number. Thank you, Tom, for your professionalism and dedication to the mission, and even more importantly your devotion to your fellow man. –Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. VP. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

August 2, 2024

Samantha Dobbins(SDA)

As an integral member of the Space Development Agency’s Pacific (SDAPAC) division, Samantha Dobbins, continues to provide exceptional support for integrating the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) into INDOPACOM’s Joint Force.  Samantha assisted in designing SDAPAC’s first workshop with INDOPACOM and Network Design Facility stakeholders.  Through this workshop and stakeholder collaboration, she and the SDAPAC team identified network solutions to integrate the PWSA into INDOPACOM’s FY25 operational network.  Additionally, Samantha worked with INDOPACOM exercise and experiment stakeholders to coordinate SDA’s participation in Exercise Valiant Shield 24. She worked tirelessly to ensure both live Link-16 from space demonstration and Live, Virtual, and Constructive (LVC) efforts were appropriately integrated for execution.  Samantha is currently developing an SDAPAC integrated exercise strategy for calendar year 2025 execution and supporting the development of a Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) strategy to support SDA engagements throughout the INDOPACOM theater.  Samantha is a consummate team player and continues to be the glue that holds SDAPAC together. SDA’s Warfighter Integration Cell’s (WIC) deputy said the following about the 5-person SDAPAC’s efforts “It is no small feat to navigate the complexities and uncertainties inherent in our agency, and yet, SDAPAC has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to do so with precision and excellence in a very short period. Your hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed.  You are truly crushing it, and I am honored to work alongside such a talented and committed group of professionals.  Keep up the fantastic work, and let’s continue to drive forward with the same level of excellence and dedication.” – Nominated by Brian Farlow, SDA Warfighter Integration Cell

July 26, 2024

Billy Gannon (TMAS II)

I received the following message from Mr. Kirk Everhard, GWEF Program Manager and TMAS2 Task Lead: “I would like to take a moment to commend Billy Gannon for his exceptional contributions to the APPS program. Billy has stepped in to support acquisitions due the lack of a dedicated logistician, while also fulfilling his configuration management responsibilities. Most recently, Billy played a crucial role in a purchase order audit, where he identified an overlooked error that led to ordering more cabling than necessary. His efforts facilitated the return of 2,783 cables, thereby saving the program an estimated $248,000 in unnecessary procurement costs. Billy’s proactive approach and attention to detail have been invaluable to the team’s ongoing successes”. Thank you, Billy!-Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Janie Lambert and Jason Martin (TMAS II)

Shout out to Janie Lambert and Jason Martin who were part of the 96 TW (Civilian) Small Team of the Quarter for the Plans and Programs Division at Eglin AFB, FL! “Jason Martin and Janie Lambert were an integral part of the Services team who just won (Civilian) Small Team of the Quarter for XP based on the following accomplishments: – Clinched three successful server upgrades impacting 38 critical enterprise and world-wide applications. Closed 1200 key vulnerabilities hardening $976M mission systems and protecting FAA flight data for aircraft takeoff protocols. – Accelerated software deployment of artificial intelligence modules while satisfying a 20% faster software life cycle. Fielded new mission cost tracking capability for partner Air Force bases and testing ranges with 100% accuracy. – Transformed vital 96 TW test-data repository management and routing suite. Secured 290 gigabytes of AFTC safety info and customized business processes boosting official action plan efficiency by 60%. Lauded by 38 key customers. – Championed world-class best practices, quality, and innovation to include a comprehensive revamp of organizational processes and an aggressive pursuit of mission-transformative skills. Researched cutting edge technologies and collaborative tools to develop innovative analysis of alternatives for software and hardware upgrades and process improvements.” – Nominated by Marc Peterson, SVP Warfighter Service & Test Range Programs

NOTICE – This communication may contain confidential and privileged information that is for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any viewing, copying, or distribution of, or reliance on this message by unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer.

July 19, 2024

Marshal Spinner (ARC)

Marshal Spinner provides operational and technical support for UNIX computer software, hardware, network, and security tasks with main focus on PCIL assets. Marshal is PCIL Linux SA and Marshal does an outstanding job on keeping all systems up to date and works with RE’s very well on updates and system upgrades. Marshal continues to expand his Linux technical knowledge by learning to use “tmux”, “chrony”, and “dnf” tools, I am very pleased to have him as PCIL Linux SA. Marshal support and communicate with customers while offering technical solutions to problems encountered. Marshal Performs and Support all tasks through completion of the TASK at hand. Marshal ability to propose and compare solutions to technical problems while factoring in efficiency and cost reduction is a plus. Marshal stated he is completely satisfied with the availability of resources needed to perform his responsibilities. Marshal maintains his required certifications and credentials. Marshal also completes all mandatory training as required. Great Job Marshal!!  –Nominated by Jeffrey L. Jones, ARC Qualis\PCIL Lead

Cynthia White (TMAS II)

The 96 TW/XPIS team has upgraded all Web Servers for all our organization’s software applications. This effort has added a significant workload to the XPID test team above the normal required duties. Cynthia played an integral part in assisting in the test efforts of these server upgrades. Cynthia participated in the efforts of testing over 8 web servers and 15 software applications during this upgrade process. Cynthia managed this extra workload seamlessly while navigating her day to day tasks. Cynthia’s participation in these test efforts allowed the XPIS team to stay on schedule with releasing the new Web Servers to the user community, enhancing their overall experience on the web applications the XPID team supports.- Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

Maria Byrd (TMAS II)

I wanted to send a kudos to Maria on her efforts in documentation consolidation, migration, and organization. Maria is currently organizing over 650 account related documents for Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) personnel into a centrally managed SharePoint site. Once complete, this migration effort will improve document retention, maintain data integrity, and enhance efficiency/productivity within the cybersecurity team. Maria’s efforts take into account necessary metrics required for quick recall and sorting of documents to include room-based segregation and company-based division. By centralizing document management and implementing a strategic organizational structure, Maria has empowered the cybersecurity team to conduct efficient operations. Thank you Maria! – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Karissa Belzer-Courter (TMAS II)

I received the following feedback from our government Information System Security Manager (ISSM), Mr. Michael Powell, regarding Karissa’s contributions to the team in the two months since she came onboard: “Just wanted to let you know that Karissa briefed me on her Cyber Security Management TEAMS interface and wanted feedback on it after the Information Technology/Information Assurance meeting. She showed me the Artifacts and Bodies of Evidence (BOE) tracker spreadsheet and BOE Dashboard and gave me details of how the team will be using it. I told her that the interface tracker is just what I believe is needed for the collateral side to track what Continuous Monitoring (CONMON) controls are being monitored and who/when they were checked. The BOE Dashboard she created is an excellent snapshot presentation of the current CONMON status and is really easy to understand and read. The work she has already done and is doing is excellent. With her help and expertise the collateral side will become easier to manage and support. Just wanted you to know Karissa is doing a great job. Please pass on my thanks.”. Karissa thank you for hitting the ground running and being an incredible addition to the team. We appreciate you! –Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Amelie Lanoue (TMAS II)

I received the following from Mr. Albert LaRoe, Test Engineer (TE) at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF): “I wanted to give a little shoutout to Amelie Lanoue and Mike Wolff. Friday afternoon, July 12th, I was tasked with meeting an urgent customer need. A disk was needed to support an ongoing live fire test, and Amelie and Mike went above and beyond to help ensure we met customer needs. They stayed late and assisted me, with the data transfer and disc burning process. This allowed the disc to mailed early in the next week. This is just an example of their continual helpfulness, making my life as a TE much easier when it comes to information assurance (IA) media control interactions. They are a credit to their companies and the GWEF!”. Thank you Amelie! –Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

July 12, 2024

Christine Schlipp (TMAS II)

Comments from Commander 780th Test Squadron “I know there’s rules on the way we can recognize our contractors, but I’d just like to pass along a HUGE thanks from the 780th for all the help Ms. Christine Schlipp has given us over the past several months. We’ve been executing several large purchase projects, and she’s provided outstanding support, going above and beyond to proactively assist our team during the process. She shared best practices, templates, mandatory use policies, positive feedback and offered access to tools and workshops to assist with upcoming project and procurement planning. She streamlined the AF Form 09 process for us simplifying the normal administrative effort associated with conducting high volume contract requests. Her support was paramount in the timely processing of more than six critical squadron facility and spend plan requirements with an expected 300K+ obligated within less than a six-month timeframe. We really appreciate the support. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to further recognize that. Trap, V/r, Lt Col Travis “Trap” Bryce, Commander, 780th Test Squadron sent to commander Jeffery Gibson (96 TSSQ Squadron Director), Tammy Kilpatrick (TMAS COR CLIN 5), Joel Abrahams Axient (TMAS Prog Mgr). As always Christine provides exceptional support for all the contracting actions, Job well done Christine! –Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

HPC Team Members (TMAS II)

Team Members: Jason Diessner, Peggie Dotson, Michael Qarqat, Michael Stefani, Brian Smith, John Walters, Stacey Amaro, John Tortorano, Phil Rainey, Mellisa Brown

The Advanced Programs (AP) security and cybersecurity team recently supported an Air Force Test Center (AFTC) Core Compliance Inspection (CCI). This was a comprehensive inspection that seeks to ensure that all requirements outlined in the NIST 800-53/JSIG and in local policy were met. The HPC team was given a COMMENDABLE rating. A COMMENDABLE rating indicates units with “fully implemented requirements with an absence of any serious security issues and minimal administrative findings”. Peggie Dotson was praised for her knowledge and ability to answer any technical questions that were asked of her. She had been asked for specifically by Diana Hartzog, 96 TW Information System Security Manager (ISSM), because she was so helpful and knowledgeable during the pre-inspection. Ms. Hartzog, also asked for copies of the forms our Auditor John Walters had created for our weekly audits. She wanted to share them with our groups because they were extremely well laid out and very thorough. I was asked to pass on the kudos to our entire team for their efforts during the inspection. The entire Team worked tirelessly over the last several months to correct any insufficiencies. Thank you for all that you do! – Nominated by Mellisa Brown HPE Task manager/ISSO – Nominated by Melissa Brown, Project Lead

Peggie Dotson (TMAS II)

As you all well know, it’s not every day that the government takes the time to highlight the accomplishment of a contractor. We’ve been fortunate to be a part of a High Performance Computing Environment Team building the first-ever HPCE to handle massive amounts of test data and various classification levels on behalf of the Air Force Test Center’s 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, FL. The Accreditation of this first-of-a-kind capability for ATC required a full court press from the entire team. The government ISSM who has oversite on this program wanted to make sure we were aware of Peggie Dotson’s amazing efforts as well. He stated, “I just wanted to highlight Peggie Dotson’s contribution during the Jun 24 Core Compliance Inspection. During the inspection, Peggie expertly navigated system command -lines to validation security controls and masterfully articulated technical answers to the inspectors. Her professionalism and thorough understanding of the system were instrumental in achieving a commendable rating for the 96TW. ” No errors were noted on this inspection! Well done Peggie and thank you for your skill and professionalism. – Nominated by Marc Peterson, SVP Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

Robert Schmidt (TMAS II)

I received the following e-mail from Mr. Mark Humes, APPS Software/Computer Engineer: “I wanted to give some recognition for Robert Schmidt’s hard work. He helped debug and solve our licensing issue that was keeping us from developing on our radio frequency hardware, which saved us lots of time and headache. He was able to modify the computer to properly run a license server and get our development software properly communicating”. Thank you Rob! –Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

June 21, 2024

GWEF Security, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and System/Network Engineering Team (TMAS II)

Team members: (Matt Ormsby; Shaun Knight; Amelie Lanoue; Pat Collins; Robert Schmidt; Matthew Bader; Juan C. Gonzalez; Steve Osborn; Pat Cronin; Francis W. O’Connor; Luis Baez; Richard C. Stewart)

The Advanced Programs (AP) security and cybersecurity team recently supported an Air Force Test Center (AFTC) Core Compliance Inspection (CCI). This comprehensive inspection seeks to ensure that Security Management and Oversight, TS Data/Materials Accountability, Cybersecurity, Personnel Security, Security Education and Training, and Physical Security meet all requirements outlined in the NIST 800-53/JSIG and in local policy. The AFTC inspection team completed inspections a day earlier than intended and granted the 96th Test Wing (96 TW) a preliminary COMMENDABLE rating across the board. A COMMENDABLE rating indicates units with “fully implemented requirements with an absence of any serious security issues and minimal administrative findings”. GWEF practices were highlighted as a best practice; specifically, “GWEF has created a Microsoft Teams dashboard for tracking and training in efforts to streamline annual cybersecurity requirements for all GWEF users” the GWEF and 96 TW’s efforts to “standardize and streamline cybersecurity has created an exemplary culture”. Diana Hartzog, 96 TW Information System Security Manager (ISSM), added the following comments, “the inspection team continuously commented on the care factor as well as the standardization of documentation and processes within the Wing”! Ms. Hartzog also sent the following to the GWEF team, “GWEF Team – I want to send a special shout out to your team. You did an exceptional job at the inspection visit to your unit! Being recognized in the out-brief by the inspection team for your tracking and training is a bid deal and something to be very proud of. I know that I spent the entire visit smiling knowing how good your team is. Please pass on the kudos to your entire team for their efforts during the inspection as well as throughout the years for exemplary performance”. The entire Security, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and System/Network Engineering Team worked tirelessly over months to correct any deficiencies and ensure all applicable artifacts accurately conveyed operational realities. Day in and day out, these individuals demonstrate the utmost professionalism and the results of this CCI serve as an exclamation point to the incredible service of this team. Thank you for all that you do! – Nominated by Jeffery L. Jones, MDA Advance Research Center Lead

June 14, 2024

David Huckabee (ARC)

Mr. Huckabee’s Job Knowledge of the Advance Research Center (ARC) is second to none. His skill sets are highly sought out by Lab coordinators and DTL Team members. He has sought out Security + so that he can stay proficient in various software programs that the HW Team maintains, allowing the HW Team to have multiple SME on a specific system and reduce any backlog of work. Mr. Huckabee continues to be a valuable asset to the Hardware (HW) Team by providing critical guidance on the Advance Research Center (ARC), when it involves cabling, electrical and network infrastructure. His knowledge of past network infrastructure, cabling and electrical projects has allowed the HW to quickly assess and install new cabling requirements without re-inventing “the best solution.” Mr. Huckabee is a self-managing individual and when directions are given, he acts without hesitation to complete the task. He also takes initiative when directions are not clear or given and thoroughly investigates best solutions and practices which results in quality work completed. Mr. Huckabee has been the “go-to” individual for all HW Network and Hardware in the Loop (HWIL) integration and continues to support without hesitation allowing other HW Team make critical deadlines for two letter elements and government customer. Mr. Huckabee has provided skilled training to newly hired HW team members on various Cabling Technician skill sets, such as terminations of cables, fiber connections, information highway fiber paths, and electrical connections. Mr. Huckabee remains professional and attentive when dealing with government customer driven direction, and always responds with high quality work and dedication. V/r, Neal T. Nowak, ARC Hardware Team Lead. Great work David….Qualis Strong!! – Nominated by Jeffery L. Jones, MDA Advance Research Center Lead

June 7, 2024

Lisa Bourg, Laine Zimmerman and Karen Zodda (TMAS II)

Lisa Bourg, Laine Zimmerman and Karen Zodda have continued to advance their respective skill sets and in response the Government has recognized their valued contributions to the GRE team and has continued to increase their responsibilities. Lisa’s expertise in financial management has been proven to be an invaluable contribution to the GRE program. Lisa is a forward thinking individual with a take charge attitude to keep the funding on track and the GRE Program Manager aware of the disposition of the funding at all times. Laine’s skill to pay attention to the details has advanced her to continue to pick up new and challenging duties within the GRE program, she has recently picked up the scheduling duties of the GRE program from Lisa, and is excelling at it. When Karen came aboard over a year ago this was somewhat of a new area for her, she has jumped right in with both feet and is doing great! Karen has a great upbeat disposition and is willing to try anything just point her in the right direction and get out of the way. These ladies are the backbone of the GRE program. Great job to all three of these individuals I couldn’t do my job without you. Keep up the good work! – Nominated by Darrell Decker, Qualis Task Lead

Jon Garner (JIADS)

Jon Garner is the 353d CTS RF-A U.S. Army Fires SME and is the focal point for all U.S. Army participants during RF-A, to include the Joint Forceable Entry (JFE) Operations (parachute operation) during all “dash two” exercises. Jon goes above and beyond his normal duties by being the 353d CTS point of contact for all Mobility Air Force Airlift operations during the RF-A exercises. He has been vital in the planning process for the high-level European joint exercise, Arctic Defender ’24 and is essential in planning and execution of all High Mobility Artillery Rocket System operations during both RF-A and Arctic Defender ’24. As the focal point for “no-cost” barracks space on Ft. Wainwright, Jon increased the RF participants footprint during RF-A exercises by eliminating billeting costs. Jon is also the liaison for the Contingency Response Group that is responsible for remote airfield operations during the JFEs. Lastly, and possibly most importantly, Jon is responsible for the procurement and dissemination of Joint National Training Capability funding which assists units’ participation in RF-A by supplementing participating units’ travel and per diem costs. – Lee Heineken, Project Lead

Jeff Jones (MDA/ARC)

The following was received from our customer: Jeff Jones continues to lead his team well and ensures that the Prime Consolidated Integration Lab (PCIL) is ready to support all test events that it participates in. He has successfully coordinated the completion of several ARC Requests associated with the PCIL by working with the 2LTRS government customer and making appropriate work assignments for his team. This has included multiple software installs/patches/upgrades, hardware additions, cyber events and test support. Jeff has taken on additional duties during this past period of performance and is now the lead for the Tier 1 group. This has been a new role for Jeff but he is doing an outstanding job coordinating and tasking his team. Jeff had to recently replace one of his staff due to an employee leaving the contract and was meticulous in his efforts to find a replacement. We have hired the new Tier 1 staff and he has already blended well with the existing team in part due to Jeff’s leadership. I have noticed how Jeff represents his company well as the Qualis Lead here at the ARC. He makes sure that each Qualis voice is heard and does not hesitate to elevate their concerns to ARC and Qualis leadership. Mr. Jones continues to be a valuable asset to the ARC and I am glad to have him on my team. –Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

May 31, 2024

Sierra Garner (Corporate)

Sierra was acknowledged by James Bruce, Sr. Director of NASA Programs, for her positivity and responsiveness in helping to expedite the process of filling open requisitions. James stated that her assistance has been valuable. Thanks Sierra for your contributions!  –Nominated by Keanna Nichols, VP of Human Resources

April 26, 2024

 Mark Ruschak (UHPO)

Mark Ruschak possesses a vast knowledge of the U.S. Army’s logistics, technical, and program milestone documentation requirements, processes and required timelines. Over Mark’s tenure with Qualis he has taken hold of the Utility Helicopters Project Office’s (UHPO) documentation and brought them back from out-of-date and incorrect statutory and regulatory requirements to now being up-to-date and satisfying all the Army’s program milestone requirements. He has developed, edited, and processed all UHPO’s milestone documentation as well as planned and developed strategies to ensure future documentation meets requirement standards. Mark was also instrumental in the development of the Technical Data Division (TDD) aircraft modification automated tracking tool. The TDD tracking tool allowed end-users to record Black Hawk modifications and produce customized reports within the database tool thus giving the UHPO end-users the ability to provide UHPO leadership with up-to-date information and program progress. Mark also developed a similar database tool for the Logistics Management Division which allows materiel release leads to input requirement statuses and generate tailored reports for quick and easy references. Mark has a great understanding the customers’ needs and provides outstanding support that is vital to the lasting relationship with the UHPO customer. Thank you Mark for your unwavering support to Qualis, UHPO, and the U.S. Army.” –Nominated by Amanda Brown, VP of Logistics

April 19, 2024

Edwin (Ed)Nuncio (Cargo/ Army Aviation Systems)

Mr. Edwin Nuncio has been an outstanding representative of Qualis Corporation for our Cargo customers. Mr. Nuncio is leaned upon heavily within PM Cargo and has been a valued team member for several years. He is currently leading a massive multi-year cleanup effort that involves reviewing 10+ years of documentation, tracing the processed actions, verifying information, and taking the appropriate corrective after-actions for issues he uncovers. During this massive corrective effort, Mr. Nuncio executes his tasks with utmost professionalism and maintains a positive outlook. His analytical skills, knowledge, and experience make him the ideal candidate for this grand responsibility. Thank you, Mr. Nuncio, for your consistent dedication to excellence and continued support for PM Cargo!” –Nominated by Amanda Brown, VP of Logistics

April 12, 2024

Luis Rosario (TMAS)

I received the following e-mail from Albert LaRoe, Test Engineer at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF). “I wanted to give some kudos to Haley Ainsworth (Canvas) and Luis Rosario (Qualis). As I have been juggling three (3) programs for the past couple of years, and 2.5 labs for the past few months, their combined efforts make my job much more doable, and help preserve my sanity. If I didn’t have Luis and Harley, I’d be a much less happy person. Luis, specifically, makes my job much easier as he handles much of the financial and programmatic side of my projects. He is very proactive in assisting me with things like weekly updates, often accomplishing tasks for me before I even ask/need. Luis interacts with my customers regularly, and handles all interactions easily and efficiently. When he is given a task, he sees it through to completion, with minimal effort or oversight from me. Finally, Luis provides very helpful reminders on due dates that I should be aware of, or tasks that need my attention.” –Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

April 5, 2024

Dean Brown and Amber Bartenslager (TMAS)

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Armament Directorate, Stand in Strike Division (AFLCMC/EBI) External Support Team of the Year was awarded to the Range Support Squadron Target Systems Flight (RANSS/RNRT) for our support of the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) program. The Program Office specifically recognized our remarkable ability to utilize innovative solutions to fabricate surrogate targets to meet the requirements of their test program. In support of this effort, AFLCMC/EBI and the 780th Test Squadron has requested the 96 Range Support Squadron Target Systems Flight fabricate eight medium fidelity, visually representative surrogate target assets to support lethality testing. To maintain the rapid test schedule, they’ve requested two surrogate target assets be fabricated per year. The Target Systems Flight’s success would not have been possible without the support of two TMAS employees – Mr. Dean Brown and Mrs. Amber Bartenslager. Mr. Brown manages the $17.2M in funds received (to date) by the Program Office. He also assists with ensuring sufficient funds are available to enable continued support during the fiscal year rollover and works alongside the government target managers to ensure ample funding is requested for future years. Mrs. Bartenslager has worked tirelessly to acquire six foreign chassis’ totaling over $7M. Acquisition of these chassis’ enables fabrication of the surrogate target assets required to support the SiAW test program. She works closely with both the vendor and the Contracting office to ensure the requirements of the customer are met. She has also traveled TDY multiple times to support chassis’ acquisition efforts. Thanks to the dedicated support of Mr. Brown and Mrs. Bartenslager, RANSS/RNRT has successfully fabricated the first two of eight surrogate target assets on schedule and under budget. Both employees are vital to the success of the Target System’s Flight and our ability to support current and future test and training customer requirements. Ms. Rochele Smith, NH-04, DAF Chief, Target Systems Flight 96 RANSS/RNRT. Dean Brown and Amber Bartenslager are two of my outstanding performers. They consistently go above and beyond what is asked of them to meet their customers’ requirements. Great Job Dean and Amber!  – Nominated by Darrell Decker, Qualis Task Lead

Matthew Ormsby (TMAS)

Matthew Ormsby was part of a team who were recognized by the 782d Test Squadron Director for their outstanding support in preparing the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) to host the 96 TW Range Commander’s Council (RCC). the Team ” provided security support for room access and visit requests, coordinated room usage approval, and set-up the IT equipment used during the meeting… this team worked diligently to make sure the RCC meeting was conducted successfully. They met this challenge head-on and worked painstakingly and in collaboration with 782 TS personnel to ensure that the day was a success for the 782d Test Squadron and the 96th Test Wing. Mr. Ormsby and his team went above and beyond and proved that they are a vital and indispensable asset to your organization.” SUMMER D. RICHMOND, NH-04 Director, 782d Test Squadron- Darrell Decker, Qualis Task Lead

Samantha Dobbins, (SDA)

Since Samantha started with Qualis and the Space Development Agency – Pacific (SDAPAC) team four months ago, she has shown her high energy and passion for being a team player and achieving results.  She worked across the Warfighter Integration Cell (WIC) and other functional teams, establishing a solid relationship between SDAPAC and SDA proper.  Her assistance broadened the WIC’s ability to complete tasks and tackle new areas of interest.  Samantha has taken her role as SDAPAC’s Representative for Training, Exercises, and Wargames quite literally, building lasting relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.  These relationships will enable SDA to integrate seamlessly with warfighters.  Samantha recently coordinated with stakeholders to establish SDA Live Link-16 and Tranche 1 Modeling and Simulation experiments for Exercise Valiant Shield 2024 representatives for INDOPACOM J81, PACFLT, the US Space Force, and PACAF.  She also orchestrated introductions with functional team leads to SDAPAC new hires, providing a baseline understanding of SDA teams and the satellite system under construction.  Samantha continues to demonstrate her commitment to a high level of support to SDA’s mission. –Nominated by Brian Farlow, SDA WIC Senior Systems Engineer

March 29, 2024

Alex Devito, Grace Norrix, Connor Jones (ALT PNT)

For the past year, the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) team has taken the task of developing a digital environment for modeling effects to signal waveforms. The applied model effects to the signal waveforms are simulated as closed as possible to the actual waveforms observed in the Project High Ground Test. This team was able to show, demonstrate, and validate their work to the customer. This new M&S capability will allow the ALT-PNT team to gather system performance metrics prior being used in a field test. With their hard work, the M&S team has accomplished a great milestone. – Nominated by Pedro Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

Luis Baez, Robert Schmidt, Matthew Ormsby (TMAS)

I received the following e-mail from Kirk Everhard, TMAS 2 Task Lead for the 782d Test Squadron, “ALCON, I’m forwarding a Letter of Appreciation (LOA) from the 782 TS Director regarding your support for the Range Commander’s Council. Thank you all for continually setting the bar high. “The LOA reads as follows:  1. Please extend my sincere appreciation for the outstanding support provided by the members of the Range Commander’s Council Preparation Team: Mr. Michael Wolff, Mr. Matthew Ormsby, Mr. Luis Baez, and Mr. Robert Schmidt. 2. Your members of the Range Commander’s Council (RCC) preparation team deserve recognition for their outstanding support provided to the 96TW between the period of 1 March through 15 March 2024. 3. During this period, your team played an integral part in preparing the GWEF conference room to host the 96 TW’s RCC meeting. They provided security support for room access and visit requests, coordinated room usage approval, and set-up the IT equipment used during the meeting. 4. Mr. Wolff, Mr. Ormsby, Mr. Baez, and Mr. Schmidt worked diligently to make sure the RCC meeting was conducted successfully. They met this challenge head-on and worked painstakingly and in collaboration with 782 TS personnel to ensure that the day was a success for the 782d Test Squadron and the 96th Test Wing. 5. Mr. Wolff, Mr. Ormsby, Mr. Baez, and Mr. Schmidt went above and beyond and proved that they are a vital and indispensable asset to your organization. Please convey my sincere appreciation to them for a job well done! Summer D. Richmond Director, 782d Test Squadron- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Justin Davis (ARC)

Justin is doing a great job in Configuration Management supporting MDA ARC. Justin has been a tremendous help since the beginning of the year. He has taken on additional responsibilities when working on the ECR process. He consistently reaches out to the ECR owners, keeps track of upcoming ECDs and is proactive in getting things moved forward when possible. He does very well with communicating when he is running into roadblocks and has been a great help at keeping things moving when working with the Engineering Change Requests and the associated Change Management Tickets. Thanks–Andrew Topping, Configuration Management Lead/Database Specialist, MDA/ICN Advanced Research Center DTechLogic/Davidson- Nominated by Jeffery L. Jones, MDA Advance Research Center Lead

March 15, 2024

GWEF/IT Team (TMAS)

Group members: Luis Baez, Robert Schmidt, Francis (Wayne) O’Connor, and Richard (Clint) Stewart

I received the following e-mail from José Pvillalta, Special Projects Lead for the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF), “I want to submit Luis, Robert, Wayne, and Clint for whatever Qualis has as an on-the-spot award! These guys designed, tested, and proved out an elaborate concept for the Top Secret conference room to adhere to the stringent cyber security requirements to connect several different enterprise classified networks, guest system, and standalone system(s) at the same time while maintaining security integrity. To accomplish this new setup, the team had to do a lot of research on the equipment to make sure it was Information Assurance (IA) compliant. They had to reconfigure, replace, and rewire most of the existing equipment and wiring in the conference room to achieve the new design. Once all the new equipment was in, the team executed this feat in less than three days. This was paramount since GWEF is hosting several high-level meetings with DoD stakeholders and high-ranking distinguished visitors.” The information technology (IT) team has been lauded as the best team the GWEF has seen, and it is largely due to the incredible work the team members perform day in and day out. They are a fine representation of Qualis and our corporate values. – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

ALT PNT group (ALT PNT)

Team members: Terry Qanadilo, Tom Ryan, Wes Weirich, Ryan Kuhlmann, James Hardin, Joel Hannah, Tim Pitchko

Just before Christmas, the team was tasked with assembling a Ka Band test to validate coherence using communication waveforms and ALT PNT waveforms. Remarkably, within a tight two-month timeframe, the team successfully designed, procured, and assembled all the necessary hardware. In January, the team embarked on the first stage of testing, yielding an impressive haul of over 600 gigabytes of raw data!

Since then, the team has been diligently planning, executing, and processing the vast amounts of data generated by these tests. Despite facing the challenges of a rigorous weekly test schedule and the unpredictable nature of Alabama weather, the team has persevered through every hurdle. Each phase of testing has presented its own unique set of challenges, yet the team has consistently overcome them with resilience and determination. – Nominated by Rachel Cutter, Deputy Project Manager

Tim Pitchko (ALT PNT)

The ALT PNT customer assigned the team with a rigorous test schedule at the beginning of the year. Week after week, the ALT PNT team has been diligently conducting field tests, dedicating three days each week. The extensive testing regimen has required meticulous planning and execution, not to mention the considerable effort required to process and analyze the copious amounts of data collected.

