FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (NNS) – Two U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet (FCC/C10F) members were selected as recipients of the Copernicus award, which recognizes individual contributions to naval warfare in the disciplines of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I), Information Systems or Information Warfare.
The FCC/C10F winners are Lt. Daniel Rhame, who was assigned to Navy Information Operations Command Maryland, and Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 1st Class Garret Young, who is assigned to Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command.
Young was nominated because of his expertise in media and malware analysis, incident response, and network forensics. He led a team of analysts in the collection, analysis, and research of digital evidence to identify malicious indicators of compromise.
“I was really surprised when I heard I received the award because I had no idea I was being nominated, but it is always nice to be recognized for your hard work by a good chain of command,” said Young. “I think what really set me apart was my curiosity in my job, drive and willingness to learn. I have a chain of command that gives you the opportunity to take initiative and get better.”
Rhame was nominated for leading a multi-directorate project to create a new, unique and enduring genre of cyber-device access methods.
“I was excited to see that my team and the important work we did were getting such high-level recognition,” said Rhame. “The extensive resources that were made available to my team and the support we received from our chains of command enabled us to focus our efforts and achieve results that had not been seen before.”
The Copernicus award, established in 1997, is co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) International and the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI). It is named for the Copernicus Architecture that was used as the blueprint for the future C4I structure of the Navy, according to AFCEA.
Recipients are selected based on their sustained superior performance in a C4I/IT-related job. The selections are made each year by Navy judges who review applications from the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, including active duty and civilians.
An awards reception and presentation ceremony will be held Feb. 21 at the AFCEA/USNI WEST 2017 conference in San Diego, Calif.
U.S. Fleet Cyber Command serves as the Navy component command to U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Cyber Command, and the Navy’s Service Cryptologic Component commander under the National Security Agency/Central Security Service. Fleet Cyber Command also reports directly to the Chief of Naval Operations as an Echelon II command.
U.S. 10th Fleet is the operational arm of Fleet Cyber Command and executes its mission through a task force structure similar to other warfare commanders. In this role, C10F provides operational direction through its Maritime Operations Center located at Fort George Meade Md., executing command and control over assigned forces in support of Navy or joint missions in cyber/networks, information operations, electronic warfare, cryptologic/signals intelligence and space.
For more news from Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/FCC/C10F/.