John H. Dalton, Secretary of
the Navy, presented the prestigious Navy Unit Commendation jointly
to the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and its parent organization,
the Office of Naval Research (ONR), during a recent ceremony
at the Washington Navy Yard. The Navy Unit Commendation Award
was established by the Secretary of the Navy in December 1944
and is awarded by the Secretary, with the approval of the President,
generally for outstanding heroism in action against the enemy
or, under certain circumstances, for extremely meritorious service
outside of combat in support of military operations.
RADM Mark Y.E. Pelaez, former
Chief of Naval Research (CNR), accepted the award from Secretary
Dalton on behalf of ONR and NRL. In a separate ceremony held
at NRL on August 29, current CNR, RADM Paul G. Gaffney, II, formally
presented the award to NRL. Navy Unit Commendation recipients
may display the award by wearing either a ribbon (military) or
a pin (civilians).
A highly unusual distinction
for an acquisition activity, NRL and ONR military and civilian
personnel were cited for "unparalleled research and development
that significantly contributed to the technological capabilities
of current and future Naval forces" during the period January
1992 through July 1996. Honoring ONR and NRL's approximately
450 service members and 4,500 civilians at headquarter and field
site activities, the citation noted that "they have developed
programs that have shaped every aspect of our Naval forces today,
and are defining the Navy and Marine Corps of the future"
and "consistently ensured that the Department of the Navy
is at the forefront of scientific knowledge, technology development
and application."
Among the noteworthy accomplishments
mentioned in the award nomination, was the development of the
Clementine I spacecraft, which provided significant advances
in lightweight satellite technology and represents a new class
of small and capable spacecraft that will enable long duration,
deep-space missions at low cost. Clementine was developed in
just 22 months, less than half the time usually required to build
a spacecraft, and for a cost of $75 million, which is about one-fifth
the usual cost. Along with its primary military mission to qualify
lightweight technology, Clementine returned a collection of 1.8
million lunar images, the first high-resolution images of the
moon since the Apollo lunar landing in 1972. The nomination credited
Clementine's phenomenal success with profoundly changing the
national space program and becoming the new paradigm for NASA
satellite programs.
NRL scientific efforts funded
by ONR, and of direct value to the Fleet, include the pioneering
development of a storable, universal donor, blood surrogate to
meet combat casualty care needs. Formally known as Liposome Encapsulated
Hemoglobin (LEH), artificial blood can be stored up to 10 times
longer than regular blood and used in emergency situations where
no blood bank is available. Preclinical studies conducted in
1993 demonstrated the safety of LEH and in the fall of 1994,
an external review conducted by the FDA, NIH, major blood centers,
academia and industry encouraged further development for human
use.
ONR-sponsored and NRL-developed
technology in the area of tactical electronic warfare (TEW) to
improve Navy surveillance capability was demonstrated for threat
platform identification in operational environments. EW technology
that uniquely characterizes the signature of each emitter encountered
is currently supporting operations onboard surface ships and
aircraft, and provides an all-weather, long-range capability
for tracking shipments of U.S. National interest. Another EW
program tests all shipboard equipment and systems that are designed
to detect, track, communicate, process, evaluate, and control
the engagement of enemy forces, either actively or passively.
Benefits to the Fleet include the assessment of shipboard equipment
performance under replicated battle conditions.
Advances in shipboard firefighting
methods led by NRL's Navy Technology Center for Safety and Survivability
and conducted on the ex-USS Shadwell in Mobile, Alabama, have
effected change in over 40% of the Navy's firefighting reference
manual. New techniques like the "Offensive Fog" attack
permits entry into a burning compartment that is approaching
flashover, cooling the fire with short bursts of 60 degree wide
fog. Such maneuvers can save hours of firefighting and prevent
the ship's crew from fighting "hurt."
As the global environment has
become increasingly important, NRL has focused
on gaining a better understanding of environmental needs, improving
cleanup techniques, and predicting and preventing further pollution.
