2026 Commander's Awards honors innovative teams, individuals advancing naval aviation readiness

Photo By Peter Fitzpatrick | VADM John E. Dougherty IV, Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation and Commander, NAVAIR addressed the crowd during the 2026 NAVAIR Commander’s Awards held at Patuxent River, Md.  

PATUXENT RIVER, UNITED STATES

09.10.2026

Courtesy Story

Naval Air Systems Command

Vice Adm. John Dougherty, commander of Naval Air Systems Command and Portfolio Acquisition Executive Aviation (PAE(A)), recognized individuals and teams across nine categories during the 26th annual Commander's Awards ceremony September 1.

The awards recognize contributions aligned with the enterprise's four priorities: people, capability, readiness and running the business. Judges selected finalists from 87 nominations that demonstrated collaboration and innovation in delivering affordable capability to the fleet. The ceremony also recognized the winner of the Association of Naval Aviation's Edward H. Heinemann Award.

“Today's ceremony recognizes the best of the best,” said Dougherty. “Naval aviation is projecting power and deterring aggression across the globe because of you.”

Steve Cricchi, NAVAIR executive director, said the awards celebrate the contributions of the entire workforce.

“We're here celebrating the output of some of our best teams and people,” he said. “They're reflective of the whole organization and the contributions we're making to capability delivery, readiness, workforce [and the] industrial base.”

2026 Commander's Awards Winners

• Affordability Category: AN/SSQ-53 Sonobuoys Competition Team
• Availability Category: EA-18G Growler Team
• Business Innovation Category: Adversary and Specialized Aircraft Program Office (PMA-226) Contract Air Services Team
• Get Real, Get BetterCategory: Fleet Readiness CenterMid-Atlantic
• Most Collaborative Integrated Product Team Lead Category: Mary L. Comerford
• Most Impactful Supervisor Category: Eric B. Anderson
• Speed Of Capability Delivery Category:Advanced Arresting Gear Uninterruptible Power Supply/Energy Dump Repair Team
• Technical Innovation Category: EA-18G Growler Block II Beowulf Team
• Workforce Development Category: Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209) Avionics Architecture Team
• Edward H. Heinemann Award: F/A-18 Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance SystemIntegration Team

• Date Taken: 09.10.2026
• Date Posted: 09.10.2026 10:06
• Story ID: 574266
• Location: PATUXENT RIVER, US