Tim has demonstrated exceptional leadership throughout this rigorous testing period. His proactive approach to planning and guiding the team during execution has been instrumental in our success. Tim’s commitment to excellence is evident in his willingness to devote weekends to processing and analyzing data and ensuring that we can keep the customer up to date. – Rachel Cutter, Deputy Project Manager

Peggie Dotson (TMAS)

Peggie Stepped up on her own to figure out to get usbblocker. This helped save many hours simplifying pieces of the auditing. – Nominated by Mellisa Brown,

Sergio Alfaro (TMAS)

I received the following e-mail from Mr. Steven Jones, Test Engineer for the Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) Test Area within the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility: “Luis Rosaio (Qualis) and I met with the MALD-Jammer (MALD_J) System Program Office (SPO) last Friday. During that meeting, we demonstrated a piece of software that Sergio Alfaro developed. This software is designed to read the telemetry data off a MALD and translate it into a human-readable format. Using the software, we will be able to troubleshoot assets that have been deemed unfit for field use. This asset was discussed as a potential game changer in how the program office interfaces with assets. The SPO was amazed by this software. I would like to recognize him for his efforts and contribution to the success of the MALD triage effort.” Thank you Sergio for your continuing efforts in support of the warfighter and in the interest of resource stewardship. – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

AnnaMaria Eddy (WDTC)

I am pleased to nominate AnnaMaria Eddy for her outstanding performance as a data collector at Dugway Proving Ground on the WDTC contract. AnnaMaria has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication, professionalism, and expertise in her role, making invaluable contributions to our team and the success of the AVCAD testing program. AnnaMaria’s commitment to excellence is evident in her tireless efforts to collect and analyze data effectively. She recently received commendation from the WDTC Chemical Test Branch Chief, Despite encountering numerous challenges and setbacks throughout the program, AnnaMaria has remained resilient and steadfast in her dedication to delivering accurate and reliable results. Her unwavering determination and perseverance have been instrumental in overcoming obstacles and keeping the project on track. From the outset, AnnaMaria hit the ground running on a very busy test, demonstrating her ability to thrive under pressure and deliver results efficiently. Her promptness, dependability, and attention to detail have consistently impressed both our team and our government Point of Contacts (POCs). AnnaMaria’s exceptional work ethic and professionalism have earned her commendation from our POCs, further highlighting her exemplary performance and dedication to excellence.- Nominated by Kyle McKendrick, Deputy Program Manager

Davis (Wadee) Eddy (WDTC)

I am pleased to nominate Wade Eddy, our esteemed data collector at Dugway Proving Ground, for his outstanding dedication and contribution to our team. Wade’s unwavering commitment to excellence and his invaluable expertise have significantly impacted the success of our operations. As we navigate through the challenges of the AVCAD testing, Wade has proven himself to be an indispensable asset. His tireless efforts and meticulous attention to detail have not only ensured the smooth progress of our tasks but have also been instrumental in overcoming numerous hurdles and setbacks encountered along the way. Despite the obstacles we’ve faced, Wade has exhibited resilience and determination, inspiring the entire team to persevere. Wade’s wealth of experience at Dugway Proving Ground is unmatched. Since joining this contract, we have come to rely on his unparalleled knowledge of the base, testing processes, and procedures. His expertise has been crucial in guiding us through complex situations and making informed decisions. Moreover, Wade’s exceptional skills have not gone unnoticed by both management and our government Points of Contact (POCs), who have consistently praised his contributions. In the words of the chief of the chemical test branch, “We are only in a couple of months of AVCAD testing currently, but I wanted to take the opportunity to recognize the following Qualis data collectors for all of the hard work that has been done to date: Unfortunately, we have encountered numerous issues and setbacks on the program, not to mention have generated almost 200 TIRs at this point so I think it is worthwhile to give them some encouragement for hanging in there through everything so far. It has proven to be a very difficult program, and so far the team is doing well with staying on top of everything.” Wade’s dedication, professionalism, and expertise exemplify the highest standards of excellence. His contributions have not only been invaluable to our team but have also played a significant role in the success of our endeavors.-Nominated by Kyle McKendrick, Deputy Program Manager

Jennifer Walters (WDTC)

I am thrilled to nominate Jennifer Walters, data collector at Dugway Proving Ground, for her exceptional contributions to our team. Jennifer has been an invaluable part of our operations, consistently demonstrating dedication, expertise, and a remarkable work ethic. Throughout the challenges and setbacks faced during the AVCAD testing, Jennifer has exhibited unwavering commitment and resilience. Her ability to navigate through complexities and maintain a steadfast focus on achieving our objectives has been commendable. Jennifer’s meticulous attention to detail has been instrumental in ensuring accuracy and reliability in our data collection efforts. Furthermore, Jennifer’s flexibility and willingness to assist wherever needed have been exemplary. Despite being shuffled around due to staffing needs, Jennifer has consistently risen to the occasion, showcasing her versatility and adaptability. The immense trust we have in Jennifer speaks volumes about her reliability and capability to handle any task thrown her way. Notably, Jennifer has taken on the responsibility of training our new data collectors, showcasing her leadership skills and dedication to the growth and development of our team. Her willingness to share her knowledge and expertise exemplifies her commitment to fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment.- Nominated by Kyle McKendrick, Deputy Program Manager

March 8, 2024

John Powers (4 TES)

Qualis Team, It’s not every day that an entire team rallies behind a Task Lead and contributes to a focused appreciation email. In fact this is a first for me. Recently, the 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron team sent me an email to ensure Qualis knew John Powers was a fantastic team lead. First of all, the 4 TES team is responsible for OT&E of ACAT I Space Systems for the United States Space Force. These are highly complex systems, and the subsequent testing is some of the most complex designs seen by DOT&E. The teams comments stated, “John Powers is the Task Lead for the 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron (4 TES) support contract, as well as a vital member of the Global Positioning System (GPS) team, where he specializes in the End User portion of GPS – namely the warfighter – and interfaces with the Air Force, Navy, Army, and Marine Corps Operational Test Authorities. He leads Qualis support for more than 20 programs, including Air Force & Army Anti-jam Modem (A3M), Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization (EPS-R), Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS), Family of Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminal (FAB T), Force Element Terminal (FET), Global Broadcast Service (GBS), Global Positioning System IIIF Satellite (GPS IIIF), Mobile AEHF Terminal (MAT), Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Inc 1 and Inc 2, Next Generation Operational Control Segment (OCX) Blocks 1&2, OCX Block 3F, Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS), Presidential National Voice Conferencing (PNVC), Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES), Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS), and Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). John has simultaneously excelled in both his program duties and his task lead duties while meeting taskings from both corporate and military leadership. He has met these tasks notwithstanding numerous back-to-back traveling assignments in support of the MGUE program and the GPS IIIF program. John has logged more time at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) than any other Qualis 4 TES team member and guides the MGUE Test Director through a very complex array of DT and OT test events, data collection, and analysis on the MGUE program. During his travels for the MGUE program, he was in several out-of-state locations for up to two weeks at a time while balancing the review of dozens of Qualis candidate resumes and interviewing several applicants for new positions. John has worked exceptionally hard to ensure new team members have a good onboarding experience, to include out-of-office communications regarding snow delays as well as fixing challenges with obtaining new access badges, among many other things. John provides unwavering support to the Qualis 4 TES team members guiding them through issues with company travel. Recently, John’s team-focused leadership was demonstrated during the return from Los Angeles for the GPS IIIF Test Planning Working Group / MGUE Technical Exchange meetings. In the face of adverse conditions and logistics breakdowns, John took the lead in getting his team safely home. The flight for the last leg of the trip from Denver to Colorado Springs was cancelled due to freezing fog, and the airline would not provide overnight accommodations, meals, or other forms of transportation, leaving them stranded in the airport. So, John rented a car and drove the team from the Denver airport to the Colorado Springs airport in austere conditions. Additionally, John assisted on PNVC’s first two Multi-Service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) campaign activities spread across 21 test locations. During his time as a Data Collector at USSOUTHCOM, John’s technical expertise highlighted several technical and administrative deficiencies. John noticed that most of their secure phones in their shelter location were inoperable due to non-periodic rekeying. He researched the rekeying process without being asked and assisted the site personnel in the correction of these severe deficiencies. John also advocated for testing of all associated PNVC locations to ensure all end items functioned as designed. His relentless approached proved to be instrumental: all system equipment were tested and ready for Initial Operational Capability. Additionally, John’s keen attention to detail was also brought to bear, he noticed a secure phone mismatch between the system under test and a defense red switch network. He quickly captured all sensitive details and reported it securely to the PNVC Test Director and Program Office. John’s contribution led to PNVC collecting more than 5,000 data points and validated global communications survivability for the President of the United States. Furthermore, John has also processed Travel Authorization Forms (several were short notice), Trip Estimates, and Travel Expense Reports for over 50 Temporary Duty assignments in the last few months alone, many of which had multiple attendees. John is known for maintaining a good rapport with 4 TES leadership and other government agencies such as Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), speaking with them at least weekly on programs and manning to ensure program support is meeting DOT&E adequacy requirements as well as being on track with the 4 TES leadership priorities. Because he is in a unique position with program read-ins, the 4 TES CC has designated John as the 4 TES Test Director for programs/portions of programs that involve the B-2. This requires John to represent the squadron at all planning meetings and test events for this program. John led the effort, spending countless hours, to keep all 4 TES Qualis Team members employed during the gap between contracts a few months ago. After a full day of work, he would work well into the night on the proposal for the new contract. When the government fell behind, he also worked with Qualis leadership to provide temporary work assignments to all 4 TES Qualis Team members. This ensured no one went without a paycheck or lost their benefits. The work he did in this effort cannot be praised enough and is long past due. With this being only the tip of the iceberg, it’s no wonder his leadership has resulted in an awesome working environment and excellent test support to 4 TES. – Nominated by the 4 TES Contract Support Team.” Thanks you team for acknowledging your lead. JP, you are amazing and set the standard for the rest of us to follow!- Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. VP. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

Jeff Thornton (4 TES)

Jeff Thornton is the 4 TES Tactical Branch Cyber Lead for Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS), Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES), and the Air Force & Army Anti-jam Modem (A3M), as well as a cyber analyst for Mobile AEHF Terminal (MAT), Global Broadcast Service (GBS), and Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization (EPS-R). He leads the Protected Anti-Jam Tactical SATCOM Cyber Working Group meetings with various DoD organizations twice a month to prepare for cyber testing on A3M, PTES, and PTS systems and supports the 4 TES EPS-R Cyber Lead on the Cyber Test Annex to the Operational Assessment Test Plan to execute cyber testing at 4 sites in AK, CA, and CO. Jeff also wrote the PTES Threat Test Plan, and updated the Test & Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP) and Test Concept Briefing (TCB) for PTES, PTS, EPS-R, and MAT. Furthermore, he executed a Measures Workshop for PTES, PTS and MAT in order to create the cyber, effectiveness, suitability, and survivability Operational Test measures. Additionally, Jeff provides Electronic Warfare Threat Test support to the PTES, PTS, and MAT Test Directors to assess survivability of those systems in a contested space environment during Operational Test and keeps two CGO Air Force Reserve Cyber Officers aware of future cyber events. Moreover, he is also our most frequent traveler and has traveled on 14 trips, 2 of which he was the sole 4 TES representative. With all of this Jeff still finds time to mentor 4 TES officers on how to plan and execute cyber test events and prepare associated required documents and plans. Jeff is a critical member of a world-class Operational Test & Evaluation organization! – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. VP. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

Richard Adams (ESSCA)

From Team Lead: Since starting in with our team in November 2023, Ricky has gone above and beyond in all areas of his position and is performing well above his current labor category. Ricky stepped up to handle the TPS operations responsibilities our SME normally covered on a day-to-day basis with minimal oversight and enough knowledge to handle most situations and yet ask for direction or help as needed. The team was also hit with a large influx of work for the Agency-Level TPS In-Flight Anomaly Investigation. I can honestly say we couldn’t have continued to meet/exceed our customers’ needs and expectations without Ricky. Additionally, since coming to the team he has already received Safety Star and Caring in Action Awards for his safety conscious behavior when confronted by a workplace hazard others may have overlooked. I can honestly say that things are running even smoother than they did before he joined our team, despite a massive increase in workload; I attribute much of this to Ricky’s hard work and active communication with all members of the team which has helped us all stay on point during the IFA work. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Gary Sellers (ESSCA)

Jacobs Space Exploration Group awarded Gary and Extra Miler Award for going the extra mile designing, building, and guiding execution of the CMT WAAM vacuum welding experiment for a CNC welding table Gary designed. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Lisa Sharff (ESSCA)

Lisa is always helping other and doing great work. A note from her co-worker after receiving kudos from her NASA customer. “I also wanted to say thank you so much Lisa for all the effort and work you’ve been doing to help me with this and the CCP project. You’re always thinking ahead to the next steps and being proactive, but with this last batch of COPV testing in particular you’ve been absolutely incredible. You’re not just thinking one step ahead, it’s three or four or more and then taking the initiative to correct/fix/improve things before the rest of us have even realized it was there in the first place. I’m sure that kind of work is often invisible just by it’s nature, so I wanted to let you know that I’ve been seeing it and truly appreciate it. ” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Allison Wear (ESSCA)

The Marshall Safety Action Team awarded Allison the monthly “Caring In Action” award for her contributions in helping to make the center a safer place to work. Allison was recognized for assisting a new employee who did not family or friends in the area by transporting the co-worker to an oral surgery. Allison has stepped into supporting our NASA work with exceptional eagerness in supporting the team with excellent technical skills and interpersonal skills, she is a valued member of the team. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

March 1, 2024

 Pat Cronin (TMAS)

Pat Collins continuously embodies the Qualis values of integrity and excellence. As a senior Windows Systems Engineer, Pat strives to ensure the team is set up for success by communicating plans, procedures, and processes, as well as considering the future and future operations. Recently, Pat began the process to create a generic Secure Host Baseline (SHB) Windows 11 build. His efforts will ensure that Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Windows 11 requirements are met and the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 will be smooth for the critical Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) facility that CLIN6 supports. – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

February 23, 2024

Rachel Cutter and Hana Yeske (ALT PNT)

I am nominating both Rachel Cutter and Hana Yeske for PRIDE awards. Anyone that works in the Technical Center can’t help but to recognize the tremendously invaluable roles that both Rachel and Hana play in the success of their respective programs and in the Technical Center as a whole. It is a joy to work among such intelligent and capable women. – Nominated by Michelle Williams, Director of Software Engineering

Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) team (4 TES)

Team members: Jerry Gill, John Double, Scott Allison, Rommel Villalobos

The newly formed 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron’s (4 TES) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) team constantly goes above and beyond their typical support roles. This team was formed wholly with team members hired to perform other duties such as GPS and MILSATCOM. Jerry Gill has been invaluable in helping the Space Development Agency (SDA) in creating a first of its kind Test and Evaluation Framework. This new document sets the ground for testing a Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) program using a capabilities-based approach. Jerry has also provided vital input the Integrated Test Team (ITT) charter, which is established to involve all Test and Evaluation stakeholders in a program as early as possible to facilitate and coordinate integrated test and evaluation planning and execution. John Double leads the Cyber effort that has been all but typical. He utilizes his wealth of experience to modify normal processes and procedures without compromising overall effectiveness of cyber testing so that 4 TES can meet an unprecedented timeline put forth by SDA. In order to better prepare for all the test events and create the necessary documents for this unprecedented timeline, Scott Allison went above and beyond his duty description by creating a draft programmatic schedule of the necessary events and documentation for SDA. He has also drafted the Test Concept Brief (TCB), which will be briefed to the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), and presents an overall test strategy that includes programmatic information, employment and support concepts, threat testing, test scenarios, collection methods, limitations, resources, safety, and test measures. With all the capabilities that PWSA is bringing to the warfighter, Rommel Villalobos was recently added to the team. He has utilized his knowledge and experience with other programs to lead a Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) discussion on threat-based testing and how PWSA can incorporate lessons learned. All PWSA team members have been extremely accommodating to the Test Director by providing vital support in several ad hoc meetings. All of these team members have done all this while still performing their actual duties testing GPS and MILSATCOM. I’d like to thank and express both my gratitude and that of 4 TES leadership for their hard work and a fantastic team effort standing up this new and challenging test team. – Nominated by John Powers, Task Lead

February 16, 2024

Jamey Kennemur (TMAS)

“I wanted to send some thoughts on the team supporting AMPD. It has honestly been a team effort and this mission couldn’t have started execution without everyone doing what they have. Jamey Kennemur worked hand in hand with the team to make sure we had all the proper documentation necessary for us to fly yesterday. With all the back and forth between tail numbers due to maintenance issues he made sure he had it under control while the rest of us where on crew rest. I can’t stress enough how much I have enjoyed working with this team thus far on AMPD and we are truly making an impact on the decisions being made regarding M-code. “Submitted by Nicole Tekell, Test Management Flight Chief, 746 TS/TGGT and Orlando Padilla, Enterprise Project Officer, 746 TS/TGGTE- Nominated by Megan Gipson, Task Lead

Juan (Carlos) Gonzalez (TMAS)

Carlos has been an incredible asset to the Cybersecurity team here at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF). He has hit the ground running as an Information System Security Officer (ISSO), takes time to learn administrative practices and methodologies with our information technology (IT) team, and is always willing to do whatever it takes to support the mission. Recently, Carlos resurrected $90,000 worth of dormant security degauss and destruction equipment (Data Security Inc. LM1-DX8) to facilitate National Security Agency (NSA) approved destruction of hard drives. He performed extensive troubleshooting, repair, and testing to ensure the devices were able to be powered and function properly after 1.5 years of dormancy. Carlos’ efforts have empowered the cybersecurity and security team to reach throughput rates of over 1,000 hard drives degaussed/destroyed per hour and will save hundreds of man hours during facility-wide destruction efforts. – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

February 9, 2024

Brian Carden (ARC)

Kudos to Brian Carden for Exceptional Performance! “Dear Jeff Jones hope this email finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation and recognition for the outstanding performance of Brian Carden during the recent Microsoft app vulnerability issue. Brian’s exceptional leadership, expertise, and dedication were instrumental in effectively addressing the vulnerabilities and mitigating potential risks to our organization. His swift action and proficient development of the PowerShell script played a crucial role in resolving the issue efficiently and effectively. In addition to his technical skills, Brian’s proactive approach, problem-solving abilities, and commitment to excellence were truly commendable. He demonstrated exceptional professionalism and resilience throughout the entire process, serving as a role model for his peers. Brian’s contributions have not only strengthened our team but also reaffirmed our confidence in his abilities and dedication to our organization’s success. I wanted to ensure that Brian’s exemplary performance receives the recognition it deserves and that his efforts are acknowledged at a higher level. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please join me in congratulating Brian on a job exceptionally well done.” Great job Brian….Qualis Strong!! – Nominated by Jeffery L. Jones, Engineer III

Melissa Pollick (ARC)

I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation and recognition for the outstanding performance of Melissa Pollick for providing instruction on MDA ARC conference Rooms. Melissa’s exceptional leadership, expertise, and dedication to her assignments are above and beyond. Melissa has written instructions for classified and unclassified systems. UNCLASSIFIED/CLASSIFIED CODEC, CLASSIFIED MEETINGS, CLASSIFIED VOSIP PHONE, UNCLASSIFIED DIAL UP VTC NUMBER, CLASSIFIED DIAL UP CVTC NUMBER, PROJECTING TO MCR SCREEN UNCLASSIFIED MEETING, PROJECTING TO MCR SCREEN CLASSIFIED MEETING. Melissa demonstrated exceptional professionalism and resilience throughout the entire process, serving as a role model for her peer. Melissa contribution to the team reaffirmed our confidence in her abilities and dedication to our organization’s success. Great Job Melissa! Qualis Strong!  – Nominated by Jeffery L. Jones, Engineer III

February 2, 2024

Pat Collins (TMAS)

Pat is an exceptional system administrator that is always willing to go the extra mile to help customers within the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF), as well as his fellow peers. Pat recently helped the 96th Test Wing (96 TW) with creation of a generic Secure Host Baseline (SHB) Windows 11 build. I received the following feedback from Michael Powell, Information System Security Manager (ISSM), at the GWEF: “I would like to give praise and KUDOS to Pat Collins for his excellent support to not only the GWEF, but to our 96 TW partners in support of information technology (IT) and information assurance (IA) activities. As shown in the comments below from Ms. Hartzog (96 TW), Pat’s support in creating and developing a generic baseline of SHB Windows 11 23H2 and processes that they could use was extremely well appreciated and was very timely for their needs. Mr. Collins’ professionalism in the workplace, his Subject Matter Expertise in SHB Windows processes, along with his “GET THE JOB DONE” work ethic is exceptional and reflects highly on him and your company. Please pass on the 782 TS/RNWG Management’s thanks to Pat Collins for helping out our 96 TW colleagues and showing that our 782 TS/RNWG IT team is “SECOND TO NONE” when it comes to customer support. Per Diana Hartzog, 96 TW ISSM: “We discussed an Air Force Test Center (AFTC) issue with him with the upgrade, and within two (2) days, we had documents/files that he shared with us to help others. He is always a team player. This is definitely not the first time. The Wing thinks of him as a GO-TO guy as well but know that he has contractual obligations to the GWEF. He really deserves recognition.” Additionally, Diana added “I wanted you to know that Pat Collins jumped into to help us right away. He has given us these notes for someone trying to use the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) build (physical or virtual) as well as a plan to send us the latest version of Windows 11 SHB ISO. Pat has always been that guy we could go to. He’s a top-notch sysadmin that has the knowledge and experience that your team needs. He is always willing to answer a question or to help us out. Please recognize him for all he’s done. This is a big one with the upcoming mandate for the Windows 11 upgrades”. Thank you, Pat, for all that you have done, and continue to do to support the mission. You are truly appreciated. – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

GWEF IA/IT Team (TMAS)

Team: GWEF IA/IT Team (Maria Byrd, Juan C. Gonzalez, Shaun Knight, Amelie Lanoue; Matt Bader, Luis Baez, Pat Collins, Pat Cronin, Francis W. O’Connor, Steve Osborn, Robert Schmidt, Richard C. Stewart)

I received the following feedback from Michael Powell, Information System Security Manager (ISSM) at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF): “I want to thank all of the information assurance (IA) team and all of Mr. Moore’s information technology (IT) team who diligently worked on getting the Classified-GWEF (C-GWEF) Authority to Operate (ATO) renewed. GWEF management appreciates all of the work you do and the support you give to the 782 TS/RNWG group. GREAT WORK TO ALL!” Per the Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E) Security Control Assessor, Mr. Carl Pee, “congratulations on successful completion of the DT&E Assessment and Authorization (A&A) process and receipt of an ATO for the C-GWEF package.” The ATO package reflects an Authorization Termination Date (ATD) of 24 January 2027; a three-year ATO! Thank you for the diligent work and support! – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Bryan Hoffman (ESSCA)

Bryan was part of the team who received an Outstanding Task of the Month Award on ESSCA for Human Landing System work related to pulse settling of propellants in reduced gravity environment. He has received multiple Awards for his contributions and continues to excel. Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Amber Harvey (TMAS)

The Prime Task Lead for our TMAS 2, CLIN 6 support at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility located on Eglin AFB, FL had the following to say about Amber Harvey, “Amber has been an extremely high performer for many years supporting the GWEF and is a crucial component in finalizing test documentation and ATOs and ensuring our deliverables look professional for our stakeholders. She has become an expert on information security practices in our facility and is often the go-to person when questions are asked. Amber has also effortlessly taken on Matt Ehrhardt’s supervisory duties of the Qualis team and is a staunch advocate for ensuring the team is well taken care of. Amber is one of those employees who would bring the facility to a scramble and potentially a stop if she were to look for employment elsewhere.” Pretty strong statement from the Prime. Amber was already a valued member of our GWEF Team and stepped up as the Qualis Lead when our very accomplished lead moved on to another contract. Amber had giant shoes to fill and has done so with seemingly effortlessness. Thank you Amber for taking are of this amazing team. We appreciate you! – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. VP. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

January 12, 2024

Terry Qanadilo (ALT PNT)

In the process of executing a rapid prototype design, Terry Qanadilo caught a key design flaw that would have cost the program thousands of dollars and delayed important field testing to rectify. Terry quickly communicated the problem and proposed alternate solutions prior to materials being purchased. Terry’s solution meets customer objectives with less material cost and less technical risk which will get us to the field faster for customer testing. Way to go Terry!  – Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

December 15, 2023

Tyhisha Dupree (RCCTO)

I received the following note from Tyhisha’s Government customer, Ms. Amanda Evans: “I just wanted to send an Appreciation note on the fabulous work being done by Mrs. Tyhisha Dupree! I also wanted to communicate her new roles and responsibilities. Ms. Dupree has taken on additional duties along with supporting gaps she sees. She took on her other teammates duties as they transitioned to Task Force Strike and DEPO. I look to Ms. Dupree as my Budget Lead for AHPO, the Subject Matter Expert and as the new programs come in, she will help me in managing those as well. I would like for her to be recognized, and moving forward, be acknowledged as the AHPO Budget/Financial Lead. I will be depending on her a lot more. She is so talented at staying flexible on any project, which helps RCCTO on an enterprise level, especially being one of the only ones holding down the fort till we can staff a full team. Amanda Evans, Army RCCTO Business Office” Congratulations and thank you, Tyhisha, for representing Qualis so well. – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

December 1, 2023

Maxim Davidchuk (Corporate)

Day in and day out, Maxim goes above and beyond his typical FSO duties. He is always available, willing, and happy to help in any situation. Most recently, Maxim was invaluable during the process of preparing for the new corporate office open house. I could not have done it without him! He was helpful every step of the way from helping hang pictures around the office to putting furniture together to helping set up food and drinks for the open house. His willingness to help is greatly appreciated! – Nominated by Lisa McNabb, Director of IT and Facilities

Francis(Wayne) O’Connor and Richard (Clint) Stewart (TMAS)

I received the following e-mail from Michal Powell, Chief of the Sustainment Support Section and Information System Security Manager (ISSM) at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF). “I wanted to express my thanks and appreciation to your whole information technology (IT) and information assurance (IA) team for the job that they are doing in support of our program activities. This is by far the best IT/IA team this facility has ever had. Please pass on my thanks to all of them. Also, I want to specifically thank Wayne and Clint for their diligent support in getting our network switches identified, tracked, and configured into a standardized configuration that is truly meaningful and meets our test support functions, as well as meets our IA compliance requirements. During their network review, they brought to my attention two active network switches in our facility that per Cisco have an install base reflecting China. I assume that means it’s a CHINA-based device with Chinese components. As you know, Chinese-based components are not IA compliant and are not supposed to be used in our facility. Due to their diligent work, knowledge of Cisco systems and processes, as well as their knowledge of IA compliance, with their recommendation, I have requested funding from Visal to remove and replace these switches in order to maintain IA compliance for the facility. Without their diligence in identifying what network switches we have in the facility, we would have continued to assume (based on past IT switch reviews) that these two switches were in compliance since they were identified as United States install base systems. They did a great job in finding this !!!!! I also want to thank Wayne and Clint for getting the GWEF’s network equipment added to the Department of Defense (DoD) Global Enterprise Modernization Software and Support (GEMSS) agreement and setting up our Cisco Smart Account. Based on metrics provided by Wayne, over the past 12 months using GEMSS, GWEF programs avoided paying over $30k in Cisco support service costs that are typically passed on to non-GEMSS buyers for purchased network devices (24 units). This cost savings was realized just by setting up the GEMSS/Cisco Smart Account and utilizing the Cisco Smart Account during the procurement process. Additionally, it is estimated that by using our GEMSS/Cisco Smart Account, the APPS program was able to avoid paying over $84k in Cisco support service costs for the purchase of 40 switches. Just for these two procurements alone, Wayne and Clint helped the Government save over $114k in Cisco support service costs. Please pass on my thanks and gratitude to Clint, and Wayne especially, for their professional ethics and desire to help the Government in its due diligence in trying to save and better manage funding lines. Please pass on my thanks again to all the IA and IT Team for their support efforts.”- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

November 22, 2023

PNVC Team, Frederick McCarter, Rommel Villalobos (4 TES/SMT) The PNVC test team won the Delta 12 3Q23 test team award and their nomination will now move up the chain to STARCOM Head Quarters for the “BEST IN TEST” award. The Deputy Director, Operational Test & Evaluation, Net-centric, Space and Missile Defense Systems commented that “This was the most complex test program he’s seen in his 20 years in operational test experience.” The testing required deployment of a great deal of the 4 TES squadron including members not on this test team to locations around the world simultaneously. Fred, and Rom worked tirelessly to coordinate this test, ensuring equipment was installed and configured at all the locations, satellite communications plans were developed for all of the satellite terminals involved, COMSEC/TRANSEC keys were in place, site personnel were trained, satellite payload resources were reserved, satellite networks were set up and crosslinked around the world, aircraft were scheduled, detailed test procedures were written, trained, and tested ahead of time, etc. I could go on and on for a while describing the massive amount of effort, coordination, and time it took to pull off this test. Fred and Rom have done this two times so far and will have to do it again. Were it not for Fred and Rom there is No Way this test would have been successful. – Nominated by John Powers, Sr. Space Engineer

Amelie Lanoue (TMAS)

Amelie has hit the ground running upon starting as an Information System Security Officer (ISSO) here at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF). We recently required a high-to-low transfer facilitated via Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet) to Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) for documents lost on our share drive. Amelie took time and researched avenues for quick resolution and was able to successfully use Combined File Transfer Service (Combined Central) to execute the transfer (the first of its kind at the GWEF). In a matter of hours, the missing documentation was found, scrubbed, and placed on the drive. Amelie’s eagerness to learn, determination to find a path forward, and tenacity to accomplish the mission makes her a critical component of the team. Her pathfinder efforts have helped our cybersecurity team in the present and will also assist customers in the future. Thank you, Amelie!- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Sergio Alfaro (TMAS)

I received the following e-mail from Samir Ibrahim, one of the lead engineers supporting the APPS Program at the GWEF:”I wanted to write you regarding the performance and assistance that Sergio Alfaro provides the GOV team on APPS through work with the RT&T team. The APPS program has an ongoing need to acceptance test COTS components and very highly customized RF components created in the industry. Sergio’s ability to create automated testing software through labview has been a necessity to complete this testing need. Without the automated testing capabilities that he has provided the testing team, the resources and schedule slips to the APPS program would be significant. In some cases, particularly the Norden high power upconverter amplifiers, Sergio created a testing suite of software that far surpassed the manufacturer’s capability and aided the transparency to the GOV of spec compliance issues (resulting in specification rework and renegotiation to accomplish the mission needs). Sergio brings to the team a professional engineering capability, team-oriented leadership, and training to the RF technician test team.” – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

