Travis Air Force Base – Chief Petty Officer Darren Hallhuz , a missile technician assigned to Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Global Threat Reduction Directorate (GT), receives the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal on May 20, 2026 at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. The award was presented by Lt. Col. Ronald J. Barnhart, DTRA GT’s Travis commanding officer, on behalf of Portfolio Acquisition Executive Strategic Systems Programs Program Management Office (PMO) Flight Systems detachment (SPF(S)) in recognition of Hallhuz’s exceptional support to the U.S. Navy submarine force throughout SPF(S)’ Reverse Strategic Weapons Systems (SWS) Week.
PAE SSP’s Reverse SWS Week are educational training opportunities modeled after the regularly occurring SWS Weeks at submarine bases on the East and West Coasts. SWS Weeks bring ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) and guided missile submarine (SSGN) crews, Navy support commands, and industry partners together to share new updates to the weapons system, troubleshoot issues, and forecast upcoming needs for the submarine fleet. Reverse SWS Weeks go a step further by bringing crew members out to PAE SSP’s PMOs and detachments – dispersed throughout the nation – to give them an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the weapons system they maintain and operate while on strategic patrol.
Hallhuz played a key role in the coordination of Reverse SWS Week, leading knowledge transfer initiatives between DTRA’s Navy missile technician and Air Force missileer communities and Sailors from the SSBN and SSGN force. His commitment to technical excellence and exceptional leadership accelerated the development of junior Sailors, cultivating the next generation of SWS experts who possess a fuller understanding of joint services collaboration and capabilities.
Hallhuz has a history of direct support to PAE SSP efforts. He was previously assigned to Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) in Cape Canaveral, Fl., which supports PAE SSP as the field activity providing testing and evaluation capabilities and solutions for the US Navy’s strategic weapons systems. NOTU directly supports mission capability and readiness of the Navy's SSBNs as well as the strategic weapons systems programs – making NOTU a key component of the nation’s strategic deterrence mission.
PAE SSP is responsible for sustaining the strategic weapon system on the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines and supporting the integration of the D5LE weapon system on the new Columbia-class SSBNs. Looking to the future, PAE SSP is actively modernizing the sea-based leg of the nuclear triad through the development of the D5LE2 SWS and pioneering regional strike capabilities of the future through development of the nuclear-armed sea launched cruise missile and the non-nuclear hypersonic conventional prompt strike system.