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