November 9, 2023

Alex Devito (ALT PNT)

In the last two months, the M&S team has been involved in the analysis of the high ground test (HGT) data. This data was obtained by reflecting a signal off the Moon and a geostationary satellite. Alex took two distinct waveforms and analyzed its behavior until he found a method to decode the data in the the CA/CA and the Skydel waveforms. The CA/CA waveform uses a pilot channel that allowed him to decode the signal from the Moon bounce such that his bit error was less that 0.1% for 20 seconds of signal. On the other hand, the Skydel waveform is a GPS modeled signal that carries position and time information. Alex was able to produce another method that he was able to decode portions of the signal. Even though the initial analysis proves to decode the embedded data within the signal, he was only able to obtain the time information. This unique decoding method is an important achievement because it enables the capability of obtaining position and time data of complex waveforms reflected from the Moon and/or satellites. His development skills are becoming invaluable to the ALT-PNT program and Qualis to accomplish the customer goals. – Nominated by Pedro A. Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

Dr. Young Nam (ALT PNT)

In the last two months, the M&S team has been involved in the analysis of the high ground test (HGT) data. This data was obtained by reflecting a signal off the Moon and a geostationary satellite. Dr. Nam did a tracking analysis of the CA/CA waveform to determine if it was possible of getting position information of reflected waveforms. Dr. Nam processed all the GPS waveforms collected at the test site with the HELSINKI software. HELSINKI is a software that models a COTS GPS receiver in which the HELSINKI parameters can be modified to improve the code tracking performance. In addition, Dr. Nam used the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Horizon database to determine the Moon-induced Doppler shifts. He compared the simulated results with the actual test data demonstrating that the doppler effects to the signal. Finally, Dr. Nam took the test data to provide an estimation of time and position using instant GPS. Due to the perturbation effects in the signal, Dr. Nam was able to produce position estimates that have errors of approximately 20 km, but the average position solution was valid. Because of this solution, there is a possibility of obtaining the valid position in the ground with additional filtering. Hence, Dr. Nam produced a first ever position estimation using Moon-reflected from modeled GPS waveforms. Dr. Nam’s technical capabilities have become an invaluable to the ALT-PNT program.- Nominated by Pedro A. Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

November 3, 2023

Conner Jones (ALT PNT)

In the last months, the M&S team has been involved in the analysis of the high ground test (HGT) data. This data was obtained by bouncing a signal off the Moon and a geostationary satellite. Connor took the hard work of characterizing the signal multipath effects that was bounced from the Moon. He did an extensive literature research and code development to implement an iterative convolution technique called Projection Onto Convex Sets (POCS). This method is a complex deconvolution method that has a lower sensitivity to noise and is numerically stable to characterize this effect. By using the High Performance Computer in Qualis, he was able to initially characterize the effects of the multipath for the signal bounced from the Moon. In addition, he validated his approach with the terrestrial test data. With this implemented technique, Connor is planning to create a multipath model that will enhance the M&S capability to model signal effects for further system analysis. He has shown exceptional R&D skills to achieve additional data for modeling and analyzing the data for this complex problem. – Nominated by Pedro A. Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

Grace Norrix (ALT PNT)

ALT-PNT data analysis is becoming a complex task due to customer expectations. In the ALT-PNT program, a GPS signal is bounced from different objects so that a COTS GPS receiver uses the re-radiated signal for determining the local time and position. Even though the position is relative to the transmission station, the time data has become invaluable in aiding the receiver to understand what it is the location in a GPS-denied environment. To efficiently understand the intricacies of the data, Grace has developed a MATLAB application called Athena that allowed the team member to analyze the test data. His application uses a simple graphical user-interface that allows for comparing historical and current test data. In addition, Athena could be used in real-time for post-processing the data in the field. In this way, a test team can analyze the data prior completing the test to verify for any issues. In this way, the test team can make decisions in real-time regarding the outcome of the test. With her data analysis skills, Grace provides our test team an application with the most relevant information regarding the test. Her knowledge in the data and hardware provides the necessary information to update the system for future tests meeting our customer standards.- Nominated by Pedro A. Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

David Huckabee (MDA/ARC)

Congratulations to David Huckabee for receiving the following from his customer: “I would like to thank David Huckabee and Demetrius Miles for working together to come up with a solution to this very frustrating issue. This shows that we don’t quit until we find a solution and “that’s not my job is never an answer”. Good teamwork guys. Anthony Wardlaw “Thank you, David, for representing Qualis and doing an outstanding job- Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

Judy Cragin(TMAS)

I recently moved over to AFRL from the 96 CS SCO Director position but wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation and admiration for the exceptional work that Judy Cragin has been doing for myself and the rest of the 96 CS SCO front office staff. Judy has truly been going above and beyond in ensuring the smooth and efficient functioning of our operations, and I felt it necessary to bring this to your attention. Judy has consistently demonstrated a remarkable commitment to her role, making her an invaluable asset to our team. Her attention to detail, organizational skills, willingness to adapt, and professionalism are nothing short of impressive. From managing complex scheduling and communication tasks to handling new administrative duties with precision, she has consistently delivered outstanding results. One of the most remarkable qualities that sets Judy apart is her dedication to providing exceptional support to the front office staff and making sure we are not dropping the ball. She is always approachable and ready to assist with any inquiries or challenges that arise. Her positive attitude, patience, and willingness to go the extra mile have made her an indispensable part of our team. Not only does Judy perform her daily tasks with excellence, but she also plays a vital role in maintaining a harmonious and efficient work environment. Her ability to multitask and handle various responsibilities without compromising the quality of her work is commendable. In light of her remarkable performance, I would like to suggest that you formally recognize Judy’s contributions if possible. Whether through a special commendation or a token of appreciation, I believe that acknowledging her exceptional work is deserved. Thank you for considering my recommendation. Judy is a shining example of the dedication and commitment we value in our team members. Her continued efforts undoubtedly enhance our operations and the overall success of our projects. Thank you for your time, and please convey my appreciation to Judy for her exemplary work. Scott Doss, 96 CS SCO Director*-Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

TMAS team (TMAS)

Team: Robert Schmidt, Pat Collins, and Matthew Bader

I received the following e-mail from Michael Powell, Chief of the Sustainment Support Section here at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF):I wanted to express my sincere thanks to Robert Schmidt, Pat Collins, and Matt Bader for their support in helping with a Quick Response Test (QRT) support requirement that they were assigned to last week (Oct 26 and 27). Background: As you know the GWEF Information Technology (IT) team supports various multi-classification network enclaves IT functions that support Department of Defense (DoD) mission critical activities and programs. On October 26th of this year the GWEF received a real-world QRT request from DoD to conduct a quick-response hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) test to assess a real-world event. To support this QRT required the extraction of data from a previous HITL test event conducted in the year 2014 to be used as a baseline for the QRT. Robert Schmidt , Pat Collins, and Matt Bader were asked to attempt to extract this 2014 test data currently stored on outdated hard drives. With outdated hardware devices to read the drives and old data drives, it was questionable whether the IT team could extract the needed data. During the extraction process, multiple attempts to boot and extract the needed data was tried and met with some drawbacks due to the older outdated hardware. Although data extraction from the older equipment was questionable and becoming doubtful that it could be done, Robert, Pat, and Matt would not concede to defeat and combined their IT expertise and knowledge of data extraction processing, and within a six (6) hour window was able to overcome the hardware issues and figure out a way to get a positive boot of the raid storage drives and was able to extract the needed data to help support the QRT saving the DoD money and time. Your IT Team showed exceptional team leadership and crisis management skills in clarifying the QRT data need and in identifying the right subject matter expertise needed to extract the data from outdated hardware components. Robert, Pat, and Matt’s proactive posture in working with each other and combining their IT knowledge and skill sets to meet the QRT data requirement was critical in supporting our GWEF QRT customer. All three IT members showed exceptional commitment to the task at hand, showed exceptional team cohesiveness and collaboration, and showed their Subject Matter Expertise in IT support. Their commitment and professionalism to GWEF’s mission support objectives, and to the DoD warfighter, reflects highly on their skills and on Qualis. Please pass on my thanks and praise to Robert, Pat, and Matt for a JOB WELL DONE.- Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

October 6, 2023

William (Brian) Farlow (SDA)

Congratulations to Brian Farlow for receiving the following comments from our SDA customer for his support to an Integrated Test Team (ITT) meeting: Brian, Ken; THANK YOU. Thank you. Thank you for being incredible supports for the ITT and engaged SMEs. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that I didn’t even have to ask you to do anything. You both just saw need and did it. You two work effortlessly together. And that, among other ways you support, helped the ITT finish w/out a single hiccup. And just as impressively, Brian, when system acceptance came up as a topic, you stood up and briefed it on the fly as if it was planned that way. AND handled the push back from one of the SpOC attendees like a pro. Just want to send profound thanks for the get-after-it attitude (and calming presence)! Dr. Beth Kujava, Space Development Agency Test Lead – Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 Mary Curtis (WDTC)

Mary has gone above and beyond in helping us to meet a tight deadline for a dozen reports this summer. She organized various personnel to focus on different aspects of the reports, while she concentrated on editing and processing documents as quickly as possible. She was also willing to sacrifice her free time to ensure that we met the customer’s deadline, even though some of the customers’ expectations were unrealistic. Thanks to Mary’s organizing and workflow management skills, we did not miss a single deadline. Her dedication and teamwork have been invaluable to our team, and we are truly grateful for her contributions and leadership. She truly embodies what it means to be a team player, and her efforts have helped us to achieve our goals. We are lucky to have her on our team. Kudos Mary for a job well done! – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

September 28, 2023

Jason Martin & Janie Lambert (TMAS)

This is a kudo for Janie Lambert and Jason Martin: “I LOVE the process improvement and am so grateful for the both of you. You have great eyes in identifying how to make our Organizational Standard Process (OSP) better!” (XPI’s OSP has been rated CMMI Capability Level 3)From Felicia Carver, 22-September-2023 – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

 Jeffrey Jones & Marshall Spinner (ARC)

Jeff Jones and Marshall Spinner received the following “kudos” from their customer, Mike Pope, at the Missile Defense (MDA) Agency Advanced Research Center (ARC): I wanted to let you (Qualis leadership) know that I just gave kudos to Jeff Jones and Marshall

Spinner in our weekly meeting with ICN leadership. They both stayed late this past Friday in support of an active ARC Request (on Boeing’s behalf) for the reconfiguration of BBHWIL to LISIM in the PCIL. This configuration change was needed for use on Monday, but the software was not delivered until late in the day on Friday, around the time that Jeff and Marshall typically go home. Jeff and Marshall’s commitment to the ARC mission is very much appreciated by DTL leadership. Mike Pope

MDA Advanced Research Center DTechLogic- Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

September 15, 2023

Brian Carden (ARC)

Congratulations to Brian Carden for his exceptional support to the Missile Defense Agency’s Advanced Research Center (ARC). His team lead at the ARC received the note below from a Steve Krumm, MDA Space Sensors (SN), customer regarding Brian’s efforts: Brian Carden: “Thanks for all your help last week. Gene Smith, David Falkner, Luke Brisk, Brian Carden, and the rest of the ICN Team did an outstanding job enabling our cyber test at the ARC to be successful last week” Brian manager I wanted to concur with the excellent job that he has been doing during his short time on the program. His attention to detail and inquisitive nature has allowed him to quickly come up to speed on the tasks he has been assigned which makes him a valued member of our team. His role has the most MDA government interaction of anyone on my team and his professionalism and his ability to build rapport with our MDA customers and their contractors has led to much success. Thank you, Brian, for taking care of our customer and representing Qualis Corporation so well. –Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

 TMAS team (TMAS)

Team: Paul Armentrout, Jamie Boswell, Ronald “Keith” Foote and Ronald “Ben” Reardon

I wanted to pass on some kudos from the IP team to the contractors. “Good morning, I would like to acknowledge and praise the Security contractors. During a recent audit it was discovered that a security database was missing information for over several hundred Military, Civilian and Contractors with SAP access. The below contractors took quick and accurate actions by reviewing and updating over 2200, 96TW SAP briefed personnel profiles. This database is essential to ensuring Continuous Evaluation reporting of adverse information allowing Access Approval Authorities and Commanders to make access determinations as adverse information is discovered and reported. These contractors continuously set the standard for others to follow. Please relay our sincerest appreciation for their dedication to duty .V/r, Diana Browning TMAS II COR CLIN II – Nominated by Darrell L. Decker, Task Lead

September 8, 2023

Cheryl Stafford (TMAS)

E-mail sent to Chief of Targets Flight 96 RANSS/96 TW, Ms. Smith, I just wanted to take a few minutes to highlight some spectacular work that your team has provided to the ARRW Program Office. Specifically, Ms. Cheryl Stafford has provided our office with exceptional support all along our development effort arranging targets to be acquired and shipped to various locations in support of the ARRW Test program. Recently we were told by OSD – LIVE FIRE that we needed to include a target in one of our upcoming flight tests at Reagan Test Site (RTS) for lethality analysis. Once again, I contacted Cheryl and asked what we had in the compound that could meet our needs and the team jump right in and found a great target (surrogate SS-21). Cheryl has worked with her team to ensure the target was environmentally cleaned, painted to match a foreign asset, fabricated some boxes representing critical components, and arranged shipping from Eglin to Kwajalein (just to name a few). I know there are many more great people behind the scenes working to make our program successful and I’m truly appreciative of each and every one. Their commitment to the ARRW program is a driving factor of why we have been successful with our test events. With Cheryl’s leadership the entire team has been awesome overcoming many hurdles within the process. I’m very thankful to have someone like Cheryl who I can reach out to knowing that she will attack the problem in a professional manner and overcome whatever hurdles are thrown her way. I just wanted you to know that the ARRW program office appreciate you and your team’s dedication. It’s an honor to work with so many great professionals and I hope they know their work goes a long way to make our program successful in the end. Thank you for your time, Ms. Smith and please pass along our sincere regards to the entire team. – Nominated by Darrell L. Decker, Task Lead

 Amber Bartenslager (TMAS)

E-mail Sent from 96 RANSS Targets Flight Chief to TMAS COR for CLIN 3.”Good afternoon Tammy,I’d like to submit recognition for a RANSS/RRNT TMAS employee (Ms. Amber Bartenslager).Ms. Amber Bartenslager is an instrumental member of the Range Support Squadron’s Target Systems Flight Mobile Targets Section. In addition to execution of her Target Manager responsibilities, Ms. Bartenslager is a key member in several essential efforts outlined below:• Assists in managing the Automotive Blanket Purchasing Agreement that provides the Target Systems Flight a streamlined process to acquisition commercial target assets and equipment to support customer test and training requirements.• Assists in managing the Air Force Foreign Technical Publication Translation and Conversion contract that provides translation of foreign language publications to English for use by the Eglin – Operations and Maintenance Services (E-OMS) contractors. This enables a higher level of maintenance performance from E-OMS technicians on the foreign target assets.• Assists in managing the Powertrain Component Overhaul, Rebuild and Target Parts Acquisitions contract that provides the Target Systems Flight a streamlined process to acquisition parts or to overhaul major components needed to maintain and repair target assets.• Supporting six foreign chassis acquisition efforts totaling $7.324M. Acquisition of these chassis’ enables fabrication of surrogate target assets required to support a major developmental test and evaluation weapon program.• Supporting 96 RANSS and AFTC in the transfer of equipment via the Disposition Logistics Agency process. Ms. Bartenslager’s efforts have been recognized by AFTC personnel. As a direct result of her support, the 96 TW will receive a significant amount of equipment transferred from other ranges to Eglin AFB at little to no cost.• Assisting the government in establishment of a five-year Sea Container Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Multiple Award Contract that will provide the Target Systems Flight a streamlined process to acquisition sea containers for use as target assets to support customer test and training requirements.• Assisting the government in establishment of a ten-year Mobile Targets Land Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Multiple Award Contract that will provide the Target Systems Flight a streamlined process to acquisition foreign and domestic target assets to support customer test and training requirements.• Assisting the government in establishment of a ten-year Mobile Targets Watercraft Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Multiple Award Contract that will provide the Target Systems Flight a streamlined process to acquisition watercraft target assets to support customer test and training requirements.• Assisting the government in establishment of a five-year Specialized Mobile Targets Asset Tracking System contract required to administer and manage the target asset database containing inventory, maintenance, and movement of target assets enabling the Target Systems Flight to effectively manage the 2000+ target asset fleet. Ms. Bartenslager is vital to the success of the Target System’s Flight and our ability to effectively support current and future test and training customer requirements.- Nominated by Darrell L. Decker, Task Lead

September 1, 2023

Amber Harvey (TMAS)

Amber Harvey recently took over Task Lead duties for our Qualis team in the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility located on Eglin AFB, FL. She has already made a difference with the following comments from the GWEF Test Capability Investment Lead, Mike Mouser, who stated, “I would like to recognize Mr. Kirk Everhard (Canvas) and Mrs. Amber Harvey (Qualis) for GWEF’s success in receiving program execution approval by the BoD and TRMC to proceed into Phase 0 for Advanced Multispectral Development (AMD) Central Test and Evaluation Program (CTEIP). 1.) Purpose to advance multispectral scene projection capabilities at GWEF and Army’s Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC) 2.) This is a $70M program upgrading multispectral scene modeling, multispectral EO-IR projectors/emitters, build/upgrade RF chamber and RF generation capabilities 3.) GWEF (Air Force) as program lead with partnership from the AvMC 4.) Execution years are from FY24-FY29. Mr. Everhard and Mrs. Harvey have been critical in developing documentation, cadence, and continuity with the GWEF and AvMC to successfully provide information and structure during the Enhanced Solution Phase. They were vital to the program in: 1.) Presenting/recording weekly updates,  2.) Managing overall program & subsystem tasking,  3.) Managing ESP obs/exp,  4.) Developing Test Capability Requirements Documents (TCRDs), and  5.) Developing/briefing ESP Exit Brief to the BoD and TRMC. There is no doubt that the award of AMD CTEIP would not have been successful without both Kirk’s and Amber’s efforts and it warrants recognition that they went above and beyond their normal duties to make this a success.” Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. V.P. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

GWEF Information Assurance (IA) Team (TMAS)

Team: Juan Gonzalez, Shaun Knight, and Aaron White

I wanted to highlight the efforts of the GWEF IA Team. In February, GWEF experienced an IA team turnover which required personnel to step up and step into new roles. The team has hit the ground running and is providing exceptional support to the customer. Below are excerpts I received from our customer: “I would also like to recognize the following ISSOs: Aaron White, Carlos Gonzalez, and Shaun Knight. As inexperience those three are they have performed and done an excellent job! They all were thrown to the deep end and learnt how to swim fast and quick. They managed to navigate through the AP process with all the stringent requirements and were apple to accomplish two ATO approvals. One of the ATOs was a consolidation of three areas into one to simplify future approval requests. They all work exceptionally well together as a team! Which is something we have been lacking for a while.” – Jose Pvillalta, Special Projects Lead (GWEF) “As for the IA team, I want to also echo Jose’s comments. The current IA team, Particularly Aaron taking on the ISSM role for us and Mr. Wolff (Axient) as our IA SME, has performed extremely well…. even the new comers to IA are learning fast and doing great!!!! Although some are less experienced to GWEF HITL processes than others, everyone’s learning and performing the required IA functions we need for continued IA compliance for the GWEF.“ – Mike Powell, ISSM (GWEF) – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

GWEF Information Technology (IT) / Networking Team (TMAS)

Team: Matthew Bader, Luis Baez, Pat Collins, Pat Cronin, Wayne O’Connor, Steven Osborn, Robert Schmidt, and Clint Stewart

I received the kudos below from our customer at the GWEF. The IT, Systems Engineering, and Networking team have refined the lab turnover process, performs innovative troubleshooting and hazardous condition (HAZCON) mitigation, and continually provides effective and efficient support to our customer. “I’d like to echo Jose’s statements below. The current IT Team as a whole, is doing an amazing job keeping everything running, even with antiquated technologies that we’re using. They work keeping the wheels on the bus without complaint and do it with a smile and professional attitude. It would be very hard to pick one or two of the IT team to single out as excellent workers … they all are and they all deserve KUDOS.” – Mike Powell, ISSM (GWEF) “Honestly, this is tough since quite frankly the entire IT team is stellar. However, I normally work with Pat Collins, and he is amazing! He always gets everything done in no time. No matter how many times I make a request, large, small, simple, or difficult, he never complains or gripes about anything. Also, his automation scripts on deploying certain rules and setups have expedited test area turnover/setup on the Windows side from what used to literally take four to eight weeks to about a week.” – Jose Pvillalta, Special Projects Lead (GWEF) – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

Luis Rosario (TMAS)

The Program/Project Management team at the GWEF was recently made aware of a $150,000 deferral that required quick action to resolve. Luis coordinated with fellow CQJV team members, as well as with the corporate team at Qualis, to determine a path forward that was minimally invasive to the workforce. Luis successfully ensured that the appropriate alternate charge codes were identified, necessary personnel were timely informed, and the deferral resolved. The ability of the Qualis team to quickly resolve this issue was recently highlighted at a Group-level meeting and is a testament to the excellent work provided by the Qualis team at Eglin, especially Luis. Thank you Luis! – Nominated by Amber Harvey, Task Lead

August 24, 2023

Ryan Kuhlmann (ALT PNT)

Ryan has recently supported project high ground testing, he has unselfishly brought in tools from home to enable us to meet critical deadlines he thinks outside of the box and comes up with rapid solutions on the fly time and again to avoid test delays. He has brought in material such as metal brackets and things to enable build fixtures where he developed and procured all of this on his own time. His willingness to go above and beyond has been key to ensuring successful test events. – Nominated by Jon Cabra, Executive Vice President

 Ryan Kuhlmann (ALT PNT)

Ryan Kuhlmann is a Senior RF Technician on the ALT-PNT Hardware and Test Team. The ALT-PNT team has supported multiple field tests at Redstone Arsenal supporting our SMDC customer. Our most recent test was a large multi-organizational event including space targets and multiple test sites across the country including Redstone Arsenal. Ryan has been instrumental in all our efforts including hardware integration and test, field test support, and the development of innovative ideas to improve our overall setups. One notable accomplishment included the development of an actuator system to enable joystick control of 2.4 meter dish antennas. More recently, he engaged in brainstorming solutions to enhance parabolic dish antenna movement and rotation, demonstrating his ability to devise innovative ideas, and in a remarkable span of just two days, he skillfully crafted and welded support mechanisms onto wheels to achieve this improvement. This improvement allowed us to make test configuration changes quickly to keep up with schedule constraints. All of Ryan’s efforts have not only driven our team’s success but have also offered invaluable support to our customer. – Nominated by Terry Qanadilo, Sr. RF Communications Engineer

 Wes Weirich (ALT PNT)

Wes developed an Anubis tracking capability for USC60 Terminals, without the development of this device, the HSV test team would not have been able to track and receive RF reflections in the latest project high ground test. Wes is a team player with a great attitude, his hard work and innovative thinking is creating new opportunities on the ALT PNT program. He maintains a positive attitude even in the midst of very challenging test events. Thank you Wes for making a difference for Qualis and our ALT PNT program! – Nominated by Jon Cabra, Executive Vice President

 Wes Weirich (ALT PNT)

Wes Weirich is an Electrical Engineer on the ALT-PNT Hardware and Test Team.  The ALT-PNT team has supported multiple field tests at Redstone Arsenal supporting our SMDC customer.  Our most recent test was a large multi-organizational event including space targets and multiple test sites across the country including Redstone Arsenal.  Wes led the development of an antenna pointing system for the ALT PNT program. The system incorporates a COTS INS that is mounted to the antenna setup. Wes led the development of software that is used to provide precise pointing feedback for the antenna system.  Wes originally designed it to point to static terrestrial targets.  Prior successful test events prompted the customer to request a rapid modification to the software to support dynamic space targets for the upcoming test event.  In the span of two weeks, Wes modified the software, fielded the updated system, and successfully tracked space objects during the event. In addition, Wes developed the operational plan for antenna pointing, and served as the lead antenna operator during the test event.- Nominated by Terry Qanadilo, Sr. RF Communications Engineer

Zac Wible (Corporate)

Zac has been critical to our proposal development efforts in the first half of 2023. He played a major role in key proposals submitted this year including HWMI, ETSS, 3ISIII, and FARA. He has worked significant overtime to keep up with the fast-paced environment responding to multiple simultaneous proposals. Zac’s efforts are helping to improve our probability of win on many of our bids and he is making a difference for us everyday! – Nominated by Jon Cabra, Executive Vice President

August 18, 2023

Alex Devito (ALT PNT)

Alex works in the modeling and simulation (M&S) team in the ALT-PNT Contract. In the ALT-PNT, the objective is to deliver a system that has the capability of providing GPS information in locations where these signals are unavailable. Recently, the ALT-PNT program conducted its second major test in which a signal was transmitted and reflected from a satellite and the Moon back to the Earth. Alex was an instrumental part of the test success because he supported the data collection in the Redstone Arsenal. He spent long hours re-orienting the antenna to ensure that the equipment was able to acquire the reflected signal. This test was successful because of his commitment to achieve a highly quality work. In addition, part of his task was to take the test data and convert it into a format that the entire team can have access for further post-processing. He did this work in a day, and he is generating a capability to visualize the data in video. His commitment for the success of this program is commendable for this test effort. – Nominated by Pedro Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

Dr. Young Nam (ALT PNT)

Dr. Nam work in the M&S team supporting the ALT-PNT program. The objective of the ALT-PNT program is to provide GPS signals in the locations where these signals are unavailable. Last week, a major test was conducted in which a signal was reflected from a satellite and the Moon back to the Earth. In the following weeks, the reflected signal will be post-process to understand how the signal was affected during the transmission path. In preparation to the test, Dr. Nam developed and verified a GPS signal that was used for this test. The waveform was developed so that carrier to noise ratio was high so that the signal could have distinguishable characteristics when it was reflected back to Earth. The waveform was composed of two coarse advanced (CA/CA) codes that allows for easily post-processing. During an initial look, a GPS signal processing tool was able to capture at least one of the CA codes. Because of these initial results, Dr. Nam is confident that the program is in the right track in achieving new filters and/or methods to provide GPS signals from these reflections. This is a game-changer in providing this necessary capability to our warfighters. Dr. Nam commitment to achieve a highly quality to this test is commendable, and it is expected that his work will allow us to further developed a system capable of functioning in GPS-denied regions. – Nominated by Pedro Capo-Lugo, Sr. GNC Engineer

August 11, 2023

John Double (4 TES)

I’d like to nominate John Double for a pride award. When my team had to shift work locations and jobs due to a gap in our contract John had to go to Buckley AFB to work. He lives in Colorado Springs so that is a 140 mile drive every day and it took almost 3 weeks until we won our work back and he could come home back to us. But he did it every day and did well for them and continues to even though it’s not his real job because they lack a cyber guy. Thank you John for doing that! – Nominated by John Powers, Team Lead/Senior System Engineer

 Rommel Villalobos (4 TES)

I’d like to nominate Rommel Villalobos for a pride award. When my team had to shift work locations and jobs due to a gap in our contract. We had only a 3 spots at Schriever SFB for 4 guys but Rom took turns with me taking PTO to fill the slots and to let the guys that didn’t have enough PTO to keep going until we won our work back. Not a good way to burn PTO and he didn’t have to do that with me but he did to help me keep the whole team going. We won by the way! We are all back doing our normal thing. Thank you Rom for sucking it up with me and burning PTO to keep the whole crew! – Nominated by John Powers, Team Lead/Senior System Engineer

 Jerry Gill (ATS)

I’d like to nominate Jerry Gill for a pride award. My teams contract ended and Jerry and I had to draft a new proposal to win the work back for the whole team while still working our regular jobs. Together, after many long nights we put together a winning proposal and managed to get the work back for Qualis and our team. Never a complaint, even after 18 hour days killing it! Jerry and I go back a ways and he is always a solid retired AF trooper like me and together we are an awesome team. It took both of us, but it wouldn’t have happened without his words to add to my geeky technical SATCOM words to win and get our team back together where we belong! Thank you Jerry! – Nominated by John Powers, Team Lead/Senior System Engineer

 Keanna Nichols (Corporate)

I’d like to nominate Keanna Nichols for a pride award. My team and I recently went through a bump in our contract where we had to shift folks from one location to other locations to keep all employed doing other jobs whilst we were writing a proposal and hoping to win our jobs back. I was informed I had to do all the COS forms for the crew. “Wait what? What are COS forms?” I said. Enter Keanna, we both worked well into the night until about 23:15. “I got this JP”, said Keanna, I know where this is going, I got the names and the rest of the info now, we are good, I’ll finish this in the A.M. She saved my whole team! We won by the way! We are all back doing our normal thing now. Thank you Keanna, you rock!!! – Nominated by John Powers, Team Lead/Senior System Engineer

 Jeremy Rogers (ESSCA)

Jeremy supports our NASA customer on the NASA Gateway Program. The Gateway Program Manager stated the following: “He has worked diligently to stand up the NASA Gateway Maintenance and Sparing Database, developed a process and user guide for collecting all of the Module, System, and GFE project data, and is now in the process of standing up the ESA Gateway Maintenance and Sparing Database.” Thank you for your continued superior support to our NASA customer in meeting the mission! – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Michael Bedard (ESSCA)

Michael has worked the last 6 months on a team recovering customer confidence in Artemis II verification. A NASA customer recognized his efforts in the following statement: “I wanted to shoot y’all a note to express my appreciation and kudos to the EV73 team for really stepping up the past 6 months and getting us to a better place with our Artemis2 verification. Rob, Mike, Juan, and Gary have really come together to work with us and our contractors on gathering and creating data that’s been pressing and valuable to the program.” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Senior Director of NASA Programs

July 27, 2023

Robert Andrews (GTRI)

In a time of major transition and growth from the top to the bottom, Mr. Andrews has gone above and beyond to provide essential support, documentation, and knowledge. His dedication and drive to accomplish the mission has been vital part of the Cyber Security team success. The cyber team is on track to accomplish tasks and new programs/tasks never experienced in the life cycle of the program. He has been the solid rock of the team, especially when the team was down to two members and the other was performing Program Lead duties. This recognition is long overdue, as the team lead, I’m very happy to have a dedicated team member like Mr. Andrews. Well done! – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Project Lead

