DOD Names Best in Information Management, Technology

By Cheryl Pellerin of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON : Defense Department officials announced team and individual recipients of this year's DOD Chief Information Officer awards at a Pentagon ceremony yesterday. The award is the highest honor granted for achievement in information management and information technology, and 2010 is the 10th anniversary of the awards. David Wennergren, assistant deputy chief management officer in the office of the deputy secretary of defense, presents the first-place award in the team category to William McAvay, who represented the Project Director Team for Defense Communications Systems-Southwest Asia. The award ceremony was held Oct. 27, 2010, at the Pentagon. U.S. Army photo by Eboni Myart  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. CIOs are used to being in the spotlight when things go wrong, David Wennergren, assistant deputy chief management officer for the office of the deputy secretary of defense, told the audience. "But every day, good things are happening and you don't get so much attention," he added. "We don't often get time to pause and reflect upon what great accomplishments we're achieving every day." Until this month, Wennergren served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for information management, integration and technology, and deputy chief information officer in the office of the secretary of defense. Team awards were presented to: -- The Project Director Team, Defense Communications Systems-Southwest Asia, Fort Belvoir, Va.; -- The Collaboration Support and Information Division Ronna Team at U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Va.; -- The Joint Staff CIO Team; -- The DOD Visitor Team, Defense Information Systems Agency, Baltimore; and -- The Apps for the Army Challenge Team, U.S. Army. Individual first-place awards were made to Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Gateau of U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, and Jack Summers, command information officer for Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. The second-place individual award went to James Lee, the Army's team chief for Radio Frequency-In Transit Visibility. The eight finalists were chosen from among 70 nominations of civilian government and military service CIOs and teams that came in from around the world. Officials evaluated nominees based on outstanding achievement in one or more areas, including acquisition, management and standards, identity and information assurance and cyber operations, and information sharing and data management. The awards are given to recognize outstanding achievement in DOD information management based on the intent of Title 40 of the U.S. Code, known as the Clinger-Cohen Act, and the strategy, goals and vision of the DOD CIO. On Oct. 26, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced his appointment of Teri Takai as DOD's new chief information officer. Takai has served as CIO for the state of California since 2007 and was a past president of the National Association of State CIOs. She will assume her new duties Nov. 7. (Issued on:Oct. 28, 2010)

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