Courtesy Photo | Strategic Systems Programs Financial Manager Tina McConnell earned a lifetime...... read more read more
Six awards were presented to Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) at the 2025 Department of Navy (DoN) Financial Management (FM) Awards Ceremony at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on June 18, 2025.
The DoN FM awards recognize outstanding individuals and teams who have made significant impacts in fiscal stewardship, strategic partnering improvement, innovation, and more within the FM community.
“Congratulations to you all,” Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe Jr., the Director for SSP said. “It is great to see very deserving individuals and teams recognized for their truly tremendous achievements. This is a remarkable workforce and each of you have gone above and beyond to ensure our command is meeting Navy financial management requirements. Thank you for your unwavering support to our essential mission.”
SSP’s Program Manager Susan Filz and Financial Manager Tina McConnell each earned a lifetime achievement award for their unparalleled support in audit readiness across multiple Navy commands, each dedicating more than 40 years to federal service.
Filz was recognized for her leadership and expertise in implementing the Electronic Funds Transfer System and the Automated Financial Document System at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Her effort introduced NAVSEA to an entirely paper-free process and resulted in significant cost-savings by eliminating accounting functions. She joined SSP in 2011 as the deputy program manager and supported the command’s implementation of the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. In 2020, Filz was handpicked by senior Navy leaders to spearhead the ERP transition at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, as well as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Financial Management and Comptroller, Secretariat Comptroller Division.
“Susan’s leadership in Navy transitions to ERP has resulted in on-time and successful implementations impacting four major Navy commands,” her award nomination package read. “She has been instrumental in DoN business transformation throughout her lengthy career, supporting standardizing processes and enabling significant reduction in the number of legacy systems, as well as enabling efforts toward audit readiness.”
McConnell’s award recognized her federal service career, which began in 1986 when she enlisted in the U.S. Army as a military police officer. She transitioned to civilian service in 1998 as an office automation clerk and fiscal technician, and quickly adopted a standard and commitment to FM excellence. Since joining SSP’s Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2009, she has become a leading force behind NOTU’s financial success. McConnell’s expertise in managing annual budgets and overseeing the transition to ERP supported NOTU in meeting Navy financial requirements. As NOTU’s ERP lead, she is responsible for training ERP users, overseeing data cleansing, and more.
“McConnell exemplifies the attributes represented by this award and is a worthy recipient due to her steadfast dedication, outstanding leadership, and significant contributions to FM excellence,” her award nomination package read. “Beyond her expertise, she has been a trusted advisor, thoughtful mentor, and guardian of the public’s trust. Her commitment to the principles of accountability, compliance, and continuous improvement will leave a lasting legacy in the DoN financial community.”
Suzanne Hudson, the deputy business financial manager for SSP’s CPS Program, earned the Optimizing Stewardship in the Budget Process Award for her contribution in improving transparency within the CPS budget.
CPS, which was established in 2018 and is overseen by SSP, is responsible for pioneering advanced strike capabilities for the U.S. Navy. As the program evolved, difficulties emerged in communicating program accomplishments. That’s when Hudson assumed ownership in realigning the program’s budget process to concisely reflect CPS’ line of efforts. On her way to achieving this, she audited all fiscal year 2025 task planning documents to understand the program’s alignment to six Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) budget categories: All Up Round/Advanced Payload Module Development, Platform Fielding, Test and Evaluation, Product Support, Program Office Support, and Science and Technology/Advanced Capabilities.
Through her efforts, each business planning item was tagged with the new and appropriate RDT&E budget category, making it easier to track each item to the CPS budget. Hudson’s initiative improved CPS’ ability to respond to requests for program information. Today, her accomplishments continue to support ongoing and future projects.
SSP’s individual awards were complemented by three team awards: the Operating Materials and Supplies – Trident (OM&S-T) Team won the Contribution to Business Processes and Internal Controls Award; the Nuclear Weapons Surety (NWS) Acquisition and FM Team won the Optimizing Stewardship in the Budget Process Team Award; and the SSP Business and Finance – SP 315 Team won the Leveraging Data Analytics Team Award.