Some of these environmental developments include:
an airborne platform using radars,
lasers, millimeter images and hyperspectral images to monitor
the surface and the top fifty meters of the ocean and improve
our ability to detect and track natural and man-made phenomena;
the antibody-based, fiber-optic
biosensor, originally developed to detect drugs of abuse and
explosives at the parts-per-billion level, has been adapted for
use as an ultrasensitive analysis system for the continuous,
on-line detection of environmental pollutants;
circulation models to simulate
the dispersion of radioactive waste within the region of the
Kara and Barents Seas, where the former Soviet Union disposed
over 6,000 containers of solid radioactive waste and 17 nuclear
reactors. Resultant scientific information will broaden our knowledge
of Arctic Ocean circulation and kinetics and provide pollution
risk assessment;
a chemically resistant, nontoxic,
epoxy lining to prevent lead-leaching and extend the life of
potable water systems;
a surface modification and
high-resolution
metal patterning process that eliminates the use of environmentally
harmful chromium chemicals used in large quantities by the commercial
plastic metallization industry;
new antifouling, silicone-base
antiadhesive underwater hull coatings that displace toxic materials
found in antifouling paints that are harmful to marine organisms.
Coatings are self-cleaning, which will result in cost savings
and reduce occupational hazards associated with removal or replacement
of ship bottom paints;
an array of magnetometers that
can detect, characterize, map and analyze magnetic anomaly images
to determine depth, size and location of buried ordnance;
Halon-alternative fire extinguishing
methods, such as fine water mists, and simulants like sulfur
hexafluoride;
a shuttle-based microwave radiometer
system that scans the Earth's limb to study the global distribution
of trace elements in the middle atmosphere; and
measurement of trace atmospheric
constiuents in the middle and upper atmospheres to monitor space
weather and help predict changing environmental conditions.
Many highly significant initiatives
have reached beyond NRL and ONR's defense-oriented missions.
Exceptional contributions have been facilitated by cooperative
research efforts and licensing agreements. Since 1988 when the
CNR signed the first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
(CRADA), over 400 CRADAs with federal and state government agencies,
companies and universities in the fields of ecology, environment,
transportation, health and education have been signed. NRL developed
and completed over 75 of those CRADAs within the award period.
A sampling of NRL's CRADA technology includes:
a detector that finds explosives
or narcotics in luggage, small cargo containers or on a person;
an optical-imaging apparatus
that can detect and identify submerged objects at longer range
than previously possible;
a licensed, portable hand-held
sensor that can identify drugs of abuse;
sensor arrays that are especially
useful for "smart" structures to monitor the condition
of aircraft in flight and structures such as bridge or buildings;
and
a fluoropolymer lining for use
in petroleum fuel tanks that can prevent corrosion in steel tanks,
help keep the fuel clean and seal minor leaks.
Major outside recognitions during
the award period also contributed to the strength of the NRL/ONR
nomination:
the Robert J. Collier Award
- as a joint recipient of the country's most distinguished aviation
award, from the National Aeronautics Association in 1993, NRL
was honored for its seminal role in the development of the Global
Positioning System;
the Bower Award and Prize for
Achievement in Science - Dr. Isabella Karle received this award
from the Franklin Institute for pioneering work in developing
electron and X-ray diffraction techniques that former Secretary
of Defense, the Honorable Les Aspin, termed as having "enormous
implications for the advancement of chemistry, biology and
medicine;"
the Ettore Majorana - Erice
- Science for Peace Prize - Dr. Jerome Karle was named corecipient
of this Italian prize for his discoveries relative to the structure
of materials and for promoting international scientific collaboration
above any ideological-political-racial barriers; and
the Naval District Washington's
Personal Excellence Partnership of Year Award - for the four
consecutive years, 1991-1994, NRL has received this award in
the collaborative category for the accomplishments of the Community
Outreach Program. This program provides tutors, mentors, tours,
speakers, Toastmaster Youth Leadership training and a surplus
equipment transfer program to benefit students in four District
of Columbia and three Aberdeen, Maryland, schools.
The award nomination also cited
specific accomplishments of NRL's Flight Support Detachment,
noting their direct support of ONR and the Naval Oceanographic
Office. (See NRL Press Release 101-96R.)
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory is the Navy's full-spectrum corporate laboratory, conducting a broadly based multidisciplinary program of scientific research and advanced technological development. The Laboratory, with a total complement of nearly 2,500 personnel, is located in southwest Washington, D.C., with other major sites at the Stennis Space Center, Miss., and Monterey, Calif. NRL has served the Navy and the nation for over 85 years and continues to meet the complex technological challenges of today's world. For more information, visit the NRL homepage or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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