Thursday, November 30, 2017

DoD Honors Chief Information Officer Award Recipients



By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2017 — More than 20 Defense Department chief information officer individuals and teams were honored today for cyber and information technology excellence in a Pentagon ceremony.

“I'm excited about the awards here this year. ... We have a lot of great people who did wonderful things with their talent to further the mission of the Department of Defense,” said John A. Zangardi, DoD’s acting chief information officer.

Calling the awards justly earned, Zangardi noted that senior DoD leadership is focused on increasing the department’s lethality, capability and effectiveness, and IT is an area it is focusing the reform management group on to deliver more capability at lower costs.

“So your efforts [are] aligned to the bigger picture … and that's important,” he said.

IT is an area that could deliver capability to the warfighter, Zangardi said.

Future Challenges

“There are lots of challenges ahead of us in the years to come in IT,” he added. “We need to stay on top of it because the marketplace … is changing very quickly.”

Zangardi said technology is constantly evolving and DoD must be on its toes.

“More importantly, we need to make sure that we don’t lose sight of putting bureaucracy in the way of delivering information technology for our warfighters. We should go in with [the attitude of] ‘Yes, we could do that, let’s figure out how to do it,’” he said.

This year’s CIO Award recipients include:

Individual Category

-- Army Maj. Uchenna Njoku, command, control, communications and computers planner, Joint Staff C4 and Cyber;

-- Navy Cmdr. David Perry, communications directorate head, U.S. Special Operations Command;

-- Aspasia Wooldridge, chief logistics officer, chief information officer support division, Air Force; and

-- Navy Ist Lt. Joseph Winchell, development operations lead, 90th Cyber Protection Team, Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Networks, Cyber Defense Activity 64, U.S. Cyber Command.

Team Category

-- Health Information Technology Team, Defense Health Agency;

-- U.S. Air Force Strategic Command, cyberspace support squadron, U.S. Strategic Command;

-- My Navy Portal Government Cloud Team, Navy;

-- Defense Enterprise Computing Center Pacific Closure Team, Defense Information Systems Agency;

-- Mission Partner Environment Implementation for the Warfighter/Multinational Information Sharing Team, Defense Information Systems Agency;

-- Military Sealift Command Knowledge Management Team, Navy;

-- Army Cybersecurity Scorecard Team, Headquarters Department of the Army Chief Information Officer, U.S. Army Cyber Command, U.S. Army Network Command;

-- Multi-National Information Sharing Team, U.S. Pacific Command; and

-- Enterprise Learning Services Organization Team, Air Force.

Honorable Mention -- Individual Category

-- Army Capt. Christopher Apsey, deputy director, Cyber Technical College, U.S. Army Cyber School, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

-- Raymond Cavanaugh, data center optimization lead, C4, Network Plans and Policy Division, Headquarters, Marine Corps

-- Capt. Jeremy Thompson, deputy director, current operations, 24th Air Force, U.S. Cyber Command

-- Air Force Lt. Col. David Ware, chief information officer, Air Force Test and Evaluation, U.S. Air Force

Honorable Mention -- Team Category

-- Enterprise Level Agreements Team, Secretary of the Air Force/chief information officer A6, U.S. Air Force;

-- Department of Defense Public Web Team, Defense Media Activity;

-- Naval Special Warfare Group Ten N6, U.S. Navy, U.S. Special Operations Command;

-- Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network/Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, Cybersecurity Architecture Review Team, National Security Agency; and

-- Sprint to The Cloud Team, U.S. Transportation Command.

Face of Defense: Sailor-Artist Creates Legacy Aboard USS Kidd



By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob M. Milham, Carrier Strike Group 11

AT SEA ABOARD USS KIDD, Nov. 30, 2017 — The passageways aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Kidd have very few variations to the color scheme. The walls, known as bulkheads, are covered with layers of off-white or gray paint, typical of any Navy vessel. Yet there are some exceptions.

Scattered throughout the ship are colorful paintings on doors and hatches depicting a myriad of scenes including a skull with a crossed sledgehammer and axe, and a master-at-arms insignia with weathered depth and detail. Far from a printed picture slapped on a door, these are real works of art, and they're all thanks to the work of Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Juan Morales, a fire controlman who hails from Orange County, California.

Morales said he has a storied history in regard to his skills -- artistic talent runs in his family. He and his younger siblings began sketching and drawing from a young age.

