Combat Survivability unit hands out awards.

• Position: NDIA News - Brief Article

The National Defense Industrial Association's (NDIA) Combat Survivability Awards for Leadership and Technical Achievement were presented to James M. Sinnett and Alan R. Wiechman, respectively, at the recent Aircraft Survivability 2001 Symposium, at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in Monterey, Calif. These awards, presented annually by NDIA's Combat Survivability Division, recognize individuals or teams demonstrating superior performance across the entire spectrum of survivability, including susceptibility reduction, vulnerability reduction, and related modeling and simulation.

The NDIA Leadership Award for Combat Survivability is presented to a person who has made major contributions to enhancing combat survivability. The individual selected must have demonstrated outstanding leadership in enhancing the overall discipline of combat survivability, or played a significant role in a major aspect of survivability design, program management, research and development, modeling and simulation, test and evaluation, education, or the development of standards. The emphasis of this award is on demonstrated superior leadership of a continuing nature.

James M. Sinnett, retired vice president of Phantom Works Strategic Development, now part of the Boeing Company in St. Louis, was the 2001 Leadership Award recipient. Sinnett was cited for his contributions to the enhancement of aircraft survivability through leading the development of next-generation survivability technologies within the Boeing Company and throughout the military aircraft industry as a whole.

At Phantom Works, Sinnett directed large research and development projects for which there was, at the outset, little assurance of a positive return. These included far-reaching classified technology demonstrations, the successful completion of which elevated the Boeing team to a position of leadership in the industry. Under Sinnett's leadership, Boeing Phantom Works attained a position of prominence in low-observables (LO) technology. According to the award citation, the talented core group he nurtured continues to ensure that the United States maintains its significant lead in aircraft combat survivability technologies and is acknowledged as an invaluable defense resource.

The NDIA Technical Achievement Award for Combat Survivability is presented to a person or team who has made a significant technical contribution to any aspect of survivability. It can be presented for a specific act or...