The OM&S-T Team supports DoN financial statement audit priorities as defined by the Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Secretary of the Navy. Their award recognized the team’s execution of seven Corrective Action Plans (CAP)and delivery of more than 850 documents to the Navy’s Independent Public Accountant (IPA) auditor in support of the downgrade of the Navy’s Inventory and Related Property (IRP) Material Weakness (MW). CAPs provide actionable solutions to Navy commands on how to improve their processes identified from IPA findings and recommendations. For the IRP MW, the team significantly improved the command’s asset reporting process to more accurately reflect the material owned by SSP and demonstrated compliance with financial reporting standards.
“As a result of these efforts, SSP was recognized by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller as a role model for all other commands,” read the award nomination package. “The team worked diligently partnering with their FMO counterparts and setting the standard for collaboration across the government and industry teams. Their sense of urgency and drive for closure are noteworthy and deserving of this accolade.”
SSP’s NWS FM team was recognized for executing a significant cost-saving initiative, which featured the acquisition of six used Mark VI patrol boats. These specialized boats provide capability to persistently patrol littoral areas beyond sheltered harbors and bays for the purpose of force protection in support of assets and critical infrastructure. The team negotiated with Naval Expeditionary Combat Command via Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) to extend the storage of the patrol boats in two separate locations, avoiding unnecessary wear and tear on the hulls from transportation to a new storage location prior to delivery for operational use. The team’s efforts are projected to save the U.S. Navy $4.5 million annually.
“The team has achieved a significant milestone by successfully re-establishing underutilized funding channels from SSP to the NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Commands,” read the award nomination package. “This accomplishment opened up new avenues for funding and resource allocation, enabling the team to work more efficiently and effectively. The team's dedication to excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement is exemplified by their embodiment of the U.S. Navy's ‘Get Real, Get Better’ mantra.”
Lastly, the SSP Business and Finance – SP 135 Team earned their award for success in reducing unliquidated obligations (ULO) and driving transformative change within SSP. According to their nomination package, the team's innovative approach to ULO management, which included leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline processes, resulted in the significant reduction of manhours.
“The implementation of RPA played a crucial role in the team's success, enabling the automation of manual tasks, reducing errors, and increasing efficiency in the ULO management process,” read the award nomination package. “The automation of manual tasks has saved SSP over 6,000 manhours every year, allowing the team to focus on higher-value tasks, such as conducting thorough reconciliations and allocating resources more efficiently.”
In a joint-effort to resolve Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures ULOs, SSP and NAVSUP collaborated on a monthly basis to address the most critical financial cases, focusing on ULOs with the oldest or highest dollar values.
“In support of DoN’s goal of achieving a positive audit opinion, SP135 actively worked to mitigate the impact of ULOs for the Navy,” Aisha Bannerman, the SSP Business and Finance – SP 135 Team Lead said. “We employed a collaborative approach, maintaining consistent communication with vendors and stakeholders to gain timely updates on dormant ULOs and to meet our mission requirements.”
As the Navy command that provides cradle-to-grave lifecycle support for the sea-based leg of the nation’s nuclear triad, SSP is responsible for sustaining the strategic weapon system (SWS) on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and supporting the integration of the D5LE weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. With an eye on the future, SSP is actively modernizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad through development of the D5LE2 SWS and creating regional strike capabilities through the development of the nuclear-armed sea launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) and CPS program.
While SSP boasts a specialized workforce of technical experts, Vice Adm. Wolfe said he is committed to maintaining the same level of expertise across all departments at the command. The 2025 DoN FM Awards Ceremony is the latest example of how the organization is meeting that requirement.
Nuclear Weapons Surety Acquisition and Financial Management Team:
Team leader Brittney Hagrett, Adela "Lili" Sposito, Walter Martinez, Maurice Graham, Jessica Mercado, Muhammad "Ejaz" Qayyum, Shannon Johnson.
SSP Business and Finance Team – SP 135:
Team leader Aisha Bannerman; Chaz Bolden; Angela Triplett; Steven Swantek; Mahek Gandhi; Shawn Rode; Andrew Peare, Venus Fischer, Theresa Ortiz; Nicole Hunter; Javier Cruz; Yabibet Wagener
SSP OM&S-T Team:
Team leader James Henderson; Elizabeth Applin; Tia Wilson, Fidel Torres; Amber Maikui; Katrina Strand
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2025 07:49 |
| Story ID: | 501104 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
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