Disabled Employees’ Achievements Recognized at Pentagon Ceremony

By David Vergun, Defense.gov

WASHINGTON -- Twenty-five personnel received Department of Defense Disability Achievement and Recognition Awards at a Pentagon ceremony, Oct. 4.

Kevin Kelly, deputy director, Office of Force Resiliency, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, provided opening remarks, commending DOD’s advancement of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Strength Through Diversity

“As leaders, it is our job to attract, recruit, and retain a strong and disciplined workforce in order to ensure the readiness and lethality of our military,” Kelly said. “Strength can only be found within diversity -- diversity of thought, skills, experience and perspective. A workforce of solely like-minded individuals breeds nothing but status quo and complacency. It is in our diverse perspectives and experiences that we advance. It is in our ability to bring together shared goals, but unique perspectives, that we remain at the forefront of innovation.”

Each October, DOD celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Kelly said.

This commemorative month has its origins in 1945. During the World War II era, as service members with disabilities from the war began to return home, the American public became increasingly interested in the workplace participation of people with disabilities, Kelly said. That launched a weeklong celebration during the first week in October 1945, and later was extended to the entire month.

This year’s theme, “America’s Workforce: Empowering All,” highlights the importance of the full participation of all individuals in the total workforce, he said. Fundamental to mission readiness is the promotion of an environment free from personal, social, or institutional barriers that prevent personnel from rising to the highest possible level of responsibility commensurate with their abilities.

DOD Component Awardees

Department of the Air Force

Defense Logistics Agency

Defense Technical Information Center

National Security Agency

Individual Awardees

Department of the Army:

Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan W. Hosley

Staff Sgt. Jason T. Pacheco

Tracy Tao-Moore

Nathan "Dale" Whittaker

Department of the Navy:

Donna Spaddy

Jerry Boster

Department of the Air Force:

Master Sgt. Benjamin G. Seekell

Christopher Ferrell

Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Agencies, and DOD Field Activities:

Susan "Jen" Haggerty, Office of the DOD Chief Information Officer

Sally Davis, Defense Logistics Agency

Elveda Pitts, Defense Contract Management Agency

Darryl Bartlett, Missile Defense Agency

Gregory Sampson, Office of the DOD Inspector General

Margaret Posa, Office of the Deputy Inspector General

Edna Johnson, Washington Headquarters Services

Gail Potts, Pentagon Force Protection Agency

Katherine Rose, Defense Contract Audit Agency

Doriann Sison, Department of Defense Education Activity

Sandra Brown, Defense Commissary Agency

Joy Atkinson, Army and Air Force Exchange Services

Patrick Jue, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Richard Neth, National Security Agency

Robert Dela Rosa, Defense Security Service

Jan Bickhart, Defense Intelligence Agency

Karren Brunell, Defense Finance and Accounting Service