James Kerchenski (GTRI)

The number of hours and the dedication by Mr. Kerchenski is beyond comprehension. He was a crucial component to organizing and coordinating the logistical move of an essential exercise device overseas. If it wasn’t for his dedication and knowledge this device could have ended up in the control of a foreign country and lost to the program which funded the device. This situation was unique to the program and came with almost insurmountable obstacles. However, Mr. Kerchenski was a champion of negotiation/coordinating and was able to overcome those obstacles. His accomplishment didn’t go unrecognized by the Pacific Air Force leadership, their verbal approval of his success was expressed numerous times to his Program Lead. As a team lead its always assuring to have a dependable and devoted team member on the team. Words can’t express the appreciation to have him on the team. – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Project Lead

Scott Krick (GTRI)

One of a kind team member, the loss of Mr. Krick would be devastating to the program and team. He is the only person on the program that has the qualifications as the Radio Frequency Management Administrator. There are very few Radio Frequency Management Administrator in the United States that could possibly replace Mr. Krick. The number of frequencies, proposals, and records he manages over the months is extraordinary, which provides vital documents to be legal. These documents are coordinated with different organizations like the FAA, military and NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration). If it wasn’t for his meticulous hard work, millions of dollars would be lost from the shutting down of exercises and training. Although, most of his accomplishments are hardly recognized from the program and/or behind the scenes tasks. He truly deserves recognition on his great work and accomplishments, which doesn’t go unseen by the team lead. Outstanding team member! – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Project Lead

July 14, 2023

Nicole Keel and Latitia Raabe (Corporate)

In every organization, there are employees who consistently go the extra mile, demonstrating unparalleled dedication and a commitment to achieving excellence. Today, I want to shine a spotlight on such exceptional employees who exemplify these qualities, even though one of them is not under my direct supervision. I am proud to recognize Nicole Keel and Latitia Raab who recently displayed an extraordinary level of dedication by staying up until 5 AM in the morning to complete multiple reports that required reconciling information from various databases and two companies. Nicole and Latitia faced an arduous task that required reconciling information from multiple databases across two different companies for multiple reports that were due on the same day per the WDTC PWS requirements. This complex endeavor demanded meticulous attention to detail, extensive data analysis, and exceptional problem-solving skills. Despite the daunting nature of the assignment, Nicole and Latitia ensured the completion of the task within the designated timeline and made a truly commendable sacrifice. Recognizing the significance of the reports and the impact they would have on the organization, Nicole and Latitia voluntarily stayed up until 5 AM in the morning, investing countless hours of hard work, perseverance, and dedication. By taking ownership of the task at hand and exhibiting exceptional organizational skills, Nicole and Latitia ensured the accuracy and precision of the reports, exceeding expectations and delivering exceptional outcomes. I would like to recognize, acknowledge, and appreciate their outstanding contributions. Nicole’s and Latitia’s remarkable commitment, tireless effort, and exemplary work ethic serve as an inspiration to us all. Their dedication not only enhances the efficiency of our contract but also reflects the values and ethos of our Qualis Family. Thank you!  – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

Pedro (Pete) Trevino (WDTC)

I am thrilled to recognize the outstanding achievement of one of our exceptional employees, Pedro (Pete) Trevino. Over the past few months, Pete has demonstrated unparalleled dedication and expertise in successfully training five new employees as data collectors. Data collection is a critical aspect of our contract, providing the foundation for informed decision-making by our immediate customer, WDTC, and the decision makers, such as OTC and ATC. Training new employees in this area requires not only a deep understanding of the process but also the ability to effectively convey knowledge and instill the necessary skills. Pete has proven to be an exceptional mentor and educator, ensuring that our new data collectors are equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to excel in their roles. Through his patient guidance, comprehensive training modules, and hands-on support, Pete has empowered these individuals to become valuable assets to our contract. The impact of Pete’s efforts extends beyond simply training new team members. By sharing his expertise and fostering a culture of continuous learning, Pete has contributed to the growth and development of our entire team. Their commitment to excellence sets a remarkable example for all of us to follow. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Pete for his exceptional dedication, leadership, and mentorship. His contributions have not only enhanced our data collection process but have also reinforced the collaborative spirit that defines our company. Once again, thank you, Pete, for your outstanding efforts and for continuously going above and beyond to ensure the success of our team. We are proud to have you as part of our team and Qualis family. –Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

 Lara Renelle (WDTC)

We have a shining star in our WDTC TDSS contract team who deserves all the applause and appreciation! Let’s give a huge round of virtual applause to Lara Renelle for her remarkable dedication and exceptional work ethic. Over the past months, Lara has shown us what it truly means to be committed to excellence. Not only has she taken on several difficult document writing assignments, but she has also navigated through sometimes challenging interactions with customers. And she has done it all with grace, professionalism, and a positive attitude! What sets Lara apart is her ability to juggle multiple documents without missing a single deadline. She has proven time and time again that she possesses an extraordinary talent for staying organized, managing priorities, and delivering top-notch work under pressure. Not only does she tackle these tasks with efficiency, but they also go the extra mile to ensure that the final product is of the highest quality. Her attention to detail, meticulousness, and dedication to perfection are truly commendable. But Lara’s contributions go beyond her exceptional work. She has also shown remarkable interpersonal skills, handling difficult customers with patience, empathy, and a focus on providing outstanding service. Her ability to maintain professionalism in challenging situations is truly inspiring.

I want to take a moment to recognize and appreciate Lara’s outstanding efforts. Her dedication and unwavering commitment to delivering excellence set a shining example for all of us. It is through her hard work that our team continues to thrive and our WDTC customers receive exceptional service.

Lara, you are a true asset to our team, and we are proud to have you on board. Thank you for your unwavering dedication and for consistently going above and beyond to deliver outstanding results. –Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

 Seth Kromis (Corporate)

Seth has done a terrific job during the leadership transition for the Contracts Group. He stays on top of things, makes sure actions are done timely, and is a tremendous resource for historical information for the group. Most importantly he is always available and turns things around quickly as asked. –Nominated by Ron Zaslow, Director of Contracts

June 23, 2023

Mary Jane Smith (SWDC)

Mary Jane Smith is known by MJ by those of us who have the privilege to work with her. This write-up is a bit long, and I encourage you all to take a moment to read it because this is our company culture…find a need and fill it. This is even more rare because the comments come from a fellow contractor. MJ has made a tremendous impact to the team and impression to the team leader. See below:

Marla Tong, Targeting and Allocation Lead, at the MDA Threat Modeling Center stated, “Mary Jane is an asset to our team that is hard to quantify. The reason for this is that Mary Jane does her job as Documentation Lead, but also anything and everything else that needs to be done. Most of the time she sees it and runs with it and doesn’t wait to be asked. She anticipates those things that most of don’t think about and then just magically they are there, eliminating many last-minute issues and crises. Mary Jane is currently the Documentation Specialist lead. This involves extensive knowledge of Linux and FrameMaker, among other tools. She has helped develop the documentation process over the years and has complete understanding on what works and when something doesn’t, why. As the Documentation step is the last step before the Threat Modeling Production team delivers their product to the government customers, more often than not all of the functional areas before hers have used up most of the allotted time, leaving Documentation to have to really scramble and pull off miracles. Time and time again, that is what they do, led by Mary Jane, She is good at jumping in and doing the work, but equally good at managing and tasking the work to be done by others, In that vein, Mary Jane, probably more than anyone else has been responsible for training new hires and is expert at training and developing a training plan, Mary Jane is also responsible for the bibliography of all of our products, ensuring that the overall classification is correct and helping the team avoid potential security issues. Mary Jane is responsible for the many classified and unclassified holdings in the Threat Modeling Center library. She has created a system for scanning, tracking, documenting and/or whatever it takes to make sure the team is compliant with all rules and regulations concerning classified holdings and upon the out-processing of a team member Mary Jane makes sure that they have accounted for all documents that were assigned to that member. Mary Jane has extensive historical knowledge of the Threat Modeling Center, which time and time again is used to understand the path forward. As the Threat Modeling Center has modernized over the years, her historical knowledge has helped the team to move forward wisely. An example of this is using FrameMaker to create our documentation instead of Word. Word has frequently been suggested as the way forward, but Mary Jane has the historical knowledge and experience of why that hasn’t worked in the past and is not the best/smartest move. On top of all of Mary Jane’s duties, she always adds whatever needs to be done to keep the place running smoothly. Many of these items are things many of us deem to be beneath us, but they do need to be done and Mary Jane is always willing to do whatever it takes to complete the mission and deliver the product.” Well done MJ and thank you for riding for the Qualis brand! – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Sr. V.P. Warfighter Services and Test Range Programs

May 12, 2023

John Lyons (ESSCA)

John came onboard the Qualis team at the end of February and has hit the ground running. His eagerness is reflected in a comment from his customer “I would personally like to give a shou-out to John Lyons from the valve team! He’s jumping in and doing great things to support Crew-7” and his team lead who stated that John has “shown initiative and ability to learn these complex reporting and analysis systems that CCP uses. You should be proud of your accomplishments being here such a short time, I sure am!”. – Nominated by James Bruce, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Rachel Anthony and Lori Allgood (TMAS)

I wanted to express a great thank you to the Building 1 team for the support and mission success in hosting our Germany AMRAAM Program Management Review last week. Rachel and Lori supported our team for approximately 30 days ensuring building access for foreign nationals, EBAI contractor access, and EBAI Government access. The scope of our effort was using a classified room for 4 hours and then transition to an unclassified room 4 hours. Rachel and Lori met and exceeded our scope of effort in every way possible. First, our Foreign Partners walked into the room supported by breakfast snacks and bottled water. On our first break they then provided some of our customers coffee and additional snacks, and cleaned and prepped the room afterwards. After a successful mission in the classified room, Lori and Rachel then prepped our unclassified room yet again with a coffee bar and candy. Rachel also provided us her computer so we could display needed slides on the screen.

After a successful Day 1 of our PMR the scope for Lori and Rachel ended. Germany asked me on Wednesday if they could re-gain access for additional classified questions. This is where Lori and Rachel yet again assembled the Building 1 team and had everything in place in less than 24 hours. In conclusion your team went above and beyond the scope and expectations of our agreement. Thank you for such a great team and we look forward to working with the Building 1 team in the future. Kind Regards, John “JT” Atkinson AMRAAM International, AFLCMC/EBAI Security Assistance Program Manager – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

May 5, 2023

Rand Johnson (WDTC)

WDTC TDSS Contract recently completed 100% GFP audit by the government with no findings and a “very Good” audit score. I wanted to take a moment to extend my warmest congratulations to Randell Johnson for the part he played in this outstanding achievement. It is with great pleasure that I learned that we received very high marks from the auditor, which is a testament to Rand’s hard work, dedication, and commitment to excellence. His exceptional performance is a source of pride for all of us and a clear indication of his professionalism, attention to detail, and exceptional knowledge of GFP policies and procedures. His dedication to quality and willingness to go above and beyond in all that he does are truly inspirational and set a high standard for all of us. Rand, please know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed and that your achievements are a credit to your talents, skills, and exceptional work ethic. I am proud to have you as a part of our team and look forward to seeing your continued success in the future. – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

April 28, 2023

Jeffrey Jones (ARC)

During the transition from a previous support contract, Jeff Jones was recruited as the PCIL (Prime Consolidated Integration Lab) Lead. The Network/IT Lead at the Advanced Research Center (ARC) quickly realized he was the best candidate for the job. Jeff has exceeded expectations and has been identified as a key asset at the ARC for support to the PCIL. Jeff continually takes the initiative to complete critical PCIL support actions by coordinating work assignments with his team and interacting with the customer – all while displaying the utmost professionalism. The ARC recently completed support to Flight Test Experimental 26 (FTX-26). Jeff was able to resolve all issues that arose during test execution and was instrumental in the successful completion of this important MDA test event.

Please join me in congratulating Jeff for his outstanding accomplishments! – Nominated by Dave Morton, Director, Missile Defense Systems

April 21, 2023

Trent Campbell (ESSCA)

Trent has been recognized by the customer for his work in small high-priority machining jobs. In particular for quickly machining friction welding plugs required for a hardware production non-conformance resolution test program.  – Nominated by James Bruce, Senior Director of NASA Programs

Hana Yeske (MMRF)

Hana has been an indispensable part of the Multi-Mission Radio Frequency (MMRF) project since the start. She has willingly taken on multiple responsibilities well outside her job description , filling gaps wherever necessary to keep the project moving forward.  As a Systems Engineer Hanna ensures that all the pieces of the MMRF design meet system requirements, and helps define derived requirements, ensuring they work together, and are engineered correctly. In addition to these core tasks, Hana has taken on procurement and tracking of material, scheduling and documenting meetings, and cleaning up project documentation. Hanna is frequently seen performing all major of general support tasks as well. Nominated by Robert Holt , Lead Project Engineer & Dr. Larry Wurtz, Senior RF Engineer

Lisa Sharff (ESSCA)

Lisa has continued to excel in her support to the NASA and Jacobs customers within the manufacturing labs. Recently Lisa was cited for the following by a fellow ESSCA team member:

“Lisa has done great work for the EM22 Additive Manufacturing project. We had a large backlog of tensile and high cycle fatigue tests and over the past few months she has completed testing on all of them. From my records she has completed over 60 work order sequences, which is in the neighborhood of 240 individual specimens and covers a span of 3 to 4 years of specimen production. Further she has done all of this testing with consistent quality results. The work she has done is invaluable to our efforts supporting the development of additive manufacturing methods.” Thank you for your continued hard work!  –Nominated by James Bruce, Senior Director of NASA Programs

March 31, 2023

Wes Weirich (ALT PNT)

Wes took lead in developing, building, testing, and fielding an antenna pointing system for the ALT PNT program using COTS components. The pointing system allowed us to reduce the test effort of bore sighting a narrow beam antenna onto a distant object. The original bore sight process took between 4-6 hours while Wes’ implementation reduced the time required to minutes. Thank you Wes for the great work and leadership to achieve this capability! – Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

Pacific Air Force (PACAF) Qualis Team (GTRI)

Team Members: Helen Foor, Kimberly Jansen, Sean Stanovich, and James (Ski) Kerchenski

The Pacific Air Force Head Quarters A317 Combat Training Ranges Program Manager informed Qualis how essential and wonderful the PACAF team is. Ms. Helen Foor provides excellent and superior support to the warfighter daily with the utmost professionalism and candor. Helen’s knowledge of combat training ranges is something that cannot be learned overnight and takes a personality of someone with a passion and desire….! She is the true definition of a combat training range subject matter expert. Ms. Kimberly Jansen is adapting to her new position with the team after only being with us for three months. Her attention to detail, precision, and exactness makes her the perfect person for handling the large amounts of money that flow through A317 on an annual basis. Mr. James Kerchenski has provided PACAF HQ A317 with the greatest logistic support any group can ask for. Mr. Kerchenski brings to the table generations of knowledge of the pacific arena in many fields. His passion in continuing to support young airmen is seen every day and is genuine. His knowledge on shipping assets around the pacific arena are vital in a time where we are moving equipment to support several exercises as well as purchasing new assets from foreign allies. Mr. Sean Stanovich has recently incorporated himself back into the A317 Combat Training Ranges team and it feels as if he has not skipped a beat on his knowledge of what the ranges need and how to best support. He is very professional, respectful, and always ready to assist with whatever the team needs from technically difficult questions up to simple top-level briefings and anything in between. From the first week back with our team, he was attending technical meetings regarding threat systems, communication assets, and other range and radar system, and was immediately asking in depth, highly advanced questions. The dynamics of the PACAF team is essential for the program, their unique skills and experience is priceless. Words cannot express the gratitude and appreciation that the program, Qualis corporation, and Program Lead has for this team. They are the definition of mission essential! Nominated by Lee Heineken , Program Lead

 Brenda Royal (GTRI)

In a time of transition and growth, Mrs. Royal has gone above and beyond support to provide essential details, documentation, and knowledge. Her knowledge and many years of experience of the Joint Pacific Alaska Range (JPARC) has benefited not only this range but other Pacific Air Force (PACAF) ranges and environments. The increase of connections and responsibilities on the PACAF ranges is normally conducted by a team of twenty or more. The current team consist of three cyber security teammates, and during a crucial week the other two team members were out for medical reason, leaving her to accomplish the tasks and responsibilities of a team of twenty. Needless to say, she is very essential to the program and deserves recognition for all her hard work and dedication. Thank You. –Nominated by Lee Heineken , Program Lead

March 24, 2023

High Performance Computing (HPC) Team (TMAS)

Phillip Black, Mellisa Brown, Jason Diessner, Peggie Dotson, Hampton Haddock, Stacey Kilcrease, Keaten Perkins, Phillip Rainey, Michael Stefani, John Tortorano, and John Walters – Nominated by Mellisa Brown, Project Lead

 The 96th RNCS team has been the integral part of the team getting RASTER II online. This expands EBA’s compute capability by approximately 3-fold. The team circumvented a 2-month delay of proactively having an in-depth code review of a foreign software. Additionally, the team has worked diligently on getting the Air Force’s first PL-3 data archive. EB will leverage this system to consolidate data across multiple PIDs onto one system. This data archive has laid the framework for a first-ever government cloud computing solution; the 96th RNCS reached out and initiated collaboration with the DoD High Performance Computing organization from Wright Patterson AFB to make this happen. Finally, the 96th RNCS team has come up with a COA that will allow EB’s analysts to execute runs from the comfort of our own desk which I look forward to hearing. The 96th RNCS has clearly put us EB customers first and is always willing to accommodate and assist us. I continue to look forward working with the 96th RNCS team. – Feedback from Capt, USAF – Model & Simulation IPT Lead

 I would like to express a sincere thank you to the 96 RNCS Qualis TMAS2 HPC support team for their outstanding efforts. This team has done an excellent

job ensuring top notch support for customer systems and development. The team has continued to mature the Multi-Caveat Analytical Computing Environment (MACE). MACE is cutting-edge technology meeting current needs to help deliver product to the warfighter. In addition, it is paving the way for improving future support for internal and external customers across the test community. We appreciate all the hard work, endless hours and recognize the team’s excellent performance and professionalism. – Feedback from Chief, Engineering Flight

 The HPC Team has won EBA Division 1st Quarter 2023 Award winners as the External Support Team of the Quarter: The team has won at the Squadron, Group and Wing level. The team is now competing at the Directorate, Center, and Majcom levels. Good luck. Please pass my congratulations to your team for winning the external team of the quarter award at the Air Dominance Division level. We appreciate all of your dedication and hard work to supporting the program. – Feedback from Maj, USAF

March 17, 2023

Peggie Dotson (TMAS)

I would like to make a special point about the work that Peggie Dotson has done for the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Team and the Weapons Directorate. When Peggie was hired one of her first tasks was to help the team find an adequate replacement for the Elastic Search suite of programs. The replacement greatly simplified the process of collecting, correlating, and reporting the weekly auditing requirements. In addition to developing and implementing the new set of tools, Peggie was instrumental in the successful technical assessment that was performed on the new RASTER II PL-2 HPC. – Nominated by John Tortorano, Scientist & Engineer IV

Michael Stefani (TMAS)

Michael Stefani is responsible for the Quality Assurance (QA) process that is an integral part of the development and implementation of new software tooling for the modeling and simulation (M&S) validation testing on the HPC system. Part of the process of for new software is to establish a security impact analysis (SIA) of the software. Extensive code review is a critical part of getting the software through the approval process. Work performed by Michael with a specific piece of software during the approval process for RASTER II, his diligence and attention to detail prevented a delay of RASTER II. The delay could have taken months to resolve if he had not reviewed and documented each library extension associated with the new software. He literally saved millions of customer dollars by preventing the delay. – Nominated by John Tortorano, Scientist & Engineer IV

Jason Martin (TMAS)

While participating in the test effort of Service Request Tracking Tool v2.8.0, Mr. Jason Martin: Went way above and beyond normal duties to greatly enhance organizational work capability. Because the SRTT is a tool for internal organizational use, Jason’s normal work of providing Cybersecurity services for all of XPI takes precedence over SRTT enhancement efforts. He went way above and beyond his stated job duties to redesign the SRTT to boost efficiency and “quality of life”. With the successful launch of the overhauled SRTT, the efficiency and capability in performing the Services & Support key business process will be immediately elevated. The tool is defined in organizational directives as a measurement repository and as such, is a vital source of data to manage and enhance performance process. Was responsible for tool integration for achieving and sustaining CMMI Level 3 in Service Delivery Management. During the 2022 CMMI Benchmark appraisal, the SRTT became the focal point for showcasing process excellence, persistence, and habit in using Level 3 best practices to execute the Services & Support and Development key business processes. Without Mr. Martin’s commitment to continuous use and improvement of organizational tools, the certification of Service practice areas at Level 3 would not have been possible. As a crowning achievement, the tool was touted as a strength in the appraisal results. Took on work outside area of expertise to redistribute work from an overloaded test team. Mr. Martin, as part of a test team worked outside of his area of expertise to helped alleviate a bottleneck while the XPID Independent Test Team was fully loaded with other key Test Wing test efforts. He were lauded by the XPID Chief, “This helped the XPID Test Team out tremendously by taking on the test effort along with the UAT testing for this build.” Streamlined test and quality assurance activities through innovative approach. System test, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and Quality Assurance activities are routinely done by three different groups. Mr. Martin came up with the innovative idea to combine the three activities, creating a golden opportunity to save time and effort. . Tested and documented complex work items requiring 492 test steps. Mr. Martin took on extra responsibility to execute the tests and log all activities in SRTT. Displayed strong teamwork and positive, can-do attitude. Mr. Martin worked closely with the XPID Test Team and the Services test lead, quickly addressing issues with in incredibly positive attitude. – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

February 24, 2023

Shaun Bush, Kenny Frank, and Emily Gray (TMAS)

Over the last year the Plans and Programs officer where Emily, Kenny and Shaun work and have been directly, or indirectly, been integral to over 200 MILCONS, SABER, and Work Order projects valued at over $1.8B. That said, the Plans and Programs officer has seen a windfall in awards to include the Small Team of the Year for the 96CS. Additionally the SCX branch has won the Large Team of the Quarter at the squadron and group level, which include Kenny, Shaun, and Emily. “Can you please make sure Qualis knows how amazing these folks are and continue to be for the 96 CS. Thank you.” William Miller, CTR – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Task Lead

Ken Kimbrough, Pat Levesque, and Cynthia White (TMAS)

XPID performs Software Engineering for Test Wing tools, Mission Resource Scheduling, Operations Management, and Real-Time Mission Tracking throughout the Air Force. The team consists of two development teams and an independent test team, providing quality, customized, and secure software solutions for a variety of systems across joint forces. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 1-Recognized for providing superior, dedicated technical excellence and quality for our customers. Key contributors to the XPI Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Benchmark Appraisal resulted in achieving Capability LEVEL III in all eleven appraised process areas and posted to the CMMI Public Appraisal Results System (PARs). 2-Delivered over 400 customer requests for CSE versions for the Major Range/Test Facility Bases (MRTFB), Cyber Command, Primary Training Ranges (PTR) & Combat Readiness Test Centers (CRTC), AF/A3AR & AFSPC Cyber Range Simulation Center. Excellent overall customer satisfaction and support with the software products are achieved. 3– Developed code and user interfaces for the R-2508 scheduling module integration into the Edwards AFB Center Scheduling Enterprise (CSE) software. By collaboration between CSE and the R-2508 Central Control Facility (CCF) office, a centralized, streamlined process improvement effort has a projected $261K annual savings. “WELL DONE” to our outstanding award winners for doing a fantastic job this past year supporting the 96 TW mission! We all really appreciate their dedication and the important work that they do to support the 96 TW’s operations. Thanks for making XP a big success!- Nominated by Janie Lambert , Task Lead

February 17, 2023

Karen Zodda (TMAS)

Karen Zodda was brought aboard to support the 96 Range Support Squadron (96 RANSS) as a PM-1, this position has many facets to what is expected of Karen from Admin Assistant to gov Time keeping or validation, to Program management responsibilities. From Day one Karen has stepped up to every task with a smile and can-do attitude and attacked each task, if she doesn’t know exactly what is expected of her she isn’t afraid to ask questions to make sur e she provides our customer with a top quality product in a timely manner. Karen recently developed an action Item and directive tracking spreadsheet for the GRE program, saving the program manager valuable time. Karen has been a good value-added team member to the Qualis team here at Eglin. Job well done !  – Nominated by Darrell Decker, Project Lead

 February 3, 2023

JD Brown (Dean Brown) (TMAS)

Dean Brown is a detail-oriented person and during his recent bi-weekly budget management activities he discovered some unordinary charges being reported in the government accounting system. Upon further research Dean discovered customer earnings would be impacted and reduced if left unchecked. Dean recommended to his government supervisor an expense adjustment be implemented to either curtail or eliminate specific current and future earning debits within the Mobile Targets Section. Additionally, during review of several O&M directives which expense using government earnings, Dean discovered that future cost could be reduced by recouping funding through the Army’s Mobile Targets organization. Both of these recommendations combined would result in significantly reducing budgetary costs by thousands in funding each year. – Nominated by Darrell Decker, Project Leader

Laine Zimmerman (TMAS)

“Darrell,

I just want you to know how extremely happy it made me to read these minutes that Laine put together for the FMRs. This is the first time that I’ve seen the FMRs documented like this. The minutes are so easy to read. I was able to understand what was accomplished and track the next steps for each line item. I have seen Laine continue to grow as a Program Manager. She is always willing to roll up her sleeves and get each job that is asked of her done. I am very thankful to have her on the GRE team. -Carol Testa Program Manager, Gulf Range Enhancement (GRE)  96 TSSQ/RNXC” .  I concur with everything Carol has stated, Laine has really stepped up to any task she has been given and is a valued asset to the GRE and Qualis Team. – Nominated by Darrell Decker , Project Leader

December 23, 2022

Kelley Fuqua (ESSCA)

Kelley Fuqua received the NASA Proposal Leadership award during the October 2022 NASA Awards Ceremony. The certificate stated, “For proactive technical leadership in defining and submitting proposals for technology developments in the Space Systems Department. “Kelley was nominated by ES34 Branch Chief, Leigh Elrod, with the following justification: “Kathleen (Kelley) has repeatedly provided estimates for the people she manages for proposal efforts to customers on various projects and requests. She does so with rapid response and often with minimal input. Her assistance has allowed ES34 to provide resource information to proposal and customer requests in a timely manner.” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Director of NASA Programs

 Emily Gray (TMAS)

Emily deserves a big kudo for helping out today on problem that has been plaguing several of us for some time. We were having an issue with an appraisal program and Emily helped figure out a short-cut to remove un-needed space. A simple set of keystrokes helped us get back space as the entry areas are limited to a certain number of characters.

