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Joseph W. Westphal, under secretary of the Army,
presented the awards.
"I have visited commands all
over the world, and wherever I run into our military and
civilians serving this great Army and this great nation, and
performing government service, I'm always inspired by their
dedication, their enthusiasm, their skill, and their
integrity in all of our public servants. So today we are
honoring some of our best," Westphal said.
A large
contingent from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showed up
to celebrate with two of their own; Gwendolyn Taylor, USACE
Equal Employment Opportunity officer from Vicksburg, Miss.,
and Lloyd C. Caldwell, USACE director of programs for the
North Atlantic Division in Brooklyn, N.Y.
After
leaving Public Affairs, Taylor began work in EEO where she's
been for 25 years. She received the Secretary of the Army
Award for Diversity and Leadership in Equal Employment
Opportunity (Professional).
"I love working with
people. You have to be a people person working in EEO. The
main thing is you have to treat people with dignity and
respect.
"In Vicksburg, we don't have special days
for certain ethnic groups. We have what we call everybody
days. We want everybody to be included," Taylor said.
Her "outstanding leadership of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Program has caused it to excel tremendously,"
according to her citation. It went on to say her "vision and
dedication have fostered a fair and level playing field
where all employees have the opportunity to achieve their
full potential based on merit principles."
Caldwell,
who has been with USACE for about 40 years and still going
strong, received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian
Service
"I was with our North Atlantic Division as
our programs director, and in the course of that job,
responsible for the Corps of Engineers execution in the
northeastern part of the U.S. and in Europe and a little bit
of things we do in Africa, and also spent the better part of
a year in Iraq, serving with our Gulf Region Division,"
Caldwell said.
One of the best things in working for
the Corps of Engineers, he said, is the wide diversity of
projects.
"Working in the northeastern U.S., where
the North Atlantic Division is responsible, we not only work
at Army installations, but also things that we're doing for
superfund EPA, for example, and we've gotten involved with
things that are real surprising," Caldwell said.
After World War II, he said, munitions that were disposed
off the coast in the ocean waters found their way onshore,
so USACE got involved in helping clear those things off of
beaches.
"But over the last few years, we have an
unprecedented workload with new construction under the Base
Realignment and Closure, so a lot of work in the National
Capital Region," Caldwell said.
USACE has also
assisted the Boy Scouts when they held their National
Jamboree at Fort AP Hill, Va.
"Also, the Civil Works
mission of the Corps provides support of our harbors,
navigation on our inland waterways, and coastal
restoration," Caldwell said.
His "superb leadership
and keen strategic vision were instrumental in the
development and execution of all military, civil works,
environmental, inter-agency and international programs
throughout the North Atlantic Division. His outstanding
technical expertise and supervision ensured the resounding
success of a joint staff of Army, Navy and Air Force
personnel responsible for engineering and construction
across the entire spectrum of national infrastructure
development and support to coalition forces throughout
Iraq," according to the award.
Other Secretary of the
Army Award winners included:
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Diversity and Leadership in Equal Employment Opportunity
(Leader): Col. Anthony D. Reyes, garrison commander, U.S.
Army Installation Management Command Headquarters, U.S. Army
Garrison Fort Monroe, Va.; and Ronald E. Chronister, deputy
to the commander, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command,
Redstone Arsenal, Ala.
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Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Award:
Kresten Cook, deputy commander for Maintenance Operations,
Corpus Christi Army Depot, Corpus Christi, Texas
-
Editor of the Year Award (Command): Miriam Benz,
writer-editor, Document Management Branch, Host Nation
Liaison Field Operating Activity, U.S. Army Installation
Management Command, Europe Region, Schwetzingen, Germany
-
Editor of the Year (Departmental): Kathleen A. Anshant,
writer-editor, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
Publications Improvements (Command Group): Tamara
Pasquale, web designer, Document Management Branch, Host
Nation Liaison Field Operating Activity, IMCOM, Schwetzingen,
Germany
-
Publications Improvements (Command Group):
Natascha J. Syre, Army in Europe publications control
officer, Document Management Branch, Host Nation Liaison
Field Operating Activity, IMCOM, Europe Region, Schwetzingen,
Germany; and Robert L. Mohler, information technology
specialist, Document Management Branch, Host Nation Liaison
Field Operating Activity, IMCOM, Europe Region, Schwetzingen,
Germany
-
Suggester of the Year (Civilian): Jordan T.
Dant, explosives handler, Industrial Operations Division,
Manufacturing and Engineering Directorate, Crane Army
Ammunition Activity, Crane, Ind.
-
Suggester of the
Year (Military Group): Chief Warrant Officer 4 Merle D.
Goodall, battalion standardization instructor pilot, IMCOM,
Fort Campbell, Ky.; and Chief Warrant Officer 4 James E.
Lemons, instructor pilot/maintenance test pilot evaluator, F
Company, 1-212 Aviation Regiment, 110th Aviation Brigade,
Fort Rucker, Ala.
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Decoration for Exceptional Civilian
Service: Larry A. Kappel, chief, facilities management,
Bassett Army Community Hospital, U.S. Army Medical
Department Activity Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska;
Michelle P. Shanks, data quality manager, Resource
Management Division, Reynolds Army Community Hospital, Fort
Sill, Okla.; and Michael D. Starry, deputy director and, for
varying periods of time, the acting director, Concept
Development and Learning Directorate, Army Capabilities
Integration Center, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command,
Fort Monroe, Va.
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