Seven U.S. Army Operational Test Command employees were part of a team that won an Army Acquisition Excellence award last week at the 37th annual awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Operational test officers Neil Jorgenson, George McNees and Maj. Ryan Sunderman, and Operations Research Systems Analysts Bruce Portz, Cathy Miller, Clifford Kummer and Rick Schiffner were part of the Stryker Double-V Hull Army Test and Evaluation Integrated Program Team that also included members from the Army Test and Evaluation Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Program Manager Stryker Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Research Laboratory and U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

“We are all very proud of our OTC team mates,” said Brig. Gen. Scott Spellmon, OTC commanding general. “Their efforts resulted in Soldiers in combat receiving increased protection many months earlier than traditional test programs would have allowed.”

The OTC team members were part of OTC’s Maneuver Test Directorate when they were selected to receive the “Equipping and Sustaining Our Soldier’s Systems Award” by the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center. The 13 winning individuals and teams were chosen from more than 120 nominations. Twelve senior leaders from across the Army acquisition community served as judges on three review boards, according to a USAASC news release.

“These awards are the most prestigious in our field,” said the Honorable Heidi Shyu, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. “They represent the professionalism, dedication and innovation across our acquisition community.

“Every day, our goal is to provide soldiers with critical capabilities,” Shyu said. “In recognizing the contributions of our acquisition community, we affirm the importance of their professionalism in service to our nation.”

OTC is the Army’s only independent operational tester with military, Department of the Army Civilians and contractors located at Fort Hood; Fort Bliss; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Sill, Okla.; and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.