Please pass on my thanks! MICHAEL J. MICHALSKI, NH-03 Chief, Base Support 96 CS Eglin AFB, FL. – Nominated by Janie Lambert, Administrative Support III

 Steve Hallenbeck (GTRI)

Special recognition from the 354 RANS (Range Squadron) leadership: “Steve Hallenbeck was a great asset this year in the transfer of range maintenance duties from the CE squadron to RANS. He was crucial to brokering the transfer of personnel and equipment to RANS in that effort.” As Steve’s supervisor, I have always been impressed on how he goes above and beyond by taking on additional duties. He provided logistical support for a multi-million-dollar surface to air missile threat emitter transportation/equipment onto active impact areas of the JPARC. Also, has taken on the challenge of being the Vehicle Control Officer for 59 squadron vehicles in support of JPARC target maintenance mission. – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Cyber Security Engineer

 Bryan Hoffman (ESSCA)

For dedicated work on the Cryogenic Fluid Management task for ESSCA. Bryan and his task team were award the ESSCA task of the month award, this is also an area of emphasis on the ESSCA contract. “For outstanding support towards maturing Cryo Fluid Management (CFM) technology through capability development, validation studies and applications to upcoming space flight missions.”  – Nominated by James Bruce III, Director of NASA Programs

 Chintan Patel (ESSCA)

For dedicated work on the Cryogenic Fluid Management task for ESSCA. Chintan and his task team were award the ESSCA task of the month award, this is also an area of emphasis on the ESSCA contract. “For outstanding support towards maturing Cryo Fluid Management (CFM) technology through capability development, validation studies and applications to upcoming space flight missions.” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Director of NASA Programs

Jason Poole (ESSCA)

Jason recently received a comment from his customer for his continued hard work. “I’m very pleased with how well Jason Poole has been picking up and owning the Zeeko work. He has totally bought into the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the machine, which has freed me up to pursue new future work. I have a high level of trust in him and feel that we have very good communication between us. He is reliable, always there when I need him to be and is very flexible. His knowledge of CNC machines has had an immediate impact, which has led to our day-to-day operation becoming more efficient. He has certainly established himself as a critical asset for the future of all Zeeko work.” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Director of NASA Programs

 Gary Sellers (ESSCA)

Gary was part of the ECLSS 4BC02 Desing and Analysis Team which received a group achievement award from MSFC. The honor was given in recognition of an outstanding accomplishment which has been made through the coordination of many individual effort and contributed to the accomplishment of the mission of MSFC. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Director of NASA Programs

December 9, 2022

Brian Heckel (JFCC IMD)

Brian has absolutely blown away any expectations in assuming the Security Specialist duties at JFCC IMD. He has completely revamped all procedures, file structures and processes since. Mr. Brian Heckel, JFCC IMD Mid-level Security Specialist distinguished himself in exceptional support of the recent Warfighters Forum-(WFF) 22-2 at the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center at Schriever Space Force Base. Brian verified and processed Security Clearance verification and Visit Access Request for 113 participants from JFCC IMD and 27 outside agencies. He initiated the proper forms and documentation for the creation of 28 Visitor Badges issued from Protocol and 41 Temporary Badges issued from the 50th Security Forces Visitor Center to assist outside agency participants to gain smooth unescorted entry and exit accommodations for the event. Mr. Heckel coordinated required escort responsibilities to and from the event to facilitate the needs of the participants coming in during unscheduled times and needing to leave early to catch flights. As a result, the WFF kicked off without a hitch, meeting all Command expectations providing a solid and professional environment for all participants involved. At the conclusion, Brian successfully collected all accountable Visitor and Temporary badges and returned to the appropriate offices with no issues. In addition to supporting this major event, Mr. Heckel also completed extensive support to the day-today operations of the command including submitting31 Incoming Visit Requests without error, facilitating multiple command meetings and important coordinating actions. He submitted 15 Outgoing Visit Requests without error, ensuring IMD personnel were granted access to classes and meeting locations. Brian processed 28 Form 2586 (Facility access forms) prior to personnel arrival, facilitating quick in processing and minimal down time and facilitated the issuance of 17 Form 2586 to currently assigned personnel, to assist in access control to additional facilities/spaces ensuring continuing productivity at Alt/off sites locations. He verified and completed 12 System Access Account Requests without error, ensuring new members have quick access to the systems they use and enrolled 11 Common Access Cards in the OnGuard system for the SCIF so members could continue the mission with no obstacles and processed command access requests for 11 individuals granting them access to IMD areas and reducing access issues for members and their visitors. During this period, he also submitted five members for security reinvestigation in order to update their security investigation status and clearance eligibility; assisted in conducting two security indoctrination read-ins for individuals, ensuring they have the proper access and need to know to conduct daily mission requirements. Brian created security credentials for our personnel including new Special Compartmented Information (SCI) badges for six individuals reducing barriers to access to SCI areas; 13 equipment removal letters for members in the command ensuring the safe and secure transfer of equipment between duty locations for teleworking members. Brian conducted multiple Out of Country Foreign Travel Threat Assessment Briefings that involved training, Threat Assessment Briefings prior to travel, or Foreign Travel Debrief procedures on 25 separate occasions for individuals traveling internationally so they are prepared for the risks that they may experience while traveling. He conducted security clearance debrief read-outs during out-processing for nine individuals, ensuring there accesses and need to know were properly removed. Finally, after starting just a few short months ago with Qualis, Brian has revamped all administrative security procedures and processes across the 3-star component command, ensuring all badging and access documentation forms are maintained in a new streamlined file management system and renewals are planned in advance to ensure continuous access. Brian has been absolutely crushing it from day one, with incredible energy, focus, and impact!  –Nominated by Tom Hancock, Director Strategic Programs

Marie Slade (TMAS)

I just wanted to let you know that over the last several months, Marie has provided superior support. We have had 3 contract extensions in the last 6 months and she has been a trooper in getting funding moved and obligated to each of the extensions. In addition, in support of the new contract, PZ once again gave us last minute requirements, she actually cancelled planned leave to help make sure the MIPR was approved – spending hours tracking down information and documents that PZ added to the package. She has definitely gone above and beyond to meet mission requirements. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate her and how lucky I am to have her on my team. Rachel Waddell 96 TSSQ/ RNXT Flight Chief. Marie is always an outstanding performer and it doesn’t go unnoticed by her customer. Great Job Marie! – Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

November 18, 2022

Mary Curtis (WDTC)

We received the following letter from one of our customers at West Desert Test Center at Dugway Proving Ground, UT regarding Mary Curtis, one of our writers/editors:
I would like to recognize Ms. Mary Curtis for her hard work and dedication in support of the West Desert Test Center (WDTC), Chemical Test Division (CTD), Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) Chemical, Biological, Radiological (CBR) survivability program and Australia Decon test program. In the past six months, Ms. Curtis has achieved outstanding knowledge and exceptional understanding of the CBR survivability concept. Her skills have greatly enhanced our division capability and provides our customer with concise and comprehensive CBR assessment of their systems. Ms. Curtis quick understanding, professional attitude, dedication, and technical writing skill enabled her to grasp CBR assessment knowledge exceptionally fast. Ms. Curtis was also instrumental in drafting and staffing the Australia Decon Coupon test plan for test record. She was able to coordinate all technical and grammatical changes rapidly and monitored the staffing process ensuring that the document was staffed and signed prior to test execution. Her diligence and persistence through the entire process prevented test delays which would have added cost to our customer. Ms. Curtis has proven to be a great asset and deserves recognition for her outstanding support and service. We look forward to her continued service and support to our division, CBR survivability and test programs.” Mary joined Qualis in January 2022. Since then she has made great strides in successfully completing her assigned tasks and providing great customer service, as evident in the praise we received about her (above) from those she supports. Well Done Mary! Keep up the great work. –Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, WDTC Program Manager

November 10, 2022

Beth Kujava (3ISII)

As many of you know, Qualis has long been a prime contractor to the Air Force as an Operational Test Agency Level test support company for the portfolio of ACAT I space systems. Much of this work is transitioning from the Air Force over to the United States Space Force and into their Integrated Test Force organizational structure. The USSF has a different approach to test and is forming pathfinder teams to explore the art of the possible regarding Operational Test & Evaluation processes and implementation along with Developmental Test activities. Beth Kujava has been an excellent Task Lead of this effort supporting the Space Based Missile Warning (SBMW)task order and pathfinding effort for the USSF. Through this activity we have transitioned from our prime contractor role and have been added to a USSF contract team as a subcontractor. The first report of our SBMW team by our prime contractor and government leads was stellar. The Program Integrator for the prime, Marquis Horniek, stated, “I would like to thank them [Qualis] for all the effort that Beth Kujava has put into the contract work. She is our eyes and ears on the project and has been indispensable to me. We have visited with the Gov’t leadership several times and the feedback we got from them was that the team, while fairly new, was doing a good job at getting up to speed as much as possible.”Thank you Beth for your leadership through one of the most trying times for OT&E of space systems as we transition from the Air Force over to the United States Space Force during this epic nexus of change in the test community for systems that are critical for the way our nation goes to war. Well done! –Nominated by Marc Peterson, Vice President of Strategic Programs

Daniel LaJeunesse (TMAS)

Daniel LaJeunesse is performing Program Manager functions in support of the Spectrum Relocation Fund program and a new program AMBIT program. Daniel came to Qualis with minimal experience as a program manager, but no lack of enthusiasm to get the job done or find ways to make the process more efficient. Any task from helping move equipment into a new facility to developing a work breakdown structure to developing a Program Management Plan Daniel attack it with the confidence of a seasoned PM. If he doesn’t know the answer to a question he researches it before engaging more senior level PMs. he went out of his way to set up MS Project Training for his fellow team members, thus raising the corporate knowledge of MS project for himself and his fellow Qualis personnel and government people. I have been approached by Government PMs and have been told how impressed they were with Daniel’s performance and his willing to go the extra mile to make the programs he supports a success. Job well done Daniel! – Nominated by Darrell Decker , Task Lead

October 14, 2022

Megan Sowada (WDTC)

About nine months ago, Megan Sowada joined Qualis Corporation as a Business Manager for the West Desert Test Center’s (WDTC) Documentation and Data Collection contract. Since then, she has been an integral part of our operations and success. Megan has the duty of reviewing transactions, assessing financial status, tracking and reporting task expenditures, monitoring financial indicators, conducting burn-rate and cost analysis, among other things. The WDTC documentation contract has a rigorous weekly and monthly reporting requirement. Most of these reports are finance related. Megan’s attention to detail and skill has allowed us to achieve success in meeting the government’s requirements beyond expectation. Her professionalism and ability to work well with others has allayed our government partner’s perceived (and completely unfounded) concerns. Megan not only conducts the best financial analysis, but she always provided me with valuable insights, financial recommendations, and timely analysis that I can use for contract decisions. Her work was, and continues to be, consistently excellent. I appreciate her exemplary professionalism and look forward to continued success for this contract with her support. Thank you, Megan!.- Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

 Walter Curry (WDTC)

Walter Curry has over 30 years of experience in the Test and Evaluation field working for the US Army, both as a civilian and contractor, at Dugway Proving Ground, UT. About 1 year of that has been with the Qualis Documentation contract. His many years of service are indications of his dedication to the warfighter and for the success of West Desert Test Center (WDTC). Throughout his service, Walter has worn many hats, such as test officer (government), writer/editor (contractor), trainer, mentor, confidant, and especially a friend to all. Recently Water was assigned two documents for the same customer that had resulted in lengthy meetings, difficult schedules, and constantly changing requirements. Walter persevered through these difficult situations and produced documents that were exemplary. Throughout this difficult assignment and what feel like a relentless pressure with looming deadlines, he maintained a stoic demeanor and fortitude that is to be commended. He even took the extra efforts to go out in the field and attend training sessions for the test and was instrumental in observing and indicating changes that were critical for the success of the test programs. Even during this difficult task, he was willing to take on the added responsibility of training a new writer and did so with his signature professionalism. Hard work, Loyalty, and Diligence are the cornerstones of great employees. Walter exemplifies all these qualities. In addition, his success in all he does is a clear indication that he has internalized the Qualis values of Integrity, excellence, character, and service. As Walter’s time with us are numbered (he is ready for well-deserved retirement), we will cherish each moment and hope to learn at the foot of the master. We hope to emulate his contagious, sunny disposition, his witty comments and bright outlook in life. Thank you, Walter, for your service and dedication. – Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

October 7, 2022

Jerry Gil (ATS)

Jerry balances between several different Space programs including the Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL), and GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX). He wrote and briefed a recommended T1 Test Strategy Presentation that Integration and test seems have adopted. Though it’s the responsibility of the test director he also authored the SDA Tranche 1 (T1) Integrated Test Team (ITT) charter, and the test and evaluation strategy. At the same time, he Co-authored the Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) test design and test measures as well as the identified standard memo for the GPS test team. Jerry routinely interfaces with senior leadership at the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2 SOPS), and other military test agencies on high level issues both for SDA T1TL and GPS. Jerry frequently is the voice for the 4Th Test Evaluation Squadron (TES) at many high-level meetings and is leaned upon heavily by the military Test Directors (TDs), division chiefs, and the squadron commander. Jerry’s vast experience in test along with his long-standing relationships in the test community are invaluable to the success of the 4Th Test Evaluation Squadron test teams. – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Programs

 John Double (ATS)

John recently participated in the Developmental Test Security Controls Assessment (SCA) of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) Master Control Station (MCS) and Monitor Station (MS). Although not a 4Th Test and Evaluation (4 TES) requirement, Col Anderson, the Project Manager and Transition Director at Space Systems Command (SSC) voiced her pleasure seeing 4 TES representation at this test that is critical to gaining the Authorization to Operate (ATO) OCX. While many of the military cyber test leads have departed for new assignments and have not been replaced, John became the only cyber test lead for the GPS programs and fills in for the Space and Control Testing division (SCT) Cyber analyst when required. John also assists the Qualis Test Lead with management matters when the test lead is down range performing lengthy test events. Additionally, John has been the pathfinder gaining permanent badge access to the new Global Positioning System (GPS) Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) Master Control Station (MCS) and Transition Support Facility (TSF) on Schriever Space Force Base, paving the way for the rest of the GPS test team to get their restricted area badges quickly and eliminating complications and delays during test events. – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Programs

September 23, 2022

Buckley SMBW Oversight Test Team (ATS SBMW)

TEAM MEMBERS: Gerald Stilen, Andy Kapiciak, Jose Lopez Gutierrez, Brian Douglass

The entire team demonstrated and continues to demonstrate a high degree of perseverance through change, culture shift, and challenging contract rollovers. The team experienced change from Air Force to Space Force – 4 TES to Space Force – 17 TES; all within the matter of a contract cycle. During this time the contract (AF), the COR (4 TES), and the work (17 TES) were held in different organizations, in essence, creating a situation with three customers and disparate processes. The team also spearheaded and continues to serve as Space Force’s experimental operational test team to shift test into an early-integration, combined testing Agile framework. So much change and experimentation over the past year. The entire team exhibited an incredible amount of professional maturity, positive attitude, and consistently and dependably strong work ethic. The team stayed strong, held each other up, and stayed together during these incredibly challenging times.-  Nominated by Elizabeth Kujava, Task Lead

 Lisa McNabb (Corporate)

Many of you have experienced our outstanding IT support. This year we have had a tremendous amount of IT activity, ranging from increasing numbers of users, the establishment of a corporate high performance computing environment, and a major migration of much of our IT infrastructure to the cloud. Lisa McNabb has been behind the scenes every step of the way coordinating this and continuing to keep all of us up and running. Her hard work and dedication continue to enable us to operate smoothly. Thank you Lisa for your tremendous effort and the hard work that you put in to keep our IT systems on the cutting edge! – Nominated by Jon Cabra, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth

Lori Allgood (TMAS II)

NORDYKE, HARRY L III 1st Lt USAF AFMC 96 CES/CEX sent an email.

Thank you all collectively for helping Eglin Emergency Management get the comms requirements purchase for our Alternate EOC across the finish line. Your support in the 11th hour has been invaluable, and has ensured continued progress towards the 96 Test Wing’s #1 Readiness objective of FY22. My team can’t thank you enough, and we are looking forward to rounding out the project with y’all to ensure a robust command and control network capability for Eglin’s future emergencies. Lori- your efforts to help us have far exceeded expectations and have been tremendously beneficial. You were right in saying you have a great team over in the Comms Squadron! HOGUE, CHAD D Maj USAF AFMC 96 CES/CC also sent an email: I want to echo Lt Nordyke in thanking you all for your help. I recently took command but this was a big priority for the previous commander and he was encouraged to hear it was executed this FY. Thanks for the support in making this happen. Nominated by Janie Lambert, Administrative Support III

 September 16, 2022

Charles Goble (ALT PNT)

Chuck Goble led the effort for the technical development of the proof of concept through modeling and simulation for one of the primary approaches of the ALT PNT program. This required a wide breadth of technical understanding to build an appropriate architecture for an analysis tool set to meet the immediate task needs along with providing opportunities for growth. In addition to technical achievement, Chuck has mentored younger engineers to develop the building blocks of the analysis tool set. Thank you for all your hard work and mentorship! – Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

Chris Chkaiban (ALT PNT)

Chris has been and continues to be a positive influence on the ALT PNT program through his dedication to the team and perseverance in difficult situations. The ALT PNT team has been performing outside field testing in the hot and humid summer climate of Huntsville, Alabama. Chris has been a major contributor to assembling, adapting, and operating the test equipment in these difficult environments. This involved early mornings and long hot days. Throughout the weeks of testing, Chris has maintained a positive attitude which influences the rest of the team. Chris has shown a strong care for his team and the success of the program. Thank you for all you are doing to make an enjoyable work environment and bring success to the team! Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

September 9, 2022

Amber Bartenslager (TMAS)
Amber led the coordination and logistics for a week-long Threat Systems Management Office (TSMO) Mobile Ground Targets Operations (MGTO) Primary Operating Center (POC) Interchange Meeting. She found and reserved a meeting location suitable for 35 participants and assisted with setting up the room. She took the time to wring out the IT systems prior to the conference and successfully resolved various issues to ensure the ability for briefing slides to be projected. She also handled the submission of visit requests and compiled and distributed the information required for attendees to locate the venue. This conference is an opportunity for personnel across the Air Force and Army to network and share information. Representatives from various locations; to include: White Sands Missile Range, Yakima Training Center, Redstone Test Center, and Dugway Proving Ground; were in attendance. All were pleased with the accommodations and discussions during the conference. Amber was instrumental in the conference’s success. She effectively handled the meeting logistics while also being an active participant in the meeting discussions. Without her oversight, the conference would have been unproductive. Her efforts supporting this conference, in addition to managing her regular workload, deserve to be recognized.- Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

Cheryl Stafford (TMAS)

On Thursday 25 August, Cheryl Stafford led a tour of the Mobile Targets and Threat Complex (MTTC) to provide an immersion for the new 96 Cyber Test Group (96 CTG) Commander (Col Hoffman). Cheryl did an excellent job handling the logistics; to include, coordinating visit requests, deconflicting other tours, and ensuring Eglin – Operations and Maintenance Services (E-OMS) personnel support. The tour was attended by several members of CTG leadership and included one O-6, two O-5s, and two NH-04s. Cheryl concisely explained the Target System Flight’s role in supporting the CTG and then walked the CTG/CC through the MTTC while identifying and describing various target assets. With her extensive knowledge, she was able to field all questions and show the CTG/CC the quality of support provided by RANSS. During the Monday 29 August 96 Test Wing Test Huddle chaired by the 96 TW/CC (BGen Geraghty), the CTG/CC identified Cheryl by name recognizing her and the Range Group for their support. –Nominated by Darrell Decker, Task Lead

September 2, 2022

Kevin Bowles (ATS SMC)

Kevin continues to go above and beyond while directing Presidential National Voice Conferencing (PNVC) contractor team. He provides leadership and supports the team with invaluable insights into program development concepts. He led the team in developing the Identified Standards and then subsequently led briefing to Higher Headquarters (HHQ). He effectively communicated the requirements and tied them back to the PNVC measures to substantiate the justification for direction provided. He continually saves the 4Th Test Evaluation Squadron (TES) by forward thinking, preparing, and presenting during meetings and briefings. – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Programs

Paul Langhals (ATS SMC)

Paul examined and submitted Family of Line of Sight-Terminal (FAB-T) test results as a result of multiple trips to the Mobile Consolidated Command Center (MCCC) in a remote location. These results were critical to measure the effectiveness and viability of the FAB-T to provide strategic nuclear and nonnuclear command and control capabilities utilizing Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Extremely High Frequency (EHF), Wideband, Protected, and Survivable Strategic communications. The FAB-T also performs satellite telemetry, tracking, and commanding (TT&C) functions for the AEHF and EHF constellation, including management of the satellites, communication networks, and cryptologic keys. Additionally, FAB-T provides Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment (ITWAA) satellite communications. As a result, it is essential that the terminals function properly for all these varied and complicated missions. Paul has spent countless hours reviewing a comprehensive listing of factorial combinations and variances of transmitted and received data covering nearly 1100 combinations and permutations of data throughout the 40 plus Measures of Effectiveness (MOE’s). This effort was both exhausting and very time consuming but essential!- Nominated by Marc Peterson, Senior Vice President of Strategic Programs

 Will Skiles (Systems Development)

Will has done a great job supporting the customer with development of the STARlite Overview and the Maintenance Assistant application. In particular, the customer has praised Will’s determination and ability to establish the Augmented Reality environment needed for the end stakeholder. This challenging hurdle was posing a technical risk for the team to deliver this capability to the end stakeholder. Will persisted through the numerous obstacles and was able solve this problem while using the resources he had. Well done! –  Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

Mark Williams (ALT PNT)

Mark has taken lead in implementing the security compliance packages on the ALT PNT High Performance Linux computer. This process has required the installation of an extensive CMMC compliance package. Mark has assessed each component of the lengthy package and has pre-emptively identified and prevented the installation of components that would have rendered this computing asset inoperable. Mark has been identifying and implementing work arounds to meet the compliance intention while maintaining operability. In addition, Mark has overcome additional networking challenges which allowed us to connect the High-Performance computer to our data center allowing us to transfer massive files in an automated process. Thank you, Mark, for the great work and for keeping our High-Performance processing capability up and running! –  Nominated by Tim Pitchko, Director of Engineering

August 26, 2022

Ellen Vought (Corporate)

Ellen consistently performs her HR duties, including recruiting, hiring, on-boarding, and a host of other functions, in a superb man. She takes on so many actions and functions and makes my job as a hiring manager easy. She finds great candidates, works closely with candidates, works closely with our prime contract customers to ensure candidates are a great fit for our customers. She just goes way over and above what Qualis leadership and myself should expect. And she does all this with a great attitude. She represents Qualis values in everything she does. Thanks, Ellen, for what you do. You make a difference!

– Nominated by Carlos Kingston, Senior Vice President

August 19, 2022

Rand Johnson (WDTC)

Randell (Rand) Johnson has been with the Qualis West Desert Test Center (WDTC) documentation contract for the last 6 months, in addition to the 3.5 years he spent with the previous contract. He was hired as a temporary employee by the previous contract and, by proving himself in such a way, that he was immediately retained as a fulltime employee. Since then, he has held multiple positions in the contract, including his current Office Manager assignment with our Qualis contract at WDTC. Rand’s hard work, commitment, and invaluable contributions to this contract is integral to our progress and success.

He has willingly accepted the opportunity to “wear multiple hats” as a Qualis team player. His office manager responsibilities included local HR, property management, as well as “Jack-of-All-Trades” responsibilities. With the assistance of the corporate HR team, Rand has an impressive ability to move our new employees from a trainee to a productive member of the team. He had an integral part in a process improvement exercise that was responsible for improving the employee in-processing time (the time required for a new employee to be processed, complete training, complete the necessary paperwork to obtain DPG network access, and become productive in the contract) from over 25 days to less than a week. This alone has saved tens of thousands of dollars in government overhead costs for in-processing new employees. He played key role in the transitioning the documentation contract after Qualis’ successful bid. His knowledge, perseverance, and management skill were key for the smooth transition of all GFP items from the previous contract to Qualis, maintaining the training efforts and records of all the employees, including subcontractors. Additionally, for a second quarter in a row, Rand has completed our inventory accountability report up to two weeks ahead time, with 100% of GFP accounted for. He has achieved these whiles still maintaining training logs for all employees; maintaining equipment assignments; finding, scheduling, supervising, recording and reporting all building and equipment repairs; processing multiple purchasing requests, in- and out-processing employees, and so much more. His commitment and invaluable contributions toward helping this contract reach its full potential is greatly appreciated and should be applauded. – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

Jessica Black (WDTC)

Jessica Black, currently serving as a Program Support Assistant on the Qualis West Desert Test Center (WDTC) documentation contract, has recently been assigned on a new task in support of the WDTC Resource Management group. She extended amazing effort and contributions to make our transition into this new effort smooth and seamless. Even though this task was outside of Jessica’s experience and regular responsibilities, her great communication skills and “go getter” attitude have impressed our customers. Her government POC has expressed excitement and gratitude for having Jessica’s support on this task. It is evident that Jessica has brough the Qualis trademark of being “resourceful, perceptive, dependable and driven” to the task and has excelled. In addition to extending my great excitement and congratulations for her new bachelor’s degree, I express my gratitude to Jessica for going the extra mile and exceeding our expectations. We couldn’t have done it without you! – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Project Manager

 Pete Trevino (WDTC)

Pedro (Pete) Trevino has been rendering highly valuable service to West Desert Test Center (WDTC) as a Qualis employee for the past eight months, in addition to the over a decade and half of service with previous contracts. As a veteran, he has a clear understanding of the mission of WDTC and the invaluable support we provide to those who are protecting us (our warfighters). I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Pete during his tenure at DPG, both a fellow employee and as his immediate supervisor, and I can honestly say that he is a valued team member and key team player. He is cooperative and assistive with anything that the team needs, and he exhibits a passion for team development. Pete’s greatest passion is in seeing the proper training of his teammates in the data collection techniques and Test Incident Report (TIR) preparation. Since being assigned as the Team Lead for the data collection group, at the beginning of the Qualis WDTC contract, he had excelled at supervising, guiding, and motivating members of his team. He is a natural leader and problem solver, easily identifying and proposing solutions to any road bumps that the team hits along the way. Pete is also great at staying on task. As a team lead, he is willing to step-in and get the job done when the need arises and has done so numerous times. As recently as three weeks ago, he scheduled himself with his team members to take on a highly rigorous nighttime field test. Since most of the team members were new to Qualis and data collection, he took on the responsibility to teach, guide, and direct his team members in-person and on the job, at the same time assuring that the task is covered effectively and efficiently. Not only does Pete possess the leadership skills needed for a team leader, but he also has the behind-the-scenes skills as well. He aptly manages paperwork, task assignments, help plan training activities, and ensure that his team and assigned tasks are running smoothly. A more dedicated team player than Pete cannot be found. – Nominated by Tsenu Mamo, Program Manager

August 4, 2022

Dr. Larry Wurtz & Chuck Goble (ALT PNT)

Dr. Larry Wurtz and Mr. Chuck Goble have been critical to our Alternative Position Navigation & Timing developmental programs. Their early work to model RF reflections and correlate anticipated RF behavior with our modeled data has enabled us to identify new methods and techniques that can be tested and further developed to provide time, space, position, information into over the horizon GPS denied areas. Dr. Wurtz extensive background and experience with antenna patterns and reflections has made us significantly more efficient in our ability to correlate our models with real world RF behaviors. A big thanks to both of these outstanding engineers for the contributions they are making to the project and the warfighter! – Nominated by Jon Cabra, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth

Hana Yeske (Corporate)

Qualis completed a Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) for Services Maturity Level 3 Benchmark Appraisal on 29 July 2022 and is awaiting final review from the ISACA Quality Team that we successfully demonstrated our Maturity Level 3 processes. Ms. Yeske is a process engineer in our Qualis Corporate office. She has invested a lot of time improving on our processes and ensuring that we are compliant with our CMMI Level 3 for Engineering Services. Her persistence and drive for quality prepared us for our CMMI Level 3 reappraisal. We appreciate the hard work and effort that Hana has put into this and are excited to announce our results. Great job Hana!- Nominated by Jon Cabra, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth

 Cam Kitts (FPS/EOIR)

Cam Kitts is a Developmental and Operational Test Engineer for the Army PM Force Protection Systems at the Redstone Arsenal, AL. The Project Manager, COL Beal, for Terrestrial Sensors (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance & Target Acquisition, recently identified Cam as an Outstanding Performer during an Awards Ceremony for the organization. In particular Col Beal stated, “Mr. Kitts led the post Milestone C action item effort which resulted in successful completion of the drawing package and regression testing demonstrating the [Cambium PTP700 Radio Connectivity Kit for the Security Surveillance System program] met all system wireless communication requirements.” What an honor to be acknowledged by the Program Executive Office and the Department of the Army! Thank you, Cam, for your accomplishments. –  Nominated by Marc Peterson, Vice President of Strategic Programs

Jason Mann (FPS/EOIR)

Jason Mann is a Developmental and Operational Test Engineer for the Army PM Force Protection Systems at the Redstone Arsenal, AL. The Project Manager, COL Beal, for Terrestrial Sensors (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance & Target Acquisition, recently identified Cam as an Outstanding Performer during an Awards Ceremony for the organization. In particular Col Beal stated, “[Jason] was instrumental in ensuring successful execution and completion of the Ground-Based Operational Surveillance System-Expeditionary G-Boss(E) program’s Electromagnetic Environment Effects testing. This directly impacted G-BOSS(E)’s successful Milestone C decision.” Acknowledgement by the Program Executive Officer Intelligence Electronic Warfare & sensors along with the Department of the Army is quite an accomplishment! –  Nominated by Marc Peterson, Vice President of Strategic Programs

 High Performance Computing Team (TMAS)

TEAM MEMBERS: Phillip A. Black, Mellisa J. Brown; Jason F. Diessner; Philip L. Rainey, Dr. Hampton W. Haddock Stacey A. Kilcrease, John M. Walters, John P. Tortorano, Michael Stefani, Keaten Perkins, Peggie Dotson

Qualis has had the pleasure of building a High-Performance Computing Environment to process massive amounts of data for Developmental Test at Eglin AFB, FL. The team has been recognized at the Air Force Level, and the M&S Lead for the Agile S/W Development Branch, Capt Schrauder, recently stated, “The HPC team forged a revolutionary path positioning the USG to independently execute DE strategies in the 21st century by developing an advanced HCPE. They coordinated across private, contractor and DoD agencies to learn & teach best practices/technical interchanges and are recognized as a leader on PL-3 design/implementation. They have responded to real-time IT needs to meet JPO timeline needs – their efforts enabled the only option for showcasing system performance during flight test pause. This external support team is defined by service before self – they have worked nights, weekends and through COVID min-manning postures to meet all operational needs.” This unsolicited comment shows the appreciation the entire Armament Directorate from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has for this high performing team! Thanks to all of you for pushing the envelope of the possible, and taking a concept from an idea to an award-winning capability for our Air Force!-  Nominated by Marc Peterson, Vice President of Strategic Programs

July 25, 2022

Max McCall (ESSCA)

Max has continued to provide STEM outreach to local primary schools and colleges. Most recently he provided a presentation to Drake State Technical College on “ECLSS and Additive Manufacturing Highlights”. The presentation included an in-depth look into the applications of 3d printing to his work on the ISS Environmental Control and Life Support System. Thank you Max for your hard work on ESSCA and dedication which includes your continued outreach to our community and the next generation of Engineers. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager / Teammate Principal

Gena Dalton (ESSCA)

Gena hosted students from JF Drake State Technical College summer program. With short notice, Gena went out of her way to show the ways JSEG/Qualis support NASA and their mission by using tours and scientific examples. The students were left with an indelible impression on possibilities for their contributions to STEAM advancements in the future. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager / Teammate Principal

July 6, 2022

Scott Allison (ATS SMC)

Scott Allison is supporting our Air Force Operational Test & Evaluation Center contract providing OT&E for the Air and Space Force’s ACAT I space systems. Not too long ago a very long and complicated Marine Corp Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) test fraught with many difficulties was conducted at White Sands Missile Range. The 4Th Test Evaluation Squadron, as the satellite experts, were asked to verify that the conclusions of other test agencies responsible for analyzing the data were correct. Scott pored through over 250 pages of Initial Capabilities Documents (ICD) to ascertain MGUE receiver performance though analysis of GPS satellite downlink telemetry and MGUE receiver status during the test in order to support a way forward and a decision of the defense acquisition process. Those results are currently being briefed to the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity (MCOTEA), and Space Systems Command (SSC). Additionally, Scott has drafted a number of documents for the GPS Next Generation Operational Control System (OCX) test director to include the OCX test plan, an identified standards memo, and a customer briefing explaining expected testing activities required to verify that OCX satellite Telemetry, Tracking and Commanding (TT&C) software is capable of flying the entire GPS constellation of satellites. All of these efforts are both technically complicated and very time consuming! While Scott had no responsibility to perform these tasks he stepped up and knocked it out for the unit and the larger GPS test community. Scott’s efforts and hard work deserve recognition and are truly appreciated! – Nominated by Marc Peterson, Vice President of Strategic Programs

Greg Belue (ESSCA)

For assisting in facilitating the support operations for the Artemis II MSA Diaphragm. The quick responsiveness in assisting enabled the lift crew to move from one task to another. The lift was supporting flight operations. From a note from the NASA customer. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager/Teammate Principal

Gary Sellers (ESSCA)

Recognition for providing clear and concise information on the Universal Spacecraft Adapter to the OEM which were then used by the OEM in to status work done by ET50. Gary was recognized by his NASA customer for the excellent job he did. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager/Teammate Principal

 Michael Squillacote (ESSCA)

For the excellent work in completing the Test Stand 4693 Finite Element Method analysis of the loads and documenting the analysis methodology and results. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager/Teammate Principal

 Kelley Fuqua (ESSCA)

