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A Supply Corps officer aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) was selected June 3 as the winner of the Vice Admiral Robert F. Batchelder Award. Lt.j.g. Richard Brown became the second winner put forward from the Wasp Supply department in as many years, making Wasp the only ship to receive back-to-back awards in nearly a decade. Wasp’s Assistant Supply Officer Lt. Aaron Deanon was the 2019 winner of the prestigious award, which annually recognizes five junior Navy Supply Corps Officers who have made the most significant contributions to the supply readiness of the Navy’s operating forces.
“Lt j.g. Brown worked tirelessly to set a good example for his Sailors, the Wardroom, and Supply Officers around the globe,” said Wasp Supply Officer Cmdr. Ryan Anderson. “He has earned my professional trust and the respect of the entire crew. His role in empowering mission capability and the overall readiness of Wasp is beyond contestation.”
Nominated for his performance from April 2018 to November 2019, Brown’s broad spectrum of capabilities and responsibilities were demonstrative of a dedicated Supply Corps limited duty officer who focused his experience and forward thinking initiatives toward the most operational LHD-class ship in the fleet. Noted for his expertise in coordinating logistics as both Stock Control Officer and Material Control Officer during Wasp’s participation in Exercise Balikatan off the coast of the Philippines, Brown played a crucial role in the success of the exercise.
“The exercise area of operations provided a unique set of logistical problems because of extremely disparate logistics nodes flanked by fluid custom clearance times,” said Anderson. “[Balikatan] was a success due primarily to Lt. j.g. Brown being able to identify and aggressively adapt to unplanned tactical and operational realities.”
Brown rose to the occasion during Wasp’s participation in the multi-national Exercise Talisman Sabre 2019 in Australia, when he led his Aviation Supply division to consistently provide outstanding sustained logistical support. Directly supported by Brown’s team, the embarked aviation units flew nearly 1,500 flight hours throughout the exercise. That year, F-35Bs flown from Wasp were featured for the first time.
However it was Brown’s masterful planning and execution of the F-35B Afloat Spares Package offload which set him apart from his peers. With only two weeks to execute, he worked alongside Lockheed Martin personnel to prepare, inventory, package, and offload 4,655 line items. In totality, nearly 75 pallets and containers of materials were offloaded in San Diego during the ship’s homeport shift transit from Sasebo, Japan to Norfolk, Virginia.
“The level of accomplishment by Lt. j.g. Brown over the last year-and-a-half is a testament to an exemplary leader with a keen mind who motivates his Sailors to achieve on a far-reaching scale, in a series of diverse environments,” said Wasp Commanding Officer Capt. Greg Baker. “His understanding of the missions, willingness to take on the most difficult of assignments, and flawless execution put him in a category unto himself, and put Wasp in the enviable position of having such a fine officer on board.”
Wasp is currently underway various qualifications following a four-month Consolidated Maintenance Availability (CMAV).
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2020 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 372229 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Wasp Supply Corps Officer Wins Coveted Award Marking Back-to-Back Winners from Command, by SCPO Andrew McCord, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
