The
North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command Missile
Warning and Defender of the Year Ceremony winners
were honored May 2 at the Mining Exchange Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance is a
non-profit, non-partisan organization, with the mission of advocating for the
development and deployment of missile defense systems to defend the United
States and its allies against missile threats. The MDAA recognizes and honors U.S. and Canadian military and Department of
Defense civilians for their achievements and commitment to excellence in
defense of the North American continent and formally recognizes
exceptional-performing service members in the missions of missile warning and
defense.
The Award Winners are:
Military Missile
Defender of the Year
Lt.
Cmdr. Tim Ladowicz, NORTHCOM Chief, Current Operations Branch, Missile Defense
Division
“I
feel honored even to have been considered for this award. What this award does
represent, to me, is the amount of work that our whole office puts in every day
to keeping the nation protected from ballistic missile threats. Without the
professionalism and expertise of those I work with, none of this would be
possible,” said Ladowicz during the ceremony.
During
this period, Ladowicz’ s assumed duties as the chief, current operations
division and quickly took the operations to a new level. His outstanding leadership, skill and ceaseless
efforts contributed immensely to the homeland ballistic missile defense mission
for USNORTHCOM. His advanced
understanding of the BMD system made him the ideal choice to lead the
development and testing of the next generation of BMD software providing
enhanced warfighter capability. A multi-talented
communicator, Ladowicz is the first choice to brief visiting congressional
leaders, foreign high-level civilian and military leaders, as well as
high-level U.S. military leaders. Ladowicz’s superior performance has left an
indelible impression on USNORTHCOM’s BMD mission and shaped the future of
capability to come.
Civilian
Defender of the Year
Mr.
Jeff Dillemuth, NORTHCOM Chief, Ballistic Missile Defense Integration and
Synchronization Branch
"It
is an honor to be recognized by the USNORTHCOM leadership for the job you are
doing," added Dillemuth during his speech.
During
this period, Dillemuth’ s outstanding leadership, skill, and ceaseless efforts
were critical to USNORTHCOM’s homeland ballistic missile defense mission. His outstanding communication skills made him
the top choice to author critical presidential correspondence and brief
USNORTHCOM’s mission capabilities to leaders in the Office of the Secretary of
Defense. During period of crisis, he ensured USNORTHCOM was postured to defend
the homeland by providing clear and concise readiness decision points for the commander. He skillfully coordinated efforts with the Joint
Staff and across combatant commands to synchronize critical mission assets and
spearheaded the effort to revamp readiness postures to address evolving threats.
Dillemuth’s sustained superior performance reflects great credit upon him and
is in keeping with the highest standards of USNORTHCOM.
Missile Warning
Professional of the Year
Lt.
Col. Rickey McCann, NORAD Chief,
Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment Branch
McCann
distinguished himself during the past 12 months as a leading expert in the
missile warning community and by his outstanding management of the integrated tactical
warning and attack assessment command and control network.
McCann
has been key to warning system upgrades and improved missile threat
characterization. His foresight and
leadership was recognized as crucial to the successful implementation of the missile
warning end-to-end review findings and recommendations. He continually improved general officer
assessor training ensuring that the commander and his designees were fully
equipped to assess global missile launches.
McCann has had an extremely positive effect on the integrated tactical
warning and attack assessment command and control network – the front-end of
missile defense – or the Department of Defense’s ability to detect, track and
characterize global missile events.
Missile Defense
Career Achievement Award
Col.
Fred Clarke, NORTHCOM Chief, Ballistic Missile Defense Division
As
the chief of the ballistic missile defense division, Clarke contributed to the
success of the directorate of operations which provides strategic guidance to
plan and execute USNORTHCOM’s missions, including land, maritime and homeland
defense air operations, as well as ballistic missile defense, information
operations, nuclear command and control and defense support of civil
authorities.
“This
is quite an honor and I'm humbled for being chosen to receive this prestigious
award,” said Clarke. “I accepted the
award on behalf of all the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guard, Marines,
civilians and contractors who I owe a debt of gratitude for ensuring mission
success throughout my career. I'm also
grateful to my wife and daughter for their unwavering support of service to the
nation. I would also like to mention that we could not do the homeland defense
mission as well without our Canadian partners.”