Due to funding issues, a schedule for radiation testing of crew handheld cameras was in danger of not being completed. Kelley was asked by the project manager to determine if the ESSCA contract could procure use of the test facility. Kelley coordinated with all the necessary parties and completed the request in one week. Testing was completed as planned and no impacts to the projects schedule. The work by Kelley has also established alternative paths to secure the radiation test facility in the future, as the facility is usually available with short notice. – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager/Teammate Principal

 Rachel Paden (ESSCA)

Rachel received a NASA Agency Group Achievement Award for her work with the CCP Loads, Induced, and Dynamic Environments Team. The award stated “For achieving Certification of Flight Readiness of both the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Starliner vehicles.” – Nominated by James Bruce III, Program Manager/Teammate Principal

June 16, 2022

UH60V Publications Team (AAS)

The UH60V team has been absolutely outstanding in their support of the Logistics Management Division, UHPO. Lea Rivera, Publications Lead stated: “I wanted to share with you what the V publications team has done recently and how I am impressed with their efforts. The Utility Directorate, Publications Division, UH-60V Multi-Year Team has completed (TM 1‐1520‐246‐23&P) tabletop schematic update for IOTE. All changes addressed and concurred with by all stakeholders have been incorporated. Redlines and updates were addressed in house with the assistance of UH-60V PM office, Systems Readiness Directorate, Safety, Fleet and Environmental offices. Marcus Paprzycki and Rich Leonard let the event. The UH-60V Multiyear team, turned around approximately 34 graphic updates and redlined 88 work package updates in less than a 24 hour turn around during the tabletop. XML updates were completed by Travis Hood and Rich Leonard on spot with zero errors or reworks. Anthony King and Ashley Wilson completed graphic updates for the manual by doing research against engineer drawings flawlessly. Marcus and Rich were able to communicate openly with SRD and the PM office for clarity when drawings were insufficient to compare illustration to. The team was able to use scripts created by internal employee Rich Leonard to expedite the process. This teams open communication, dedication to the mission, and attention to detail ultimately led to decreasing the turnaround publication production time by three weeks. This group is truly one of our greatest assets. They are flexible when direction changes. They are quick to volunteer for their teammates when they see someone needs assistance. They are quick to learn other areas to improve their capabilities and broaden their knowledge base. This team works internally without OEM assistance. They find issues and address problems in creative and effective ways. Truly outstanding. I hope that you take this as an appreciation to their services”. The UH60V Team is an exceptional group who has represented Qualis superbly. – Nominated by Wes Wallin, Director of Army Aviation Programs

Jessica Norlund & Jessy Herring (JFCC IMD)

Jessica Norlund and Jessy Herring, contract support to the JFCC IMD Directorate of Policy, Plans and Allied Integration (J5), NIMBLE TITAN lead event planners, distinguished themselves through exceptional leadership and achievement in the planning and execution of the 15-20 May 2022 NIMBLE TITAN 24 Campaign Design Conference. Mrs. Norlund and Mrs. Herring provided outstanding support to the NIMBLE TITAN Campaign Design Conference which was comprised of over 126 participants from 23 nations and 3 international organizations from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America including NATO, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Competency Center for Surface Based Air and Missile Defense. U.S. participants include member of the Combatant Commands, the Services, the Department of Defense, Joint Staff, the Missile Defense Agency and the Department of State. This was the formative event for the forthcoming two-year NIMBLE TITAN 24 campaign of experimentation where the strategic goals, research questions, offers of national sponsorship, event types, and event calendar were solidified. Mrs. Norlund and Mrs. Herring’s innate interpersonal and coordination skills, coupled with their calm and collegial demeanor ensured this high stress / high visibility event was executed flawlessly. Moreover, their response to no notice changes, developing flexible and practical solutions, meant participants and U.S. government leadership could maintain their focus on the event content. Their tireless efforts and detailed attention to transportation and logistical support also made the event flow without disruption. Their superior work guaranteed the strengthening of Missile Defense Allied policy integration for years to come. These excellent efforts are the hallmarks of their everyday practice and reflect credit on themselves, the J5 Directorate, JFCC IMD and the Qualis Corporation. . – Nominated by Tom Hancock, Director of Strategic Programs

Kenneth Roebuck (ATS)

Kenneth recently noticed a deficiency in MILSATCOM support and joined the Family of Beyond the Line of Sight Terminal (FAB-T) team to help support that test director with the transition through Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT& ) and MILSATCOM Atmospheric Scintillation Simulator (MASS) contract support. Currently, Kenneth works many programs such as Presidential and National Voice Conference (PNVC), Family Beyond the Line of Sight Terminal (FAB-T), Advanced Communications Threat Testing Suite (ACTTS), MILSATCOM Atmospheric Scintillation Simulator (MASS), Air-to-Ground Electronic Warfare Simulator (AGEWS), Mobile Calibration Facility (MCF), Protected Tactical Enterprise Satellite (PTES), Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS), and Advanced Extreme High Frequency (AEHF). Through all that and due to some personnel losses we have recently endured has worked tirelessly to right the ship and keep things rolling for the MILSATCOM team. We are truly proud and lucky to have Kenneth and he deserves a huge thank you! . – Nominated by Marc Peterson, VP of Strategic Programs

James Kerchenski (GTRI)

Airman looking out for Airman! Qualis contractor James “Ski” Kerchenski and his wife saved an airmen from harm and probably his life, while working overseas. An inebriated US Airman walking from the main gate at Osan air base, Korea decided to take off into the woods. Concerned, Ski notified the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) personnel and supported the search effort into the woods. The airmen was found trying to sleep under a tree in weather that was dipping into the forties. It took several ROKAF personnel and Ski to carry him to safety. When asked about the incident, Ski replied with “It’s not a big deal to me…there used to be a wingman policy in Korea when you go downtown…just glad we were able to help…again, that’s what Airmen do for Airmen, in my opinion Old Chief’s and their wife’s help instincts kicked in!! . – Nominated by Lee Heineken, Cyber Security Engineer

May 25, 2022

Kevin Bowles (ATS)

Kevin goes above and beyond for , his team in ways that are immeasurable. Although he is the ‘cyber guy’, he has helped this team grow in overall test approach with honest feedback, many times brutally honest and sharing lessons learned across the tests he supports. He doesn’t have to. He could just show up, do his cyber thing and stand down. But he doesn’t. He gets into it in ways beyond his job title.  Kevin has stepped up to support the Task Lead at Buckley in her cyber specific hiring duties, attend high side meetings, authors notes for the team, provides insights supportive of quick resolution to test design issues, and support the needs of the team. respond to RFI’s; all of which support the needs of the team.   – Nominated by Marc Peterson, VP of Strategic Programs

May 17, 2022

Eric Flynn (JFCC IMD)

Eric Flynn has provided extraordinary support to the JFCC IMD J53 Plans Division. Identified for promotion to Senior Military Analyst within the first year of his time with Qualis, Eric immediately took on the most difficult task in the division, the development of the command’s Campaign Support Plan (CSP). This plan articulates the strategic guidance from the 3-star commander of JFCC IMD, LTG Karbler, to his staff in support of Commander, USSTRATCOM’s mission and vision. This was the first substantive update to the JFCC IMD CSP in four years and included development of a completely new mission statement, vision statement, operational approach and assessment methodology. Eric not only led the staff operational planning team, he authored the final products on behalf of the government. His unique ability to navigate the staff dynamics and sometimes competing priorities while maintaining clear and succinct language were exceptionally noteworthy. He forward-looking construct addressed both the current mission set under USSTRATCOM, but laid the groundwork for JFCC IMD’s forthcoming transfer to USSPACECOM exhibiting his deep understanding of the policy and strategy implications for Missile Defense at the highest levels within the Department. The assessment methodology Eric developed is streamlined in its collection requirements but maintains the ability for the commander to adjust resources and provide amplifying guidance as required. Eric is also an involved father and community volunteer supporting his daughters high school track and field events.  – Nominated by Marc Peterson, VP of Strategic Programs

Timothy Scott Ryan (GTRI)

The Qualis TMAS Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) team welcomed a highly skilled team member this year. Tim “Scott” Ryan’s skills, ability, and experience were exceptional right from the start. During the install of a new capability with a very short window to complete, the network device supporting the critical operations crashed and lost all its configuration. Scott quickly assessed the situation, configured the device quickly, and impressed the senior leadership. The high level program manager praised his efforts and said that he was an excellent hire. This was one of many above and beyond activities Scott has accomplished in the short time he has worked for Qualis. The program has benefited greatly with his positive attitude and endless desire to improve himself and the program. Here are his accomplishments, highlighted are the above and beyond: In processed Qualis and 354th RANS. This consisted of getting or completing a Common Access Card, Air Force computer account, .mil email address, Qualis required training, and an in processing brief. This resulted being able to continue in my role of Range Engineer. Participated in planning the eventual locations of the equipment to support the YETI project. This involved meeting with contractors from BSET, SRC, and CEA and identifying where the YETI dish, power generator, and S280 shelter. This also involved in planning power and communications requirements. This will ultimately support YETI implementation on the JPARC. Provide network engineering in support of the YETI project. I was able to brief the correct implementation of Inline Network Encryption (INE) devices to range engineers and associated contractors. This helped reduce hesitation concerning the use of dual INE tunnels which will lead to a secure installation of the YETI equipment. Familiarized myself with the JPARC by researching maps and documentation. Toured some of the range locations to increase my understanding of how the range facilitates training and my specific role in supporting the range. This will support my role of Range Engineer. Scouted current power issues that are occurring on the JPARC due to inclement weather. Identified power poles that were down and identified the outer plowed distance in support of range operations. This will help support the initialization of remote range sites. Researched security implications and regulations in support of planned summer exercises. Helped provide insight into the handling of classified materials and foreign nationals. This will be used during Red Flag events occurring in the near future. Researched documentation associated with the PDL (Pacific Alaska Range Data Link) project. Identified current status and future requirements. This will help me support the PDL project. Surveyed C Batt. Monitored where S280 shelter, YETI Radar, and generator were going to be place. Planned where cables supporting power and communications were going to be ran. In addition helped place physical security measures such as security cameras and fencing. This supported the secure installation of the YETI Radar. Worked with Aberrent contractor to install the Wave Form Scheduler (WFS). This involved troubleshooting network and server configurations. Most notable I identified that firewall was preventing some required data to move in between system. This is in support of the YETI install. Worked with another Aberrent contractor to install a second DIADS system. This involved troubleshooting a Red Hat installation, including networking and video. Also was able to properly install firewall and moving network connections proper contexts. The second DIADS will be supporting the YETI radar system. Rebuilt a networking switch located in the WFCC. The switch lost configuration which affected the UMTE and Yeti sections and also prevented communication to the red cell. I was able to rebuild the switch to restore high side communication. After comms were restored I was able to reload the original configuration and ensure that the same issue would not be repeated in the future. This supported the entire WFCC. Reconfigured both the WFS and the DIADS system to connect directly to the TENA network. This involved operating system networking interface changes, firewall changes, and application specific changes. This allowed the Yeti system to track real world aircraft. Built a switch in support of connecting the Yeti server stack to a private network with the WFS and the DIADS. Was able to assist BSET contractors in configuring layer 3 switching and TACLANES. This allowed the Yeti system to communicate between the WFCC and C Batt. Reconfigured Networking components on the DIADS and the WFS to match the network diagram provided by the CEA team from Australia. This involved separating connections on the TENA and the private network. This supported the YETI project. Learned about how to operate DIADS and the WFS. Was able to run and administrate both systems. Was able to track simulated and real targets and shoot virtual munitions with the purpose of training. This is to support Yeti operations. Assisted the CEA team in troubleshooting aspects of the YETI system. Involved mostly supporting the requests of the CEA team in modifying networking configurations. This did not resolve the issue and is still being worked by the Australian CEA team. Provided input against purchasing an additional timing server to support the YETI. The connected DIADS system has an accurate time sync with the TENA time server. Purchasing an additional one is redundant, and would not affect the YETI system time. Assisted in developing a requirements list for the upcoming DENRO upgrade. I was able to analyses the current state of the network and identify the components of the PDL project that will need to be in place in order to support the newer IP radios that will be replace DENRO. Researched equipment replacements for Zhone T1 to DS3 converters. This would mostly be used to upgrade the microwave shot from Quarry Hill to Blair Lake. Ultimately concluded that there may be a configuration issue instead of an equipment issue. Provided assistance in troubleshooting the microwave link from Quarry Hill to Blair Lake. The link carries network services that support quality of life at Blair Lake. However certain services are not working such as NIPR VoIP and NIPR printing. I provided a couple of ideas that may or may not improve the link. Surveyed communication rooms at Quarry Hill and the RF building with the GTRI team to support the DENRO radio upgrade. We planned the specific layout of radios and accompanying equipment. We also identified cable requirements and distances for the RF building. Researched STARLINK requirements and what we need to do to get this link up. This involves looking at how the JPARC connects to ISP networks and how to connect the STARLINK to support RANS operational requirements. Currently, S Analyzed services provided on the TENA and on the JPARC Data link. Working on developing an in-depth analysis and plan to incorporate the services on both portions of the network to support overall DISA STIG requirements and to support a secure training network Assisted in setting up the JTEN connection between Fort Wainwright and the JTEN PoP located in the Red Flag Ops Bldg. This consisted of identifying connection points and communicating requirements to the Eielson communications squadron. This is in support of upcoming Army exercises. Provided troubleshooting assistance to the connection from the Red Flag Ops building to Blair Lake. This connection has been having issues with elements of base network such as printers and telephones. Ultimately the radios were expanded from one DS3 signal to three DS3 signals. This will improve the availability of the analog phones at Blair Lake. Built an additional switch for the WFCC in the red flags op building. This switch was planned to support moving a couple of sections within the interior of the WFCC. Created some courses of action to support upgrading the circuit that supports range operations in JBER. This link is currently a T1 and is being overloaded due to mission requirements. Scott’s CoAs focus on either upgrading the DISA circuit or moving the link to a TACLANE over NIPR solution. Supported the PEMTECH surveys that were conducted on Eielson AFB. This involved attending a conference, participating in a working group, and surveying the range with the PEMTECH personnel. This is a project that will expand the capabilities of the JPARC. Assisted in the installation of a P5 Radio at a new location. The install team ran into some issues with connectivity between the radio and the P5 firewall. Scott was able to diagnose and repair the issue which allowed the install team to continue with the install. This radio will be used to support different P5 frequencies on the JPARC. Completed a tasker involving Microsoft product licensing. This consisted of identifying all systems in the JPARC that are using Microsoft products. Scott was able to fulfill the requirement using the Hardware/Software lists for the JPARC-B, JPARC–R, and ION networks. Designing a workflow to support the flow of information throughout the range engineering section. As the section become larger, there is a need for current information about the projects that are being worked by engineering. Workflow improvement will allow for the entire team to be on the same page about project status. Developed some CoAs for implementation of an IDS/NIDS on the JPARC networks. There are requirements for a NIDS in order to meet DISA STIGs. These will also improve the security of the networks. However this may involve some network reorganization to be effective. Completed some TENA classes oriented at programming for TENA and connection of other range equipment. Scott’s goal is to streamline the process for customers requesting a TENA gateway to connect their external equipment. This should support major exercises on the JPARC such as Red Flag and Northern Edge. – Nominated by Marc Peterson, VP of Strategic Programs

April 27, 2022

Amber Harvey (TMAS)

Ms. Amber Harvey provided outstanding support to the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF) for the DoD Missile Summit. On 21 Apr 2022, she received eight different briefings from multiple GWEF employees. In less than a day, Ms. Harvey reviewed all briefings, combined them into the latest presentation template, verified information accuracy, and provided the final product. The final product she produced resulted in the GWEF informing the DoD IRCM community on GWEF test capabilities. Without Ms. Harvey’s support, the GWEF would not have been able to provide the information to the IRCM community. The information provided will influence IRCM community decisions and future investments for test capabilities. – Nominated by Matthew Ehrhardt

Marilee Foreman (Corporate)

As most of us know Marilee Foreman is our Qualis Travel Coordinator, and probably one of our unsung heroes that provides critical support to all of our contract travelers. Recently, we’ve had a flurry of travel, and Marilee readily handles the differing approval processes for each contract and each teammate when we are not Prime, follows through with approvals, and generally keeps all the balls juggling in the air. Bottomline: Marilee’s professionalism, dedication to our people and genuine care for our travelers allows all of us to focus on our mission support without getting bogged down in all the estimates, COVID-19 travel restrictions, international coordination and booking required to support our government customers. I’m sure all of you have experienced the “extra mile” support Marilee provides on nights and weekends whenever something doesn’t go quite right, and we can always count on her to fix any travel dilemma. Our teams travel all over the nation and the globe. We all thank you, Marilee, for making the travel process a breeze and our customers thank you for keeping their support focused on the mission and not on all the travel distractions that can occur without your superior service! – Nominated by Marc Peterson

Jeremy Rodgers (ESSCA)

Jeremy presented on the Sparing and Maintenance work ongoing with the NASA Gateway program to the ESSCA Leadership. The leadership was very engaged and feedback received from the NASA customer was very positive. Based on the feedback and how well Jeremy presented, NASA is now looking at how to present the information in front of a larger NASA leadership audience. Comment from the NASA Team Lead “I think we should do this in a Branch or Team meeting. It was a great presentation. Also need to get it in from of EV70 and EV01.” and the NASA Branch Chief “Those are great ideas, Tanya. Jeremy, that was a really well done presentation. I will see what I can do about getting a wider audience”. – Nominated by James Bruce

Dana Chandler (ESSCA)

For recognition by NASA for his contributions to the SLS Modal Test Team. Dana’s support to the modal test has been noted in many forums. His dedication and support of the customer is above and beyond expectations. Dana received a NASA Group Achievement Award for his contributions as part of the SLS Modal Test Team. – Nominated by James Bruce

April 19, 2022

Pedro Trevino, Natalie Calderon, Marissa Calderon (WDTC)

Three Cheers for Pedro Trevino, Natalie Calderon, and Marissa Calderon for their support as Test Data Collectors at Dugway Proving Ground, UT supporting the West Desert Test Center Data Collection contract!

Jaromy Jessop is the Project Manager for this task and stated, “The Qualis Data collectors did an amazing job supporting my C3PO FY22 Desert Tempest Test.” Mr. Jessop went on to say, “They are always on time, where they needed to be – when they needed to be there, and quickly gained the confidence and trust of the entire test team and the customer. They seamlessly integrated with their photo counter parts and made data collection run smoothly while providing close out reporting each day. In particular, Pedro Trevino, the Qualis lead, was completely professional and very well organized.” Mr. Jessop finished his comments with “I look forward to the next time I can work with the Qualis team.” Thank you all for starting off this contract on a good foot. Army Test & Evaluation Command will quickly see the caliber of professionals Qualis brings to their mission support. Keep up the great work, and thank you for your dedication and professionalism!  – Nominated by Marc Peterson

April 5, 2022

Vickie Ritchson (TMAS)

Vickie Ritchson, is on the TMAS II contract in support of 96TW Plans and Programs (96 TW/XPIS). Vickie provided invaluable support in Phase 1 of the Livelink team’s year-long effort to improve the Eglin Air Force Base munitions Technical Data Package (TDP) process by implementing standardization, data integrity, contributing to the redesign and testing for enhancement of the TDP workflow used for initial packages and the TDP Annual Review used to fulfill the requirement of yearly reviews for all active TDPs. From April 2021 to January 2022, Vickie provided exceptional support ensuring 1,532 files were reviewed and manually changed to meet new naming conventions, 590 TDPs were manual verified as the workflows processed due to issues with very old documents in the system, and completed a thorough analysis of 24 archived and active TDP Annual Review workflows to delete 12 duplicate workflows created erroneously by workflow initiators. The Phase 1 improvements streamlined the overall TDP process and improved efficiency by 21%. Vickie provided peer review and testing of Phase 2 improvements, which included 1. Providing automated emails to Test Engineers, Technical Order Distribution Office, Munitions Inspectors, and leadership for TDPs coming due or reaching late status; and 2. Providing reports to address the munitions readiness group’s need for easily accessible reports with concise information. It took nine months of working with a third-party vendor to resolve software issues to create the enhanced reports implemented March 2022. The new TDP reports do not disappoint and meet all of the IG requirements ensuring the process is implemented IAW with AFMC policy. The clean-up of folders, files, and workflows along with the redesigned workflows to improve business processes as well as the enhanced reports cumulatively address the issues found by the IG during the Unit Effectiveness Inspection (UEI) in June of 2021. There are now ZERO “Technical Data Packages” overdue for annual review. Vickie’s effort has made a monumental difference!  – Nominated by Janie Lambert

March 22, 2022

Stephen Davis (ALT PNT)

Steve supports the ALT PNT program as a senior RF Technician at the Qualis corporate headquarters in Huntsville, AL. The ALT PNT team was tasked with acquiring test data in a short time frame to supply to the customer. Steve went above and beyond the call of duty by staying late after hours and brought work home to work on late into the evening. Steve’s dedication ensured the test setup was built correctly and enabled rapid data collection. Steve’s efforts played a significant role in the success of the testing effort. Steve, you’re the best!! Thanks for all your hard work and dedication! – Nominated by Chris Chkaiban & Wes Weirich

March 8, 2022

Deborah Lang (PM UAS)

Deborah “Deb” Lang supports our PM UAS contract at the Redstone Arsenal, AL as an expert in configuration management. Deb was acknowledged by the Production and Technical Services Lead, by stating, “Just wanted to drop you a note this morning and thank you for your outstanding efforts over the last year. I greatly appreciate that you manage all the CDRLs, make sure that TSMs match the contract and all the other things you do considering the current circumstances and the high turnover in people we have had that has added to the normal difficulties of trying to get folks, especially engineers, to do their tasks correctly and timely. Mr. McRae, Mr. Tynan, and LTC Getter have all also mentioned to me that they appreciate your efforts and the level to which they are done. Finally, I appreciate that you help me in my tasks. With all things that are going on inside and outside of work for me, having you help me with reviews, tracking my due dates, and all the other things makes it significantly easier for me to manage all the things I need to get done. My job would be significantly harder without your help, or if your work was not at the high level of quality that it is.” Way to keep hitting homeruns Deb! Adding value to the customer aligns with Qualis’ motto of “Your Partner In Success.” – Nominated by Marc Peterson

February 22, 2022

Jason Martin (TMAS)

Jason Martin supports our TMAS 2 contract on the 96 TW Task Order at Eglin AFB, FL. He recently supported a team that secured CMMI Level 3 attainment by Wing Plans. Ms. Heidi Morgan, Chief Information Technologies Section, stated, “A CMMI V2.0 Capabilities benchmark appraisal was performed onsite at Eglin AFB, FL by an industry certified Lead Appraiser under the authority of the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) Institute, which is affiliated with the international professional association Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The lead appraiser was also affiliated with the Software Technology Support Center (STSC) at Hill AFB. The appraisal method used a formal, rigorous, and collaborative process for comparison of the Information Technology Section’s business processes to the CMMI V2.0 model. The appraisal was preceded by over a year of meticulous planning by the organizational activity team. It was conducted by a four person appraisal team composed of internal and external participants, was sponsored by Ms. Heidi Morgan, involved participation by 38 members of the organization including six interview sessions, focused on XPI business objectives and three key business projects (Software Development, Services/Support, and Support Functions in the Organizational Standard Process (OSP)), and observed strict confidentiality and non-attribution of data. Results rated XPI at a Capability Level 3 for all eleven appraised process areas: Configuration Management (CM), Continuity (CONT), Governance (GOV), Implementation Infrastructure (II), Managing Performance and Measurement (MPM), Organizational Training (OT), Process Asset Development (PAD), Process Management (PCM), Process Quality Assurance (PQA), Service Delivery Management (SDM), and Strategic Service Management (STSM). Mr. Martin’s contribution to the organizational activity team was absolutely vital to the successful on-time completion of all formally defined appraisal objectives. He was selected for the team based on his vast knowledge of Air Force processes and XPI’s business objectives. Mr. Martin’s familiarity and understanding of the business was cultivated through many years of dedicated experience and excellence performance. The value of Mr. Martin’s action in this case is substantial. He was an important and integral part of XPI’s successful appraisal, which in turn is a huge contributor to the overall success of the 96 Test Wing mission.” Thank you Jason for your dedication and professionalism with this very difficult certification process. – Nominated by Marc Peterson

Janie Lambert (TMAS)

Janie Lambert is a Task Lead for our TMAS 2 contract on the 96 TW Task Order at Eglin AFB, FL. Janie recently supported a team that secured CMMI Level 3 attainment by Wing Plans. Ms. Heidi Morgan, Chief Information Technologies Section, stated, “A CMMI V2.0 Capabilities benchmark appraisal was performed onsite at Eglin AFB, FL by an industry certified Lead Appraiser under the authority of the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) Institute, which is affiliated with the international professional association Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The lead appraiser was also affiliated with the Software Technology Support Center (STSC) at Hill AFB. The appraisal method used a formal, rigorous, and collaborative process for comparison of the Information Technology Section’s business processes to the CMMI V2.0 model. The appraisal was preceded by over a year of meticulous planning by the organizational activity team. It was conducted by a four person appraisal team composed of internal and external participants, was sponsored by Ms. Heidi Morgan, involved participation by 38 members of the organization including six interview sessions, focused on XPI business objectives and three key business projects (Software Development, Services/Support, and Support Functions in the Organizational Standard Process (OSP)), and observed strict confidentiality and non-attribution of data. Results rated XPI at a Capability Level 3 for all eleven appraised process areas: Configuration Management (CM), Continuity (CONT), Governance (GOV), Implementation Infrastructure (II), Managing Performance and Measurement (MPM), Organizational Training (OT), Process Asset Development (PAD), Process Management (PCM), Process Quality Assurance (PQA), Service Delivery Management (SDM), and Strategic Service Management (STSM). Ms. Lambert’s contribution to the organizational activity team was absolutely vital to the successful on-time completion of all formally defined appraisal objectives. She was selected for the team based on her vast knowledge of XPI processes and business objectives. Ms. Lambert’s familiarity and understanding of the business was cultivated through many years of dedicated experience and excellence performance. The value of Ms. Lambert’s action in this case is substantial. She was an important and integral part of XPI’s successful appraisal, which in turn is a huge contributor to the overall success of the 96 Test Wing mission.” Thank you for your leadership Janie! – Nominated by Marc Peterson

Vickie Ritchson (TMAS)

Vickie Ritchson supported a team that attained CMMI Level 3 for Wing Plans on our TMAS 2 contract in the 96 TW Task Order. Ms. Heidi , Chief Information Technology Section, stated, “A CMMI V2.0 Capabilities benchmark appraisal was performed onsite at Eglin AFB, FL by an industry certified Lead Appraiser under the authority of the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI) Institute, which is affiliated with the international professional association Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The lead appraiser was also affiliated with the Software Technology Support Center (STSC) at Hill AFB. The appraisal method used a formal, rigorous, and collaborative process for comparison of the Information Technology Section’s business processes to the CMMI V2.0 model. The appraisal was preceded by over a year of meticulous planning by the organizational activity team. It was conducted by a four person appraisal team composed of internal and external participants, was sponsored by Ms. Heidi Morgan, involved participation by 38 members of the organization including six interview sessions, focused on XPI business objectives and three key business projects (Software Development, Services/Support, and Support Functions in the Organizational Standard Process (OSP)), and observed strict confidentiality and non-attribution of data. Results rated XPI at a Capability Level 3 for all eleven appraised process areas: Configuration Management (CM), Continuity (CONT), Governance (GOV), Implementation Infrastructure (II), Managing Performance and Measurement (MPM), Organizational Training (OT), Process Asset Development (PAD), Process Management (PCM), Process Quality Assurance (PQA), Service Delivery Management (SDM), and Strategic Service Management (STSM). Ms. Ritchson’s contribution to the organizational activity team was absolutely vital to the successful on-time completion of all formally defined appraisal objectives. She was selected for the team based on her vast knowledge of XPI processes and business objectives. Ms. Ritchson’s familiarity and understanding of the business was cultivated through many years of dedicated experience and excellence performance. The value of Ms. Ritchson’s action in this case is substantial. She was an important and integral part of XPI’s successful appraisal, which in turn is a huge contributor to the overall success of the 96 Test Wing mission.” Thank you Vickie for your dedication and professionalism to obtain this very difficult certification. – Nominated by Marc Peterson

Kaitlin Oliver-Butler (ESSCA)

At MSFC, Kaitlin Oliver-Butler noticed that a gas cylinder did not have its cap on. Knowing that this could lead to a serious event, she immediately informed her NASA supervisor about it before an incident could happen. It was corrected and now all safe. All compressed gases are hazardous because of the high pressures inside the cylinders. Gas can be released deliberately by opening the cylinder valve, or accidentally from a broken or leaking valve or from a safety device. There have been many cases in which damaged cylinders have become uncontrolled rockets or pinwheels and have caused severe injury and damage. This danger has happened when unsecured, uncapped cylinders were knocked over causing the cylinder valve to break and high pressure gas to escape rapidly. Ms. Oliver-Butler stated that she just wants to make sure that the work environment is always safe for her and her co-workers. Exhibiting a behavior of Beyond Zero, she may have prevented a serious incident that could have injured many employees and damage NASA property. – Nominated by James Bruce

Andrea Simms, Amber Harvey, Pat Collins, Matt Bader, and Mike Magana (TMAS)

Congratulations to Matt Bader, Pat Collins, Amber Harvey, Mike Magana, and Andrea Simms for their superior support in a recent 96 TW Security Control Assessor Representative (SCAR) Security compliance assessment in preparations for an ATO renewal. During the SCAR inspection, three major system components were assessed. Validation and verification compliance was assessed against antivirus protocols, user account auditing protocols/procedures, software security assessment procedures, patch management activities, port security/protocol management, as well as system/user account continuous monitoring oversight. Various cybersecurity questions were asked related to system control implementation and control management efforts, hardware tracking, and policy protocols. Over a period of three hours, these individuals fielded and answered cybersecurity related questions and security “What-IF” scenarios with spot-on accuracy for how we handle and comply with DOD cyber protocols. Their professionalism and knowledge of cybersecurity protocols/procedures along with their dedication and hard work in ensuring that GWEF ATO enclaves are in full compliance with all DOD cyber requirements was evident in that fact that the SCAR gave the ATO a ZERO Write-up COMMENDABLE RATING. During the after-action review meeting, the SCAR stated that “This is the first time he has issued a ZERO write-up COMMENDABLE RATING to any ATO since September 2014.” The SCAR was very impressed with teams knowledge of cybersecurity protocols and their efforts in keeping the GWEF’s ATOs in compliance. – Nominated by Matthew Ehrhardt

