Photo By Michelle Gigante | U.S. Navy Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Daniel O’Neal stands in front of U.S....... read more read more
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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. – The Navy League of St. Louis Area Council recently recognized a U.S. Navy Sailor at U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) for his leadership, innovation, mentoring and volunteer efforts as the Lead Petty Officer of the Command’s Operations Intelligence Branch (OIB) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. Navy Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Daniel O’Neal, USTRANSCOM OIB noncommissioned officer in charge, was selected for the Enlisted category, Navy League of St. Louis Area Council’s 2020 Award of Excellence. Due to COVID-19, the award will be presented at USTRANSCOM in lieu of the usual annual award dinner.
“I’m very appreciative to the St. Louis Area Council for choosing me,” said O’Neal, who joined the Navy in 2015 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama, in 2014 and graduating from East Memorial Christian Academy in Prattville, Alabama, before that.
The contributions of O’Neal’s visionary guidance and support forged a vital relationship between the Intelligence and Operations directorates, senior leadership, and the command’s pandemic task force. This meant despite the coronavirus, USTRANSCOM continued its mission as the Department of Defense’s main hub for movement of people and equipment, successfully delivering 9.9 million tons of goods and completing 6,000 air missions. Part of those missions included the first global non-combatant evacuation operation organized by a specially created repatriation coordination unit that carried out the stateside return of more than 3,900 U.S. civilians stranded abroad due to tightened COVID-19 travel limitations imposed by numerous countries.
Executing those missions during a challenging time meant coming up with a telework plan in the early days of the pandemic. U.S. Navy Capt. Jamie Fraser-Loria, director of Intelligence at USTRANSCOM, said O’Neal was instrumental in developing and implementing telework procedures for the U.S. Navy Intelligence Operations team, as well as safety measures for those continuing to work at USTRANSCOM.
“Petty Officer O’Neal’s outstanding track record positioned him as a clear front-runner for the Navy League of St. Louis Council Award for Excellence,” said Fraser-Loria.
Regarding his work supporting the intelligence branch, O’Neal said, “Often times, our team’s work is time-sensitive; our ability to quickly provide value-added insight for our customers is an integral part of their success. My team and I exist to make sure they have what they need when they need it.”
Aside from his primary role with the OIB, O’Neal is also a mentor advocating for Sailors in the command by re-constituting the Navy Enlisted Information Warfare Specialist (EIWS) qualification program.
“Usually, that’s kind of a milestone for junior Sailors as they come up in their Navy careers,” explained O’Neal. “I’d like to see it implemented to make sure our junior shipmates are getting taken care of.”
Taking care of others, like restarting the EIWS qualification, being a forward-thinker, and serving as vice president of USTRANSCOM’s First Class Petty Officer Association (FCPOA), are additional reasons O’Neal earned the Navy League recognition. What’s more, he has collateral duty as a co-program manager for USTRANSCOM’s Teammate Spotlight, a program offering heads of the directorates the chance to nominate deserving service members for their outstanding work so they can be recognized in a ceremony by the USTRANSCOM deputy commander. O’Neal also authored Teammate Spotlight’s first standard operating procedures as a guide in the nomination process.
Outside of work hours, O’Neal continues to lead by example and represent the Navy and USTRANSCOM as an upstanding citizen. He volunteers with the FCPOA’s Adopt-A-Mile roadside cleanup just outside the base and orchestrated a month-long canned food drive at USTRANSCOM for community members affected by the pandemic.
Rounding off a list of highly impressive accomplishments the past year, O’Neal graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, with a Master of Science in International Relations with a GPA of 3.9.
The intelligence specialist emphasized the Navy League of St. Louis Area Council mission to ensure sea service members around the globe feel supported while they serve is a reality.
“I believe ensuring and supporting my team's analytic success and operational flexibility during the pandemic is my most significant contribution and why I was selected for the award. The pandemic presented some significant obstacles to our normal battle rhythm,” said O’Neal. “Despite those challenges, my team rose to the occasion.”
USTRANSCOM exists as a warfighting combatant command to project and sustain military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, TRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the Joint Force, advances American interests around the globe, and provides our nation's leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2021 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 387717 |
| Location: | IL, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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