FORT MEADE, Md.- The U.S. Army Signal Activity-Meade (USASA-Meade) supply section, headed by Sgt. José F. Hernández Cartagena, demonstrates logistics dedication by winning the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 and 2026 Supply Excellence Award at both the brigade and division level, and will now compete at the final level, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM).
U.S. Army Sgt. Hernández Cartagena, assigned to USASA-Meade, 302D Signal Battalion, secured victories for his unit at both the 21st Theater Signal Brigade and 7th Signal Command (Theater) levels and will now complete at the NETCOM level.
The Chief of Staff of the Army's Supply Excellence Award (SEA) Program was established following the Total Army Worldwide Supply Conference in 1984. Modeled after the Phillip A. Connelly Award (for food service) and the Army Maintenance Excellence Award, the SEA recognizes outstanding supply operations at all organizational levels.
The program’s objectives include enhancing Army-wide logistical readiness, enforcing the Command Supply Discipline Program (CSDP), encouraging resource optimization, and providing a structured avenue to recognize both individual and group initiatives. The competition fosters personal and collective challenges, standardizes systems across the Army, and increases public awareness of the importance of supply excellence.
“Supply is a vital bone of any military unit; it is the fundamental constraint on operational reach, combat effectiveness, and mission endurance.” Hernández Cartagena said and continued to stress the importance of the logistics of a unit, “Without a robust and responsive supply chain, even the most technologically advanced and well-trained unit is rendered static and vulnerable.”
Hernández Cartagena has served as a 92Y, Unit Supply Specialist, for over five years. 92Ys are known as the backbone of the unit. Besides his daily tasks, he also had to build a packet for submission for each category of the SEA program. This packet includes nominations, endorsements, organizational Structure, CSDPs, enterprise resources planning, inventories, and innovations. Each specific section of the packet also required various enclosures, such as memorandums, Unit Authorization Documents (MTOE/TDA), Cyclic Reports and more depending on the section.
“Being selected as the 7th Signal Command (Theater) winner for the Supply Excellence Award (SEA) CY26/27 is a monumental achievement. It signifies that USASA-Meade has surpassed the highest standards of property accountability, command supply discipline, and operational readiness within one of the Army's most critical signal commands.” Said Hernández Cartagena.
He also made sure to thank the unit for consistently responding to every request he issued, “First and foremost, this is a collective achievement, and without the assistance of my chain of command, it would not have been possible.”
According to U.S Army Master Sgt. Edwin Munozlamos, 21st Theater Signal Brigade’s Senior Supply noncommissioned officer, Sgt. Hernández Cartagena continuously demonstrated his dedication to the Command Supply Discipline Program (CSDP) day in and day out.
“Compiling a competitive Supply Excellence Award packet is a year-long endeavor that demands sustained logistical excellence. It requires more than just achieving superior scores on prior Command Supply Discipline Program inspections; it necessitates institutionalizing rigorous, daily systems to ensure operational success. Ultimately, the packet is a direct reflection of the unit's enduring commitment to supply discipline, property accountability, and overall readiness,” Munozlamos said.
The final levels of the competition consist of two phases of review. Phase one performs the initial reviews of packets and units must achieve a score of over 80% to move on. Only the top three highest scoring units, per component and per level, are selected for phase two. Phase two requires a score of 90% or higher and the unit with the highest score is declared the winner. The “Best of the Best Award” is reserved for the highest overall score across all three components.
Munozlamos encourages every unit to compete in the awards program. Stressing that true success begins before the packet is even built. Focusing on, and mastering, daily operations and attention to detail will separate a good unit from a winning one.
“I challenge every unit to step up and enter the competition. You’ll never know the true potential of your logistical operations, or the strength of your packet, if you don’t take that first step and submit. Excellence is earned through initiative,” Munozlamos said.
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.24.2026 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 566063 |
| Location: | FORT MEADE, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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