January 25, 2022

Jody Higgs (TMAS)

Jody presented the GIS/GNSS (Geographic Information Systems/Global Navigation Satellite Systems) “Year in Review” to the 96 SCOW leadership team as well as preformed a field demonstration for the incoming 96 Test Wing Command Chief. She explained how current equipment works and captures points of interest. She also showed the new Command Chief how current equipment is 16 inches from the target and then demonstrated the new equipment is at .5 (YES, POINT 5!) inches from target. Mission depending, this could be a life or death situation if the range loses communications! This information needs to be as accurate as possible for the GIS Team to upload into the VGIS (Virtual Geographic Information System) which is under test and will provide a visual path to identify underground telecommunications infrastructure for future users without connecting locating equipment. “Simply hold up the tablet and aim it at the ground…viola!” The Chief was highly impressed as new equipment will provide increased accuracy as well as save USAF money and man hours. Currently a one mile locate involves the GIS Team walking 4 miles carrying a “ruck sac” style back pack antenna on their backs while also carrying older, bulky, heavy locating equipment, then physically digging up to 5’ (YES, FEET!) deep to visually verify the cables. New equipment will allow the team to locate and GIS at the same time with a lighter, ergonomically styled hand held receiver to increase production, thus, increased accuracy and efficiency for updating USAF prints and Major Command level. The new Command Chief not only pushed to get equipment on order ASAP but asked to go into the field with the GIS Team to see the entire process in action as well as “do his part” for future generations. The GIS Team gladly accepted his request as well as the units 1st Sergeant’s request to “break his gloves in”.  – Nominated by Janie Lambert

January 19, 2022

Samantha Kirkland (Army Aviation Systems)

Once again, Samantha has been recognized for outstanding contributions as a Publication Provisioner in support of the Utility Helicopter Logistics Division, Technical Publication Team, Redstone Arsenal. She continues to provide the highest quality support and is an essential member of the Technical Publications Team. Her expert knowledge of Depot Maintenance Work Requirements (DMWR) and the Repair Parts & Special Tools List (RPSTL) for the UH60M program has been nothing short of outstanding and has been key in keeping the MOD programs on schedule. The UH60M Government Provisioning Team Lead stated, “I have been out for the last couple of weeks in training but I wanted to take the time to thank you for the terrific job you did at the 280 TT verification with Sikorsky. Thank you for assisting Keith and a couple days you actually took over on your own when he was not available. I appreciate everything that you do, assisting others, and for always going above and beyond.” “Samantha is a key team member and I am not one to give these complements unless deserved. She goes over and beyond what is expected by me and my supervisor. She is definitely my number 1.” Samantha has truly represented Qualis Corp superbly. – Nominated by Wes Wallin

December 7, 2021

Kevin Bowles (ATS)

Mr. Kevin Bowles continues to surpass expectations as a key member of the Presidential and National Voice Conferencing (PNVC) team. Mr. Bowles spearheads all aspects/components of the cyber test team lead for multiple 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron programs. He deftly manages programs at Peterson SFB and Buckley SFB. He has been instrumental in crafting the PNVC surveys and co-wrote the administration plan. His contributions ensured the test team was well prepared for upcoming test events and provided a seamless transition between test scenarios to ensure all appropriate data was collected. Mr. Bowles attention to detail and full understanding of the Operational Test processes and procedures has proven itself invaluable time and time again. Mr. Bowles is a real team player when it comes to customer service and his test knowledge has enhanced every aspect of the test participation plan of action. – Nominated by John Powers

 Kenneth Roebuck (ATS)

Mr. Kenneth Roebuck’s dedicated performance has been proven since the first day he entered the Presidential and National Voice Conferencing (PNVC) team. His continuous commitment to providing above and beyond customer service support helps empower his fellow team members but more importantly his Test Director. His efforts of status tracking and in-depth knowledge keeps the Test Director on track. He has been an invaluable team member, not only assisting the Test Director but providing mentorship and products for the entire team. Mr. Roebuck created the 4th Test and Evaluation Squadron’s Participation Plan, Test Concept Brief, and Survey Administration to help the test team stay on schedule. He has selflessly dedicated himself to the PNVC team, while simultaneously providing exceptional above and beyond service to the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications (SATCOM), Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES), Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) Atmospheric Scintillation Simulator, Air-to-Ground Electronic Warfare Simulator (AGEWS), and Joint Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Threat Analysis Testing System (JSTATS) programs. – Nominated by John Powers

John Powers (ATS)

In the GPS Branch of 4 TES, there were 7 programs in constant yet various stages of test planning and execution. John took charge of the most complex of these efforts, the M-Code GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 1 test, while still supporting the other test efforts and participating in two test executions within the same year. The MGUE effort alone is a complex program involving multiple services, spread over nearly a decade of test events spanning CT through OT and culminating in an MOT&E. John has repeatedly traveled to multiple unpleasant, near desolate, dangerous locations throughout his time on this program. John has also accepted the position of the ATS task lead, taking on even more responsibility while continuing to maintain is support of MGUE and the other GPS programs. Lastly, John has also supported the Buckley Task Lead and handled visit request security issues in order for them to make a short notice travel engagement to an important SBIRS program meeting. – Nominated by Jerry Gill

Frank (Cam) Kitts (FPS/EOIR)

Frank (Cam) Kitts continues to provide outstanding support to the Warfighter through his constant commitment to excellence. Recently, Cam was a member of a team that received the below accolades highlighting his outstanding contributions and the impacts it has on the Warfighter. “On behalf of Patricio Enterprises, I thank you for your hard work and the professionalism in supporting the Product Management Force Protection Systems Security Surveillance System (SSS) Operator Course, Adversarial Assessment, and Logistical Demonstration from October 4, 2021, to November 5, 2021. The Team passed to me that your unwavering support was vital, as these critical program events were necessary in the assessment of SSS readiness in preparation for Full Rate Production Decision and the closure of tasks associated with the program’s Milestone C Decision. They were grateful for your “can do” attitude, steadfast commitment to excellence, and willingness to support SSS. – Nominated by Ronald Gaddy

November 9, 2021

Amber Bartenslager (TMAS)

Amber Bartenslager (96RANSS THREATS AND MOBILE TARGETS) is being recognized for her excellent work in the Threats and Mobile Targets Section. Since coming on board, Amber has taken on many roles and has provided great target support to multiple customers and test programs to ensure that each test event is a success. Amber plays an integral part in the acquisition process to source and acquire target assets requested for multiple mission requirements. In the short time she has been with Mobile Targets she has supported three TDY’s to aid in the return of Target Assets from Foreign country. Above all, Amber is always taking care of her teammates morale and never lets a Birthday slip by without cupcakes, a card, or some form of celebration. –  Nominated by Dean Brown, Cheryl Stafford, and endorsed by Darrell Decker

 Edward Ezell (ESSCA)

For exceptional attention to detail in noticing a crack on an Orion Valve, flight hardware, and bringing it to the attention of the customer. Edward received kudos from one of our NASA customers saying “I gave Edward Ezell kudos at the branch meeting today for noticing the crack on the connector boss of one of the Orion Valves and bringing to everyone’s attention. I think that was a good catch related to flight hardware and his attention to detail should be commended.” – Nominated by James Bruce

Laura Hardin (ESSCA)

Laura’s support of her customer is always getting noticed. Recently one of her customers commented on her support to the multi-center annual workshop that was vital to conducting a very successful event. From her NASA customer: “I wanted to send a note to show my appreciation for the leadership and support Laura provided to ST03 and the NASA OSAM National Initiative in support of the 6th annual OSAM Workshop last week. As you know, MSFC was the host for this year’s workshop which we held out at the Jackson Center. Laura has been working with me in leading the organizing team made up of MSFC, LaRC and GSFC beginning in March of this year. She was instrumental during that time and especially over these last few weeks and days in working with the other centers to finalize the agenda, coordination of speakers and attendees from NASA, HQ, DoD and industry, coordination with the Jackson Center and many other activities that lead to the success of this event. Laura always provides excellent support to the PFO for our events and activities, but this event was larger than PFO and even the center. This was the first OSAM workshop where we, NASA, co-hosted with the USSF, our partners in the federally recognized OSAM National Initiative. I received numerous comments and positive feedback from attendees and NASA/USSF leaders on how well Marshall executed the event. Again, that execution would not have been possible without Laura. Thank you!” – Nominated by James Bruce

November 2, 2021

Melia Parker (Corporate)

Melia has played an instrumental role in establishing charge codes for our TMAS contract, insuring that those contract employees are able to record their time daily. Not only is the daily recording of time a policy, but this contract requires that we report those hours to our customer daily, so it is doubly crucial that time be reported daily and accurately. The contract that just ended had 3,350 chargeable codes over the life of the contract! The process is rigorous, and involves coordination with the employee, the team leads, and the customer and often the lead time is zero. Qualis was fortunate to be on the winning team for the follow-up contract. However, the now two task orders instead of the original one required a structure review and a mapping of each and every employee. Melia worked days, nights, and weekends to ensure the smoothest transition as possible for the employees on this contract, and to help Qualis meet the daily reporting requirement. I commend her for relentless efforts in coordinating with the Qualis team, including the employees, team leads, Program Manager, and the Customer in this monumental task! Well done, Melia! –  Nominated by Patti Baker

Ernie Martinez (TMAS)

Ernie Martinez has gone above and beyond what his position description calls for, in addition to a first rate scheduler, Ernie has been called upon to take, review and edit meeting minutes, run briefing slides, edit briefings, research requirement and all round go to person for just about anything I need. he has never questioned anything I have asked him to do. He has the foresight to question the engineers when something isn’t just right The GRE program manger routinely requests Ernie to be part of short suspense requirements and he always comes thru. Job well done Ernie! –  Nominated by Darrell Decker

Helen Foor (GTRI)

Helen received special recognition from the Pacific Air Force command Chief Range LVC (Live, Virtual, and Constructive) Program Manager. “Helen has become the most valuable Action Officer within A317, providing both engineering/management support as well has ensuring exercises are fully supported with operational systems. Without her contribution, A317 would not be able to fully support the warfighter within the PACAF AOR Again, A317 could not support our mission without Helen support.” Helen was an essential part to the coordination between PACAF/A375, PACAF/A373, PAXAC/A6, and PACAF/A8 to develop a 5th Gen Integration Roadmap for joint and A&P exercise requirements. Organized and lead the JPARC (Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex) Configuration Control Board and collaborated working group, ensuring program success in the present and future. Provided physical and knowledge base support during the technical refresh to the JPARC networks in Alaska, able to complete a major hardware and software upgrade within a short time period without interfering with mission essential support. –  Nominated by Lee Heineken

Brenda Royal (GTRI)

The Pacific Air Force command Chief Range LVC (Live, Virtual, and Constructive) Program Manager sent an exceptional appreciation for Brenda Royals accomplishments in the last couple of months. “Brenda is recognized throughout the AF Combat Training Range community as the ‘go to’ expert for maintaining accreditation across multiple platforms and provides added support as requested. Without her support, A317 would not be able to fully support the warfighter within the PACAF AOR Again, without her support A317 could not support our mission.” Qualis Director of Business Development utilizes her knowledge and skills to help gather proper information for upcoming proposal. Long hours researching and collecting the vital specifications to create additional resource and network for the program. The program customer has been requesting this resource for many years and she was able to provide them with the required items to meet their demands. Provided War Room accreditation personnel with security advice and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) benefiting the Pacific Alaska Air Force’s (PACAF’s) future installation of War Room software. Provided knowledge base support during the technical refresh to the JPARC networks in Alaska, able to complete a major hardware and software upgrade within a short time period without interfering with mission essential support. –  Nominated by Lee Heineken

October 19, 2021

Jordan Green (ESSCA)

For development of an innovation proposal for Metal Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Printing vs. Metal Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) Additive Manufacturing (AM). The proposal was selected for funding as a part of the ESSCA seventh cycle of TIPI Innovation Grants.  –  Submitted by James Bruce

Lisa Towers (ESSCA)

Lisa received an Extra Miler award for comments from her NASA customer. Lisa was recognized for her “hard work during the Integrated Avionics Test Facility Tools Testing, she did a great job with STAC 1.2.0 testing and helping put together all the procedures on this”.  –  Submitted by James Bruce

Chuck Goble & Wesley Weirich (Corporate)

Chuck Goble and Wes Weirich developed a lab demonstration for key congressional members who fund the ALT PNT program. In only a week’s time, Chuck and Wes developed the demonstration concept, presentation material, procured materials for the demonstration, and developed tested and validated their demonstration. This required excellent technical capabilities to learn how to operate the equipment procured and implement the algorithms that demonstrated the overall ALT PNT approach. Upon completion of the demonstration to the members of Congress, they were pleased with the prospects of the program and confirmed the second round of funding to be provided. Chuck and Wes demonstrated innovation and perseverance which is directly helping the program and Qualis grow. Way to go guys!  –  Submitted by Tim Pitchko

Ellen Vought (Corporate)

Qualis received the 2021 Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans (HIRE Vets) Platinum Medallion Award. This award is given for exemplary efforts in recruiting, employing, and retaining our nation’s veterans. Ellen not only plays a vital role in our recruitment program, but also in the participation of the HIRE Vets program. Thanks Ellen for always going above and beyond!  –  Submitted by Keanna Nichols

Lisa McNabb (Corporate)

A big thanks to Lisa McNabb for supporting our Space Development Agency customer, John London, with a virtual speaking engagement event with the Aerospace Company. On short notice Lisa provided needed Qualis IT and facility support to Mr. London which enable a very professional presentation to a broad group of industry and government aerospace professionals. Mr. London was extremely for Lisa’s support and personally thanked her. Again, thank you Lisa for representing Qualis so well to a very important customer. Well done. –  Submitted by Carlos Kingston

October 12, 2021

Kelley Fuqua (ESSCA)

For receiving an award from her customer at the department awards ceremony ”for outstanding service and vision through implementation of digital transformation to maintain a seamless completion of deliverables in support of NASA’s mission.” Kelley has continued to receive great praise for going above and beyond in her work in support of the ESSCA contract. –  Submitted by James Bruce

Lem Vaughn (RCCTO)

Congratulations to Lem Vaughn for receiving the following note from Army LTG Neil Thurgood. Lem received kudos from one of our customers saying, ”Lem, Just a note to say- “super job” on the cost meeting. Great progress and appreciate you efforts. From our domain, the RCCTO family, you are doing great!!” A big thanks to Lem for representing Qualis so well. –  Submitted by Carlos Kingston

Jennifer Manville (RCCTO)

Congratulations to Jennifer Manville for receiving the following note from our customer Lejeania Wood in the Army RCCTP Business Office. Jennifer received kudos from one of our customers saying, “I would like to give a shout out to Jennifer for her efforts regarding our tasker on RCCTO combined support agreements (where applicable). She has taken the lead and has been helpful to the other teams as we struggle and move forward. DEPO lost our support agreement lead and we are struggling. We really appreciate Jennifer’s help.” Thank you Jennifer for representing Qualis so well. –  Submitted by Carlos Kingston

September 15, 2021

Nan Sullivan, Pam Cooper, and Rachel Cutter (Corporate Office)

Every 3 years our ISO certifications come up for renewal and it is a big deal. The recertification’s are a “full blown” audit.

Nan, Pam, and Rachel really stepped up and did a fantastic job on the ISO 14001:2015 recertification audit that occurred this week. They all did a great job filling in without hesitation when needed. Their efforts resulted in a successful audit. Way to go Nan, Pam and Rachel for always going above and beyond to make sure the job gets done successfully. – Submitted by Rod Duke

Donald (Bo) Vannatter (TMAS)

Just wanted to drop a note to provide our appreciation for the recent work of Bo for RANSS, especially for RNRE. In general Bo has been a tremendous asset for our unique organization. Since we have several different projects that require both specialized hardware and software, we often have complex workstation requirements that Bo has been effective in tracking and being very responsive to meet mission development needs. Additionally, we have centralized enclave for our various software licenses, configuration management server, and general storage which has been a challenge with aging hardware. Bo has been effective in sustaining this legacy hardware and transitioning it to newer hardware while ensuring our engineers do not lose productivity due to downtime of the infrastructure. Bo has also provided tremendous help in taking over the tracking and management of software licenses as a recent retirement has created a gap. In terms of cybersecurity, Bo has really provided a key capability in ensuring our packages have remained compliant and authorized to ensure we stay legal with the latest guidance from A6. Through Bo’s diligence, we have a baseline package for pod instrumentation that has been able to add the capability of the legacy Joint Range Instrumentation Pod (JRIP) as well as the new configuration of this pod for an external customer. Additionally, Bo has been a key player in the creation/submission of a new package to allow for processing of classified data in support of instrumentation development and validation based on mission requirements. This will be a key asset for RNRE. Overall, Bo is great part of the RNRE team and we greatly appreciate his efforts and enthusiasm for our mission. Please convey our great appreciation for his work. – Submitted by Robert Richardson

Michael Nehring

Kudos for great communication of the status of the new 4X Amplifier boards for SITFQ. There was some question as if they would be ready in time to be installed during this short integration period we have with the lab, and Michael did a great job keeping managers in the loop as to the status. It helped in keeping the technician support, and taking in the schedule. – Submitted by James Bruce

September 8, 2021

Jason Mann

Jason Mann supports our Force Protection System contract at the Redstone Arsenal, AL. The Program Officer for Integrated Ground Security, Surveillance and Response Capability (IGSSR-C) recognized Jason for his excellent performance by stating: “ FPS would like to recognize Jason Mann for his outstanding support to PM FPS on the Patricio contract. Jason serves as the Developmental/Operational Test Engineer for PM FPS at Redstone Arsenal. He was instrumental in ensuring the Integrated Ground Security, Surveillance and Response Capability (IGSSR-C) program completed Developmental Testing and Operational Assessment. Jason worked tirelessly to move the IGSSR-C program through test and evaluation despite numerous challenges. In the early stages of the program, Jason faced daily challenges to keep the system running. Jason expertly conducted troubleshooting, coordinated with the developer, and provided daily situational reports. He was key in setting up the IGSSR-C test bench and collaborating to connect with other program sensor equipment. Without his support, the IGSSR-C program would have continued to falter and may not have started testing with Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). Throughout testing, Jason consistently juggled conducting system demonstrations, performing system updates, generating test incident reports, and coordinating with ATEC all while keeping PM FPS apprised of the system status, answering data calls, and facing redirection from the Assistant Product Manager. Jason performed all of these activities in an effective and efficient manner. As a result of his efforts, Jason helped the developer overcome several system shortfalls identified in test (latency, command and control limitations, cross domain capability, interoperability, load balancing, and stability), which changed the system’s ATEC evaluation from a dire “Not Effective” to “Effective”. Jason demonstrated personal sacrifice during the COVID pandemic to ensure continuity of operations and successful development/testing. Throughout the COVID shutdown and maximization of telework, Jason did not telework, worked late hours at the 3100 area, and delayed personal leave to accommodate the aggressive IGSSR-C schedule. IGSSR-C program owes much a great deal of appreciation to Jason for his efforts and professional leadership.” – Submitted by Marc Peterson

Deborah Lang

Deb Lang supports our work at PM UAS at the Redstone Arsenal, AL. A fellow contractor from another company was struggling with his task. Deb eagerly helped him along to project completion. The co-worker stated: “I felt compelled to drop you this line of thanks for your knowledge, patience, and limitless effort that pulled me over the hump to project completion. It was on your part a classic demonstration of pure TEAM Work that taught me how to fish instead of feeding me one! Way to go Deb, and you bring great credit to yourself and to Qualis! – Submitted by Marc Peterson

Pam Cooper

Pam provided service over and above expectations to support both the Qualis and subcontractor employees establishing the necessary security clearances and paperwork for the start of the recently awarded JFCC IMD support contract. This included coordination, approval and entry of the necessary DD254 security forms for Qualis and our subcontractors Quantum and Bowhead into the complex Army Centralized Contractor System. When this paperwork was finally approved by the government, she initiated same-day after hours Visitor Access Requests for Qualis employees on three different occasions to facilitate short-notice Special Compartmented Information indoctrinations of 10 Qualis employees greatly enhancing the utility of our Team Qualis members to the government. These singular actions have enabled our 23 Team Qualis employees to participate fully in all command taskings and activities. This is especially important as it significantly enhances the breadth and depth of support to the command as the in-office military and government civilian workforce is constrained by newly enacted COVID restrictions. – Submitted by Tom Hancock

Scott Allison

Scott supports many parts of the GPS enterprise, one of which is the Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE). Recently, while Marine Corp Joint Light tactical Vehicle (JLTV) testing was underway at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) many things went wrong. Consequently, many last minute Signal in Space (SIS) adjustments had to be coordinated with the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) and the 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS). Scott repeatedly stepped up and made sure the integral players in the test made adjustments to SIS effects allowing testing to continue in order to make the most of the allowable test windows available. – Submitted by Marc Peterson

August 31, 2021

Chris Benson

Chris supports ECLSS Integration and Development at MSFC. His support of the team was recognized by his customer and impressed center management. Customer Comment: I just shared with Jody and the rest of the DA01 leadership team, our ECLSS quarterly strategic report. The Center leadership was extremely impressed with all that you have accomplished and the bright future we have for ECLSS work! As we deliver on the tech demos that have consumed many hours (and keep delivering spares), we are actively working to meet the needs of the Agency and industry for future ECLSS systems and continued advancement of technologies. I want to thank each of you for all that you do to deliver on our existing commitments, because past performance is the foundation for future work, and your help in formulating future successes! – Submitted by James Bruce

Jarrod Welsh, Brian Smith, Jon Garner, Pat Bowman, Damian Plecash, Steve Hallenbeck, and Scott Krick

The team successfully supported and completed the Red Flag exercise FY21 season, each one of them went above and beyond the call of duty. Dedicated their time and resources to ensure each exercise was successful. Each team member achieved high standards when presented with unique challenges, that they rose above the challenge is an understatement. The teams unwillingness to fail, desire to persist, all the while maintaining a positive attitude expresses our company’s culture of Excellence. As a team lead, each one of these team members have exceeded my expectations and I’m grateful to have the honor to serve and support each one of them. Thank you all for the outstanding work you have done this past year, it doesn’t go unrecognized, and I know that our future endeavors will take us all to the next level.

Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM)! – Submitted by Lee Heineken

Frank “Cam” Kitts

Cam Kitts supports our Force Protection System contract at the Redstone Arsenal. His support is so, valued the government lead provided the following statement: “Frank “Cam” Kitts for outstanding performance and significant contributions to the SSS program. Recommends maximum/highest award your company can grant an employee for superior performance. Cam Kitts whom serves as the Developmental/Operational Test (DT/OT) Engineer for PM FPS, to include quick reaction capability (QRC) and Program of Record (POR) product portfolios, was absolutely critical in the SSS program’s achievement of its Milestone C decision on 4 August 2021. Security Surveillance System (SSS) is a key perimeter security system and force protection multiplier for the U.S. Army. SSS is an Acquisition Category (ACAT) IV system within PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (IEW&S). During the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, Cam has demonstrated personal sacrifice to ensure the continuity of operations and successful development/testing of the SSS program. Cam did not telework during any of the Covid-19 pandemic. He reported to work at both his duty station and various CONUS test sites to ensure that the SSS program progressed to meet all required testing and programmatic milestones. This included working extra hours and moving personal leave dates to accommodate the rigors and deadlines of the test schedule. From April 2020 to July 2021, Cam has successfully led and executed the form, fit, function of SSS shipping packaging, DT testing, E3 testing, Operational Assessment (OA) testing, Regression testing, Reliability Data collection, and the Cooperative Vulnerability Penetration Assessment (CVPA). In addition to test engineering duties, Cam also developed the SSS Technical Manual (TM) and SSS Training Support Package (TSP) in support of the program’s OA and Logistics Demonstration. He traveled to Ft Leonard Wood, MO to execute the SSS OA test event. While at Fort Leonard Wood, Cam also conducted the instruction and training of Soldiers utilized during the OA. Lastly, in addition to test engineering duties, Cam successfully led and executed a re-design of a major SSS sub-system to improve and stabilize the SSS’s performance and operational suitability. This re-design led to a successful SSS Follow-on OA (FOA); which resulted in the program achieving a 2 Milestone C decision point and entering the Production and Deployment (P&D) phase of its acquisition lifecycle. The actions of Mr. Cam Kitts from April 2020 to July 2021 have been essential to the survival of the SSS program. I can say, without a doubt, that Mr. Cam Kitts’ hard work

and dedication to the mission were integral in the SSS program reaching the production phase by the end of this fiscal year.” Thank you Cam for your continued professionalism and dedication. You and your team perform magnificently and represent the Qualis Brand perfectly with your “Can-do” attitude and capabilities. – Submitted by Marc Peterson

August 20, 2021

Mary Jane Smith

Mary Jane Smith, better known to us as MJ supports the Specialized Warfighter Development Contract (SWDC) in the Missile Defense Agency’s prestigious Threat Modeling Center at Schriever Space Force Base Colorado. The Northrop Grumman Task lead recently stated, “Mary Jane Smith: As always one of our top performers, always willing to put in the extra work to get products completed. MJ volunteers to do all the extra things that need to be done in the TMC along with doing her day-to-day job. She has put in extra hours working on [Ballistic Missile Defense System Ground Test Integration] GTI-09 Sprint 1 to do everything possible to get the documentation completed to meet our delivery timeline. The Product Line Lead would like to express his appreciation for MJ’s contribution to helping accomplish our first 40 day turn CONOPS in support of the GTI-09 Sprint 1 effort. Her strong attitude and dedication to the mission was outstanding. Thank you, MJ.” Fantastic accolades from our Prime Contractor MJ!  – Submitted by Marc Peterson

Dan Collins 

Dan Collins supports the Specialized Warfighting Development Contract in the Missile Defense Agency’s prestigious Threat Modeling Center at Schriever Space Force Base Colorado. The Northrop Grumman Task Lead recently stated, “Dan is always ensuring we are delivering our products out the door on time. He interfaces with our Government and external customers on a daily basis to ensure we have all the paperwork needed to deliver the Integrated Threat Packages and TGx. Dan is a critical asset to the TMC. We know without doubt that when something is handed over to Dan for delivery, it will occur without error. That is very important.” Thank you Dan for your consistent professionalism and reliable products!  – Submitted by Marc Peterson

Isaac Root 

Isaac Root supports the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) prestigious Threat Modeling Center (TMS) located at Schriever Space Force Station, Colorado. The Northrop Grumman Task Lead recently stated, “Isaac is critical asset for Ground Test support of IR signatures, including meeting the compressed delivery timeline for (Ground Test Integrated) GTI-09 Sprint 1 IRHB data production. Isaac’s automation of much of the IRHB data process has vastly improved the time to create the data, as well as made more efficient use of the TMC hardware infrastructure and available servers. Additionally, Isaac has served as a mentor/trainer within the signatures group for IRHB in working directly with Alex Caudill, who was also a large contributor in the success of the recent GT effort in part due to Isaac’s SME knowledge. Our IR Signature team shrank slightly at the beginning of Option Year 1, so Isaac’s contribution and technical expertise are more important than ever.” Thank you Isaac for becoming one of the premier Infrared Signature modelers for the MDA! Great work!!  – Submitted by Marc Peterson

Jerry Estal 

Jerry Estal supports the Specialized Warfighter Development Contract at the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) prestigious Threat Modeling Center (TMS) at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado. The Northrop Grumman Task Lead recently stated, “Jerry has been working very closely with MDA’s Data Distribution Center on improving our digital distribution process. He has reached out to them to set up special delivery areas for products and even keeps doing speed tests to test improvements in the network. Jerry does a great job in support of TMC Distribution. Thank you Jerry for your consistent quality of work and professionalism. Your dedication and skill is noticed at the highest levels. – Submitted by Marc Peterson

August 10, 2021

Max McCall 

For exceptional work on the design of swept pipes for the 4 Bed CO2 Scrubber scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station. Comments from customer : “The swept ducts were vital. It turns out the station air pressure drop was higher than expected, so the pressure drop we saved in the ducts helped us meet our performance target.” – Submitted by James Bruce

July 20, 2021

Roger Rhodes and Zac Wible

Roger Rhodes and Zac Wible have gone above and beyond the call of duty supporting numerous proposals in recent months.  Each of these employees has demonstrated talent and drive to help us submit outstanding proposals and generate some great 2021 contract awards.  Roger and Zac regularly identify what needs to be done on their own and take action to make it happen.  Most recently, they provided proposal support for our pursuit of a critical Space Based Missile Warning (SBMW) Task Order effort for STAR Delta Det 4.  This task order RFP required a very rapid turn with only two weeks to respond and their tireless efforts enabled us to submit a strong proposal to support the SBMW enterprise by providing technical services to Det 4 through analytical, engineering, cyber and SBMW subject matter expertise (SME) in the testing and evaluation of Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), Next-Generation (Next-Gen) Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), Next-Gen OPIR Polar Orbit, and Next-Gen OPIR Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) at Peterson AFB Colorado, Buckley AFB Colorado and LA AFB California. – Submitted by Jon Cabra

Jerry Gill

Jerry Gill is our Task Lead on the AFOTEC Test Services contract focused on the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). Jerry has adeptly led us through the change from the Air Force to the first OT&E contractor on ACAT I space systems for the newly formed Space Force. Most recently, Jerry has supported the technical development of three Prime contract and one Sub contract proposals for AFOTEC since the beginning of the year. We received a short-notice request for proposal on a Space Based Missile Warning Task Order that basically gave us a week to actually perform the writing portion of the proposal. Really strong effort with a short suspense while maintaining test support for a rigorous test schedule on our nation’s most significant strategic satellite programs to include the Global Positioning System Enterprise. Thank you Jerry for your exceptional performance and for stepping up with the technical expertise to ensure Qualis growth. – Submitted by Marc Peterson, Vice President, Strategic Programs

Marilee Foreman

Qualis was recently awarded the Prime contractor support contract for the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense. With only a two week transition period to take over running of the support contract, Marilee Foreman initiated a travel support plan to exceed the standards and support immediate travel to overseas locations. Our first traveler under the contract was David Alexander who stated, “I have been working with Linda this morning to get the final details. You guys are all GREAT. Thank you so very much!!! This has by far been the easiest (for me anyway) arrangements I have done in the last few years as a contractor travelling.” Thank you Marilee for taking the work out of travel for our team, and allowing them to focus on our customer support! – Submitted by Marc Peterson, Vice President, Strategic Programs