"Each [sibling] has their own level of drawing and their own style, but they are all good," he said. "The skill probably came from my mom's side, and it was passed down to us."

Morales said he developed his own style and skill before joining the Navy, and that the majority of his artwork is on display for the whole Navy to see.

"Before I joined the Navy, I would draw for people, but I never did any major projects," he said. "It wasn't until I got to boot camp that I did big projects. I painted offices and ladderwells for the [recruit division commanders] and some work during my "A" school as well. I see people come back from the schoolhouse with photos, and I know that I painted where they stood."

Morales previously was stationed at both Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois and the Dam Neck Annex in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He has completed more than 300 artistic projects for various Navy commands and ships since he enlisted in March 2012.

Current Projects

His current projects range from departmental door paintings to personal drawings and tattoo designs for crew members. "I find myself constantly wanting to draw," he said. "I have drawings all over my notebooks and binders. Drawing is a huge stress release and helps me focus more in the long run. Any chance I get, I draw."

His most iconic drawing on Kidd is the Jolly Roger on the rear of the 5-inch gun on the ship's forecastle. The piece took more than eight hours to complete, and Morales used a liberty day during a port visit to ensure it was finished.

"People came back to the ship and told me that I lost out on all that liberty and I didn't even realize it," he said.

Helping Schools

Morales' work extends beyond the bulkheads of ships. He has volunteered to paint elementary schools in the San Diego and Everett, Washington, areas. "It was nice to go and complete the projects at schools because my children were attending the schools as well," he said. "The kids took a genuine interest in the work and helped out as well."

Back home, Morales continued his volunteer work by teaching art classes at schools. Morales taught basic artistic principles to students and incorporated different cultures' artistic styles.

"Based on a nationality, I would tailor the art that was taught," he explained. "For example, we would teach abstract art with an Asian twist. That was the end project, but I would teach how to texture and how to blend colors."

Morales taught the classes for nearly two years, totaling more than 600 hours helping students develop their own artistic abilities. With no formal art training, Morales said, he feels his artistic works are more spontaneous than planned.

"I don't consider myself an artist," he added. "I simply enjoy replicating what I see or what I want to see. It's a challenge for me, and I figure out what I'm doing as I go."
With or without formal training, Morales said, he wants to continue to grow his artistic skills, including exploring the digital realm. But for now, he added, he's happy to create works of art that bring a smile or a proud head nod to the sailors assigned to the various divisions aboard Kidd -- a splash of color and a source of pride on a U.S. Navy ship at sea.

Native American, Alaska Natives in Singapore Celebrate Heritage



By Marc Ayalin, Navy Region Center Singapore

SINGAPORE, Nov. 30, 2017 — Service members stationed in Singapore celebrated National American Indian Heritage Month at the Singapore area coordinator’s Cafe Lah Community Center here Nov. 16.

More than a dozen service members attended the hour-long event that highlighted the achievements and contributions of Native Americans and Native Alaskans to the United States and to the American military experience.

For Navy Chief Petty Officer Kadia Griffin, who chairs the Diversity and Heritage Committee Chairperson for the Singapore area coordinator, the event was also a way to celebrate diversity as a whole.

“It’s important for everyone to see the contributions that other people have done for the country,” Griffin said. “Diversity brings a lot to the table and enables us to gain different perspectives in doing things, and it’s really good to embrace the different nationalities and cultures that our military community has.”

Throughout the presentation, sailors and soldiers gave short presentations on American Indian and Alaska Native contributions, including announcing Public Law 101-343 in November 1990, in which the 101st Congress designated November as National American Indian Heritage Month.

Military Contributions

The service members then discussed military contributions from some Native Americans who earned the Medal of Honor. One of the veterans highlighted was Mitchell Red Cloud Jr., a Winnebago Indian from Wisconsin, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Korean War. The Navajo Code Talkers also were highlighted as playing an intrinsic part of the Allied victory in World War II.
In addition to these military contributions, attendees learned about the various Native American tribes that are spread across North America. A list of Native American inventions also was presented. Among other things, attendees learned that early Andean Amerindian peoples had freeze-dried potatoes and other food items to be transported over long distances. Other inventions highlighted included pest control techniques, oral contraceptives, lacrosse and certain anesthetics.