QUANTICO, Va. -- Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps (PAE MC) leadership recognized several individuals and teams during the 22nd annual Acquisition Excellence Awards at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., July 30.
Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; deputy commandant, Combat Development and Integration; and Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps, hosted the event and spoke about the reason for the day’s celebratory affair.
“The successes we are celebrating today are the direct result of tearing down silos,” said Austin. “We are erasing the seams between concept development, rapid acquisition, and the Fleet Marine Force. None of this happens in a vacuum. It requires seamless, daily teamwork between our requirements officers, our acquisition professionals, our Marines on the ground, and our vital industry partners.”
The awardees spanned Program Management, Innovation, Logistics, Engineering, and Acquisition Support.
“The recipients of today's Acquisition Excellence Awards represent the very best of this collaborative, team-first cultural mandate,” explained Austin. “It is because of professionals like you, navigating a complicated system and partnering with both our traditional industry base and new commercial providers, that we can rapidly push critical capabilities to the fleet.”
The following awards recognized individuals and teams who made significant contributions to the PAE MC mission:
2025 Andrew J. Higgins Award: Lt. Col. Jesse D. Hume - Organic Precision Fires Team Lead/Deputy Product Manager
2025 Eugene M. Stoner Award: Master Gunnery Sgt. Andrew T. Dorf - Project Officer of the Explosive Hazard Defeat Team
2025 Donald Roebling Award: Mr. Timothy Sheranko - Lead Engineer for Cyberspace Operations under Intelligence and Cyberspace Operations
2025 Lawrence P. Kreitzer Leadership Award: Mr. Steven Wynne - Marine Corps Logistics Command
2025 Colonel Richard “Dick” Bates Award: Dr. Karen A. McGrady (awarded posthumously) - Test and Evaluation
Excellence In Acquisition Support: Ms. Desarie Newman - Combat Support Systems
Excellence In Command Support: Ms. Lillian Diaz - Global Combat Support System, Logistics Integrated Information Solutions-Marine Corps
Excellence In Contract Management: Ms. Stasia Baker - Ground Based Air Defense
Excellence In Financial Management: Ms. Mary Rossi - Ground Weapons Systems
Excellence In Logistics and Product Support: Mr. Gary Lawson - G/ATOR and MRADR and Product Support Manager for Expeditionary Radars
Excellence In MAGTF Engineering: Mr. William Adams - Ground Weapons Systems
Excellence In MAGTF Information Technology Systems: Ms. Ticita Kavanagh - Combat Support Systems
Excellence In Operations Research and Systems Analysis: Capt. Adam Cox - Manpower Information Technology Systems Modernization
Excellence In Program Management: Mr. Jamie Claflin – Ground Weapons Systems
Innovation Award: Mr. Jerry Smolkin - Lead Engineer for the ACV Recovery Variant
Excellence In Command Support: Global Combat Support System-Marine Corps (GCSS-MC) Subject Matter Expert Team
Excellence in Contract Management: Program Manager Ground Based Air Defense (PM GBAD) Contracts Team
Excellence in Financial Management: Product Manager Fire Support Systems (PdM FSS) Financial Management Team
Excellence in Logistics and Product Support: The Power Team
Excellence in MAGTF Engineering: Organic Precision Fires Light (OPF-L) Engineering Team
Excellence in MAGTF Information Technology Systems: PM MAGTF C2 Cybersecurity/Common Hosting Environment Team
Excellence in Operations Research and Systems Analysis: PM TRASYS Cost Estimating and Analysis Team
Excellence in Program Management: Organic Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Innovation: Fixed Site Team Program Manager Ground Based Air Defense
Command Inspector General Superior Performance Award: Mr. Scott Elliott
Acquisition Professional of the Year for Program Manager ACAT II category and Below Award: Col. Andrew Konicki
Acquisition Professional of the Year for Business Financial Management: Ms. Jessica Cairns
Acquisition Professional of the Year for Business Cost Estimating: Mr. Michael Musatow
Field Activity Acquisition Award: Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic (Enterprise, Staging, and Delivery) Team
RON KISS Maritime Technology Transition Award: Digital Solutions Branch Team
Innovation Excellence Acquisition Team of the Year Award: Enterprise Logistics Support Systems Team
Project Manager of the Year Award: Mr. David Keeler
STEM Advocate of the Quarter, Quarter 4: MCTSSA STEM Team
Individual Engineer Award: Mr. John Pomfret
Contribution to Business Processes and Internal Controls Echelon II and Above Award: Ms. Kerry Delano
Outstanding Trainee Award Echelon II and Above Award: Mr. Brendan Dziekiewicz
Capability Developer of the Year: Mr. Matthew Koch