June 22, 2021

Doug McDaniel

Doug McDaniel hit it out of the park for our PM UAS contract support for EDGE 21. To put it into context Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise, or Edge for short, at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah is a premier concept exercise that applies space, aviation and network capabilities to show how the Army and the joint force would fight in the Indo-Pacific theater based on high-fidelity modeling the service used to show the efficacy of its capabilities in the area of operation. Thomas Watson, Intelligent Teaming Test and Demo Lead for Army Futures Command Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center stated in a memo to the RIAC Director, “Experimental Demonstration Gateway Exercise, or Edge for short, at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Maj. Gen. Wally Rugen, who is in charge of the future vertical lift modernization effort, said in January that the new exercise will apply space, aviation and network capabilities to show how the Army and the joint force would fight in the Indo-Pacific theater based on high-fidelity modeling the service used to show the efficacy of its capabilities in the area of operation.” As a result Doug was voted by peers as a 2nd Place Winner for top performers for this event.  –  Submitted by Marc Peterson, Vice President, Strategic Programs

Pat Bowman

Above and beyond call of duty, Pat Bowman has demonstrated his exceptional skills and talent during the Northern Edge exercise. I witnessed his dedication and hard work prior, during and after the exercise. Numerous leaders and key personnel involved in the success of the exercise have contacted me personally to inform me of Pat’s outstanding performance. All are impressed in his skills, talent and abilities; no doubt that future exercises will be successful because of him. Here is a few of his many accomplishments: Exercise Northern Edge 2021 (NE21). Completed initial preparations and coordination for Northern Edge 21 exercise to include classified and unclassified data collection requirements for specific Large Force Exercise (LFE) events/sorties. Devised methodologies to track new Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) capabilities vs 5th Generation fighter aircraft. Expertly completed NE21 exercise comprising 20 LFE events on the JPARC and over the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Performed tactical assessments across the battlespace to support Lessons Learned for both tactical learning (aircrew) and strategic data collection requirements. Assembled and provided Lessons Learned and Debrief Focus Points (DFPs include an analysis of Root Cause factors of mission errors as well as recommended fixes) for NE21 events. Provided end of exercise data to USAF Air Combat Command (ACC) and US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) for data analysis of jamming impacts US systems and effects on tactical execution. Collected Lessons Learned for effects of Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) to better understand future Red Flag-Alaska (RFA) impacts/plans to best utilize these capabilities. In contact with PACAF A9 Lessons Learned team to initiate preparatory discussions on how to improve/be ready for Northern Edge 2023. –  Submitted by Lee Heineken

May 18, 2021

Elena Slayer 

Elena always does a tremendous job with the invoicing of our costs to our Customers. Northrop Grumman’s processor Sandy Sutton recently acknowledged Elena’s efforts on our subcontract invoice on their contract by sending her words of appreciation and saying she would nominate Elena for a BRAVO award if Elena were a NG employee. She went on to say that Elena always gets the job done and gets it done well. –  Submitted by Patti Baker

Mike Smith 

Mike received kudos from one of our customers: “Mr. Mike Smith, plays an essential role in providing exceptional support to the Publications Division, Utility Helicopter Directorate, and our soldiers. As a Graphic Illustrator his graphics for Army Publications such as, Depot Maintenance Work Requirements (DMWR), Technical Bulletins (TB) and Maintenance Work Orders (MWO) have been truly outstanding. You can be assured that every soldier turning wrenches on a Utility Helicopter depends on Mr. Smith’s comprehensive Illustrations. Mr. Smith continually supports Multi-Year programs, Modifications, and Provisioning teams’ members with a conscientious attitude and has demonstrated outstanding teamwork in helping in the publication of DMWR 1-2835-214, DMWR 1-2835-209, and other manuals. Mr. Smith efforts are respected and has played a key role in supporting the Publications Division at Utility Helicopter Project Office.” Mike has been outstanding in his support of the UHPO Publications Division. His attention to detail and endeavor to provide the customer nothing but the highest quality of work has made him an indispensable team member to the Pubs group which clearly reveals the high quality of employee Qualis provides to its customers. –  Submitted by Wes Wallin

May 11, 2021

Marjorie Weeks and Robert Schmidt

Marjorie Weeks and Robert Schmidt support our TMAS contract at the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility, Eglin AFB, FL and received kudos from our customers. “I wanted to express my thanks to Marjorie Weeks, and Robert Schmidt for their dedication and hard work supporting not only APPS activities but also support other GWEF test areas during a COVID-19 mass quarantine event (timeframe Mar 22 thru Apr 5th). As you know, one of our Qualis IT/IA (Information Technology/Assurance) team members tested positive for COVID-19 and was required to quarantine for 14 days. Per AF COVID-19 guidance, any person having close contact with a positive COVID-19 case for longer than 15 minutes (cumulative for a day) are required to quarantine for 14 days as a precaution to eliminate potential spread. Since the IT/IA team (including Government ISSMs) interacts closely with each other and had extensive contact with the positive COVID-19 case all Qualis IT/IA staffing and Gov. ISSMs that supported test areas (TA143, 145, 203, 234) was put in quarantine. Only Marjorie (IA), and Robert Schmidt (IT), were not required to quarantine due to their limited exposure to the positive case, leaving them as the only IT/IA support for 6 test areas and 6 tech work areas. During the COVID-19 quarantine event, Ms. Weeks, and Mr. Schmidt, without hesitation took on the responsibility of covering “ALL” needed IA/IT support activities, not only in the APPS areas but also for those test areas where IT/IA support was in quarantine. Per the Test Engineers of these areas (TA143, 145, 203, 234), Marjorie and Robert performed their IA/IT functions extremely well under extreme pressure to complete time sensitive tasks with the limited resources at her disposal. During the COVID-19 quarantine event , Ms. Weeks and Mr. Schmidt completed/performed all required weekly tasks extremely well, and within the time constraints schedule for, under the circumstances and with limited resources available to help carry the load for all additional area. During this time they continuously displayed a professional attitude and eagerness to get the job done which did not go unnoticed and was greatly appreciated by the test engineers she supported. Ms. Weeks and Mr. Schmidt have always shown a professionalism and calming demeanor towards IA tasking in a way she handles her work load and stress level her position levies upon her. However during this this COVID-19 quarantine event, Marjorie’s and Robert’s professionalism, dedication, and can do attitude towards supporting the GWEF under extreme circumstances is a tribute to their profession, to the GWEF, and to your company. Please pass on my, and all GWEF Test Engineers, thanks and gratitude to Marjorie for a job well done.” Join me in thanking Marjorie and Robert for adding value to the contract with their selfless devotion to the mission. Thank you both for riding for the Qualis brand with your outstanding support to our nation!   –  Submitted by Marc Peterson

Mellisa Brown 

Mellisa Brown a member of the 96 RNCS HPCE team since 2016, is a self-directed, self-motivated employee who continues to assist in streamlining processes and make things more efficient for the team and organization recently received kudos from a government customer on her performance. “I wanted to drop a line to let you know Melissa Brown is a huge contributor on the HPCE team. She has really taken ownership of the Prep-H IA package. For that package, minimal govt oversight has been needed, things are just proactively taken care of. She was also a heavy hitter on the AP virtual inspection this last week. We weathered the inspection with only a minor finding on the HPCE side. She also serves as continuity on the team since she has been one of the longest standing members on the team. I hope this adds to the content for her annual appraisal, or validates the items she may have submitted.” Job well done Mellisa, you continue to demonstrate a high level of professionalism and proving to be an effective ambassador for the Qualis Corporation.  –  Submitted by Rich Richardson, Project Leader

Phillip Black, Jason Deissner, and Jason Stone

The RNCEA infrastructure team consisting of Phillip Black, Jason Deissner and Jason Stone have completed a fully working DevSecOps immutable architecture deployment for Multi-caveat Analytic Compute Environment (MACE). This effort has been going on for six months and is a significant feat which required the team to understand advanced Linux technologies to implement. The process for deploying a MACE infrastructure is fully automated and impressive to see. The team has worked together to develop this “infrastructure as a code” product so they all share the knowledge and skills. The developed code and procedures are all maintained in the HPCE teams’ source code repository using the “git” product. All aspects of the systems configuration are automated including the installation of VMWare and the instantiation of guest virtual machines. Two types of virtualization technologies are used including the Linux Qemu/KVM in addition to VMWare. The product configures physical computers as well. Components are configured according to the STIGs automatically. Host based firewall configurations are applied automatically. Identity Management is configured with authorized roles and host based access control policies. This enables the system to be developed, tested and deployed into production using the same immutable configuration. (This is built-in security). This provides strong assurance of system configuration to the Configuration Control Board (CCB) and the auditors for security compliance. This technology is a keystone for the pending ATO for the MACE PL-3 system.  –  Submitted by Rich Richardson, Project Leader

Laura Hardin

Laura received kudos from one of our NASA customers: “I wanted to send a note to show Reggie’s and my appreciation for Laura’s support to not only the PFO but also the other organizations and activities she supports as well. She has really worked to drive actions to completion and goes above and beyond to help ensure that the office and our products are seen in the best light possible. She worked with industry partners to organize and facilitate the Marshall Partnerships Forum. We held our kickoff forum last month; it was very well received from MSFC senior leaders, our industry partners and we received great feedback from those in attendance. Laura also received high praise yesterday from Erin Muldoon during a senior leader meeting regarding her support of the AES Polaris solicitation/proposal response activity. Laura helped drive the coordination of the center inputs and developed the final package that Erin used to brief center leadership yesterday. These are just two examples of the outstanding activities Laura has driven home for the office. We would be in a world of hurt without her! Thank you, your team and Laura for the support to the PFO!” –  Submitted by Beth Horner

 Laura Hardin 

Laura received kudos from one of our NASA customers: “Just letting you know how critical Laura is to this current CFM/DARPA TIM. She volunteered to help us organize a Teams meeting with breakout rooms and on the fly is helping my customer make adjustments and figure out how to do something that no one thought of, which is turning out to be quite difficult. The Lockheed Martin team member from senior leadership there commented that Laura is “above and beyond” as she is working to make the necessary adjustments. I quite agree that she is going above and beyond in her support of this meeting and Teams for the office.”  Thank you for this great work in supporting your customers and team, Laura!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Brenda Polk 

From team lead Richard Hibbs: Brenda received a Jacobs Space Exploration Group (JSEG) Extra Miler Award for “demonstrating extraordinary team spirit and initiative by providing subject matter expert guidance and assistance to a team member who was struggling to complete an initial analysis task using unfamiliar software. Ms. Polk generously and selflessly provided her time over a 10-week period to assist the struggling team member while completing her assigned tasks on schedule. Ms. Polk’s conscientious effort and dedication to the propulsion thermal analysis team is exceptional.” Thank you for this excellent teamwork and mentoring effort, Brenda!

May 4, 2021

Lisa Towers and Nathan Benjamin 

On behalf of team lead Kenny Carter: Lisa and Nathan were awarded the Jacobs Space Exploration Group (JSEG) Extra Miler Award for recognition in meeting an aggressive ARTEMIS/MAESTRO Testing schedule for the Space Launch System Program despite their group being short-handed by two people. Great work, Lisa and Benjamin, thank you for stepping in to make sure that test campaign coverage isn’t lost! –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Kenny Frank 

Kenny has received kudos from one of our customers: “Dan Cross, one of our project managers who started this year said “From day one Mr. Frank has acted as a mentor. His professionalism and willingness to share knowledge is a benefit to everyone around him.  In addition to routine questions regarding Eglin specific processes Mr. Frank has set aside a block of his time each Friday to offer training, mentorship, and guidance to myself, Ms. Hansen, and Ms. Segretti. My current success and the positive working relationship I have with Qualis, and the 96th CS are due in large part to his efforts.”

Kenny Frank has continually provided support in support of the 96th Communications Squadron that goes beyond the call of duty as a project manager. He has been key to the hiring process for project managers and cable locators and has helped people in all the roles we have in the squadron to onboard. This has been of great direct benefit to the communications squadron by speeding up and improving the quality of our hiring and onboarding process, and indirect benefit to other customers by freeing me up to perform my other tasks. –  Submitted by Thomas Russ

April 21, 2021

Edward Ezell, Jordan Green, and Randy McGuire 

More kudos from our NASA and Blue Origin customers in the Component Development Area at MSFC! The Blue Origin hot fire test campaign has been in development since June 2020 and, after 65 tests ranging in time from a few minutes to over an hour, was completed this week. Edward assisted with the electrical build-up, calibration, checkouts, and data recording; Jordan helped with ordering equipment/material, scheduling, setup, and maintaining personnel safety; and Randy supported the machining and modifying of specialty equipment. The entire CDA team completed this work under COVID Stage 3 conditions which, according to their team lead, “was an almost super-human feat! There were many obstacles, but the team overcame them and we have happy NASA and Blue Origin test customers.” Congratulations to our all-star CDA crew: Edward, Jordan, and Randy! –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Kenneth Roebuck 

Ken’s work has been outstanding.  He is innovative and had the initiative to create tools to enhance communications throughout the division and keep the teams updated with the goings on in each military satellite communications programs, of which there are several.  His Branch Chief stated, “I’d like to give kudos to Kenneth for going above and beyond to support the space threat emulation programs in addition to his support on the Presidential National Voice Conference TCB (test concept brief) and the Advanced Communications Threat Test Suite (ACTTS) Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM).”  The ACTTS has applications across multiple satellite programs and will be used in conjunction with the Air to Ground Electronic Warfare System (AGEWS) platform for robust threat testing against satellite systems. Ken works lends his expertise to both these programs. –  Submitted by Jerry Gill

April 14, 2021

Earl Jackson 

Earl received kudos from one of our customers: “Mr. Jackson exhibited a high level of professionalism during his tenure with UHPO, I wanted to compliment him on a Job very well done. Mr. Jackson has created and edited thousands of graphics since being assigned to the position as a senior graphics illustrator, he has prioritized illustrations for programs to ensure programs with high priority are successful along with balancing a daily illustration work load. He has created processes for requesting updates and illustration creation to ensure the proper balance of time and has always met deadlines without fail. Mr. Jackson has met last minute challenges head-on. His expertise is sought out by his peers as a subject matter expert in his field. During the pandemic, he was instrumental in the successful publication of TM 1-1520-237-23&P, DMWR 1-2835-214, DMWR 1-2835-209, PCRs and MEOs for ARC -231, and more. He and his team have successfully completed over 1500 graphics during the pandemic without fail. His efforts have included redline changes, revisions, engineer changes, MWO efforts, DMWRS, and TM updates. His illustration accuracy has been crucial to soldiers in ensuring visual aids are available and compliment technical instruction, thus making the Soldiers job less cumbersome and allowing them to carry on with their missions. He takes the lead in distributing work load amongst other illustrators and has done exceptional work for UHPO team”. Earl performs his duties in an outstanding manner and is truly dedicated to ensure he provides only the best support to the Publications Division Chief, Utility Helicopter Project Office.  –  Submitted by Wes Wallin

Alejandro Moreno 

Alex received kudos from one of our customers: “Alex is an excellent fit for my team and his efforts have measurably increased the team’s daily throughput within our highly technical and challenging environment. His technical knowledge of Army Aviation Maintenance has been vital in reviewing all aircraft scheduled maintenance events and determine whether they are currently relevant in the sustainment of our family of aircraft. He is not only optimizing the current maintenance processes but more importantly he is a critical part of our team that is standardizing all UH60 technical manuals that will provide the maintainers in the field a more systematic approach to their daily maintenance mission. Additionally, his depth of knowledge has been an important factor in reviewing unscheduled maintenance events that will support early trend detection that will improve UH60 Fleet’s reliability, maintainability and availability for our Commanders in the field. Alex is a problem solver, great communicator and more importantly an indispensable part of my team”. Alex has been outstanding in his support of the Readiness & Fleet Management Division, UHPO. He has been relentless in his efforts to streamline the current UH60 scheduled inspection process which will reduce the daily maintenance burden on our maintainers in the field. He gives his best every day and is a valuable member of the R&FM Team. –  Submitted by Wes Wallin

Brian Smith 

Brian received kudos from the 353 CTS (Combat Training Squadron) leadership: “Brian Smith (Trigger) has singlehandedly taken Red Flag Alaska (RF-A) from an obscure air-centric exercise where US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) forces were an afterthought only achieving a few Joint Terminal Attack (JTAC) Desired Learning Objectives (DLOs) to the most requested exercise by Special Operations Forces (SOF) units SOCOM-wide for FY22. This is due to several things; RF-A being aligned w/ the current NDS (National Defense Strategy), and a supportive staff receptive to SOF integration, but most importantly, this is due to Trigger’s tireless commitment to educating himself, the RF-A staff, and participants on the benefits of, and requirement to integrate SOF to help solve Combat Air Force (CAF) tactical problems. He has helped RF-A become the only DoD exercise executing a peer/near-peer conflict that is actually looking to validate and refine SOF/CAF integration TTPs. Due to his credibility at SOCOM, Trigger was also able to mold the type of SOF units we get for each exercise, ensuring ground and air DLOs and capabilities are matched and maximized. Trigger is a great networker, spokesman, and tactician, and has benefitted every participant that trains at RF-A, flyers and ground forces alike”. Brian goes above and beyond, bringing a higher level of standards to the project. There isn’t words enough to express the appreciation for his hard work and dedication!  –  Submitted by Lee Heineken

James Bruce 

James received kudos from our NASA customer: “We have been working hard with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) to streamline the process for approving special test equipment that Boeing brings on-site. The Interim Directive has been signed, giving EGS the authority to operate to this streamlined process. I’d like to thank James Bruce for helping push this effort over the goal line.” Great work, James! –  Submitted by Beth Horner

April 6, 2021

Cindy Seale 

Cindy is part of the Space Launch System Avionics Integration Test Team group which received the NASA Group Achievement Award for outstanding accomplishment in the planning and conduct of the Space Launch System Phase I Integrated Avionics testing program in the System Integration Laboratory. Congratulations, Cindy!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Dana Chandler 

Dana has received multiple kudos from NASA and JSEG customers for excellence in both the conducting and reporting of operational modal analysis techniques in support of both RUAG and SLS testing efforts. Great work, Dana!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Phillip Kromis 

Phillip received a JSEG Safety Star for providing assistance at the 2020 JSEG Holiday Event at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens to a man in a wheelchair who was struggling to move his wheelchair up an incline. Phillip helped push the man until the path was level again. Thank you, Phillip, for lending a helping hand!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Daniel Teal 

Daniel received kudos from the NASA/MSFC OCIO for his accomplishments and progress made in support of the ET20 IT/OT Security Plan. Great work, Daniel!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

David Wilkie 

David has been part of the MSFC/ET group for many years and has supported many test campaigns. The successful second “Hot Fire” of the Space Launch System Core Stage RS-25 engines at Stennis Space Center on March 18th was a programmatic success, to which our customer said, “To get to this moment took a lot of hard work over the past several years from a lot of folks. I’d like to think they were able to lean on that stage a little bit harder today because of all of the testing this team conducted on the LOX and LH2 tanks including the impressive tests to failure. Everyone that has worked the various SLS-related test programs over the past 8 years should be extremely proud of the results today and look forward to seeing that bird on the pad at the Cape ready for launch later this year.” I wholeheartedly agree – congratulations David!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Mike Squillacote 

Mike received kudos from our NASA customer: “I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Squillacote deserves some kudos. I am needing to brush up on my Abaqus (FEM tool) for EV32 stress work and Mr. Squillacote has been a great help. Luckily everything has been minor with my issues but he still makes sure to go into detail about anything that could be related to the issue and the many things to check.” Thank you, Mike, for looking out for the NASA customers!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

March 23, 2021

Kevin Bowles 

Kevin has received kudos for one of our customers: “I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you for the significant contributions Kevin Bowles has made as a cyber analyst for our team recently. We had a complete turnover of our cyber team recently and Kevin has hit the ground running on the cyber way forward for our entire enterprise with very little direction. He’s figured out all the right touchpoints, is helping us establish a cyber strategy, and has spearheaded getting an AA planned that DOT&E has been asking about. The Buckley team really appreciates all his help.”  –  Submitted by Jerry Gill

Scott Marona and Ratana Meekham 

Scott and Ratana were part of the IXPE Space Telescope Flight Shells team which won the ESSCA December Outstanding Task Award. This is a monthly award that recognizes accomplishments on a task or sub-task which exceed requirements and/or customer expectations, had an impact on the space program, and that demonstrated clear initiative on the part of the employee(s). Congratulations Scott and Ratana!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Rachel Paden

Rachel received the JSEG October Edwin F. Connors Award for successfully using the ARAMIS high-speed camera system to collect data during testing of the Core Stage Auxiliary Power Unit (CAPU) and saving NASA an estimated $219,000. This award is a monthly award that recognizes outstanding specific contributions by an individual or team which improves the nature or quality of customer support and/or the efficiency with which such support is provided. Congratulations, Rachel!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Rachel Paden 

Rachel was part of the Commercial Crew Program SpaceX DM-2 Launch Team which won the JSEG Outstanding Task of the Year Award. This award is selected from the monthly Outstanding Task recipients in recognition of the most outstanding task that exceeds task requirements or customer expectations. These individual or team efforts clearly demonstrate initiative and have a direct impact on the space program. Rachel’s team provided key technical reviews of test data and critical design, development, and safety requirements verification. They expedited evaluation of DM-2 static fire test data 5 days prior to support senior management launch preparations. Congratulations, Rachel!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Johnny Bradford 

John Bradford served as database administrator from May-2020 to Feb-2021 for a complex software upgrade resulting in important improvements to the Test Process by increasing speed, security, and maintainability of 96 Test Wing’s Livelink Content Management System.  He contributed to the successful execution of a complex OpenText system upgrade to version 16.2 bringing mission enhancing capabilities for 1255 users in the 96TW, 412TW, and AETC customer base situated at over 100 locations worldwide. His technical expertise enabled success of server configuration, a key component of the successful upgrade. His knowledge was crucial to the configuration of multiple, complex Livelink servers. The Content Server software is housed on Proof of Concept, Staging, and Production servers which must be meticulously configured in exacting order by a team of experts in OpenText software, networking, database administration, servers, and operating systems. His database knowledge was vital in ensuring upgrade success as well as the integration of new companion tools. The Team Lead remarked, “John has been available and very responsive to all our needs.” During the actual upgrade execution, he went above and beyond to work the plan over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to minimize user disruption and mission impact, and to ensure on-time completion. Following the successful upgrade, he worked to ensure that all technical issues were resolved and that users could successfully complete their all-important mission. –  Submitted by Tom Russ

Vickie Ritchson 

Vickie Ritchson served as a 96 TW/XPI tester from May-2020 until Feb-2021 for a complex software upgrade resulting in important improvements to the Test Process by increasing speed, security, and maintainability of 96 Test Wing’s Livelink Content Management System.   She contributed to the successful execution of a complex OpenText system upgrade to version 16.2 to bring new, mission enhancing capabilities for 1255 users in the 96TW, 412TW, and AETC customer base situated at over 100 locations worldwide. Ms. Ritchson leveraged her business and project management knowledge to focus on customer needs, ensuring functionality of Test Wing automated business processes in the new environment.  During the preparation phase, she completed 154 distinct test steps supporting 62 distinct workflows. Her work was lauded as “outstanding” by the Team Lead.  In addition, she served a key contributor to all new User Guide. During the actual upgrade, she went above and beyond to work the plan over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend to minimize user disruption and mission impact, and to ensure on-time completion. Following the successful upgrade, she performed follow-up verification testing to ensure that all features worked as intended. –  Submitted by Tom Russ

Sybare Foster and Marcus Paprzycki 

Sybare Foster and Marcus Paprzycki both support the UH-60V publication efforts at the Program Executive Office – Aviation, Utility Helicopter Project Office (UHPO) Redstone Arsenal, AL. Sybare is the Senior Technical Specialist V (STS V) for Avionics and Marcus is the STS V for Airframe. They supported the UH-60V through crucial development, testing, and Low Rate Initial Production phases and are poised to support fielding. Both acquired their aviation institutional knowledge by serving in the military and that foundation makes them indispensable to our teams’ success. They work effortlessly with the Warfighter, stakeholders, and other government agencies. Their expertise and attention to detail exceeds customer expectations and their efforts have been essential to the successful development of the UH-60V Maintenance Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (ITEM) and flight manuals. –  Submitted by Carla Largess

March 16, 2021

Maria McIntire

Maria McIntire has been integral in the function and day-to-day operations of the Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF). She has developed valuable tools that allow the squadron to effectively manage licenses, inventories, hardware configurations, and process workflows. Up until now, there had been no robust databases & workflows capable of managing the large quantity and fluid nature of purchases, software, and ITE within the GWEF. The lack of proper tools often led to problems such as Report of Surveys (ROS), lapses in software support, lost equipment, and much more. Her attention to detail, with creative approaches to problems & processes, has made it possible to track all purchases in real-time; maintaining a cradle-to-grave documentation trail for all equipment & software; ensuring proper support is conducted for new, moving, transferred, and discarded ITE; ensuring continuity of software support and software installs; providing visibility of software and hardware configurations throughout the facility; providing & recording accountability/authorization workflows to force current DoD & Air Force regulations. In addition to this, Maria is always responsive when needed, her attitude is profoundly positive on every occasion, and her work ethic is beyond reproach and a testament to success.  –  Submitted by Matthew Ehrhardt

March 10, 2021

Jason Mann 

Jason Mann supports our Force Protection System contract at the Redstone Arsenal. Jason tests & evaluates a series of mobile towers and sensors that provide protection to our Forward Operating Bases. Jason has received kudos from one of our customers: “Jason Mann’s performance in driving the IGSSR-C Developmental Testing (DT) to completion has been exceptional. Jason has truly gone above and beyond in his level of support for the IGSSR-C program ensuring the IGSSR-C systems were powered up and functional each day to support the scheduled DT events. He was able to debug and get the system running despite repeated stability and inconsistency issues. He continually coordinated with Redstone Test Center to schedule testing while juggling two IGSSR-C systems for DT Environmental Testing and Functional Testing. During DT, Jason thoroughly documented all encountered issues and resolutions performed in his daily SITREP, which has allowed the IGSSR-C team to ultimately improve the system to support the Operational Assessment. Jason’s dedication to the IGSSR-C mission has been paramount to the success of the DT efforts.” Thank you for leading the charge in providing Exceptional support to the government customer Jason!  –  Submitted by Marc Peterson, VP of Strategic Programs

Randy McGuire 

Randy received the NASA Silver Achievement Medal “for exemplary dedication and skill in the manufacturing, design, and assembly of Additive Manufacturing Demonstrator Engine Turbopumps, Combustion Devices, Mixer, and Valves”. Congratulations, Randy! –  Submitted by Beth Horner

Jordan Green and Edward Ezell 

Jordan and Edward are part of the NEA Scout Propellant Loading Team that received a NASA Group Achievement Award “for dedication and exceptional technical expertise demonstrated in flight of the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout Reaction Control System Tank Propellant Loading”. Congratulations to Jordan and Edward! –  Submitted by Beth Horner

March 2, 2021

Charles Anglea, Andrea Simms, and Amber Harvey  

Charles Anglea, Andrea Simms, and Amber Harvey all received kudos from our customer. “I would like to recognize outstanding work by three TMAS employees. They all were instrumental to the rapid support and successful integration of critical hardware in TA203 during a compressed schedule. The hardware integration happened during the week of Feb 1 but their work started much earlier than that. Knowing the deadlines, they were able to get an ATO approved before the hardware arrived. Their knowledge of what, where, and how things need to be done allowed the core TA203 team to support the technical integration efforts with NO delays whatsoever in regards to cybersecurity. Their support enabled the completion of a major project milestone in less than half the expected timeframe. Their relentless drive and dedication to the mission resulted in exceptional results that were noticed by customers, vendors, and others external to this organization. I would like to recognize them for being exceptional employees and continuing to uphold the reputation of the GWEF and 782nd TS.”  –  Submitted by Matthew Ehrhardt

Dylan Krahulik 

Dylan has received kudos from ESSCA Team Lead Derek Simmer. “I wanted to pass along a huge kudos for Dylan Krahulik. We are preparing to transition the SITF-Q lab from the Core Stage 1 configuration to the Core Stage 2 configuration, and begin all the associated test campaigns for the EM2 launch. During our prep work, over the last couple months, Dylan has jumped in and written 15 hardware buildup TPSs for us. This was a huge help to the lab POC and myself, as we were able to work on other associated paperwork associated with the modifications. Along with helping out writing these TPSs, he has been very flexible recently with coming onsite to support the SIL Validation testing. This testing has a lot of configuration changes along the way; some of them happening in off-nominal work hours. Even with coming onboard during the COVID telework time, he quickly picked up on the IATF way of doing things, and has built a lot of trust with the team, and Quality Assurance. If I need something done, I know I can count on Dylan! Dylan is a great team member; willing to help out in any way he can.” I echo Derek’s kudos; great work, Dylan!  –  Submitted by Beth Horner

February 17, 2021

Diane Chu 

Diane continues to exceed expectations and is an essential team member. Numerous times the project lead has requested information or insight to situations and she has provided/shown great knowledge, experience, resilience, and critical thinking solutions. I’m grateful of the fact that she has the power to rise above any situation and deliver the best results no matter the circumstances. Her hard work and dedication goes above and beyond, multiple times she has taken it upon herself to assist or head up areas outside her job title. Her quality of work never diminishes despite all the contract changes, employee turn overs and other financial concerns. It’s an honor to work with an outstanding teammate like Diane, she has always influenced me to become a better person and team member.  – Submitted by Lee Heineken

February 10, 2021

Edward Ezell 

Edward received kudos from our NASA customer: “I wanted to inform everyone that we have completed the Lunar Flashlight proof and burst testing. I have confirmed with the customer that all testing is complete and they are very pleased with all test data. Edward Ezell did a standup job during build-up and testing. Great work as always!” This multi-month testing effort involved many tanks, blocks, and manifolds. Well done, Edward! – Submitted by Beth Horner

James Bruce 

James is part of the Artemis I Core Stage Ground Equipment Support Team. His team recently received a NASA Group Achievement Honor Award “For exceptional team performance in the requirements development, verification, testing, and operation of the Space Launch System Core Stage Ground Support Equipment.” Congratulations James, well done! – Submitted by Beth Horner