VIRGINA BEACH, Va. - Electronics Technician 1st Class Dustin J. Bruner, assigned to Coastal Riverine Squadron (CORIVRON) 4, was one of 31 recipients of the 2012 Copernicus Award announced by the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association (AFCEA) Dec. 28.
The award recognizes individual contributions in the field of naval warfare information systems and information warfare in the form of doctrinal, financial, organizational or other dimensions of information systems. AFCEA and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) present the Copernicus Award to civilians and service members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard who demonstrate exceptional initiative, leadership and insight within the selectee’s area of expertise.
“I feel honored to be recognized for the award,” said Bruner. “All services and federal employees send hundreds of nominations every year, and to be one of the few selectees really brings a sense of accomplishment.”
During the merger of Riverine Squadron 1 and Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 4 into CORIVRON 4, Bruner combined two communications departments and supervised a department that supported more than 500 personnel. Applying his technical acumen, Bruner directly contributed to the first successful deployment of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) Enterprise Tactical Command and Control system (NETC2) in a real-world mission. The system provided Internet Protocol services to the NECC Adaptive force commander (AFP) Operations Center, which utilized the services to coordinate support of 2,060 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, four naval vessels, 20 aircraft, two Landing Craft Units (LCUs) and 237 pieces of Civil Engineering Support Equipment (CESE) . This coordination led to water removal, lighting, debris removal, diving operations and construction services during Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
Bruner also devoted more than 300 man hours to overseeing system operability, performance testing, and maintenance and operations procedures as well as several other C4ISR tasks.
“I’m very proud that Petty Officer Bruner won the Copernicus award,” said CORIVRON 4 Command Master Chief Daryl Green. “Bruner performed above standards and was a critical Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) asset during the merger by developing communication capabilities on what we call ‘green gear’. I look forward to seeing more remarkable work from him and hope to see him advance to Chief Petty Officer.”
Brunner will be presented his award from the AFCEA and USNI during a ceremony May 14 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, Va.
The Copernicus Award was established in 1997 for sailors in C4ISR capability, information systems and information warfare related jobs. Those nominated for the award are reviewed by a board of judges based upon superior performance, exceptional initiative, leadership and insight within the nominee’s area of expertise.
“My advice to anyone who wants to win the award would be to simply be passionate about what you do,” said Bruner. “It is not just about how well you can do your job, but how you can better your command, your community and the Navy as a whole.”
CORIVRON 4 is part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, an enduring force providing capability across the full range of military operations in the maritime strategy to include forward presence, maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, sea control and power projection and deterrence.