Ms. Cherie Joyce, Executive Secretary, Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology (OAST) Directorate, is presented the Commanding Officer’s Excellence in Secretarial Support Award for outstanding performance and professionalism in dealing with numerous challenges and the execution of extraordinary duties in support of the Directorate and the NRL mission.
“Ms. Joyce has displayed outstanding proficiency and acumen in the performance of her duties as Executive Secretary to the Associate Director of Research and to the Directorate’s Military Deputy, Special Assistant, and the division employees both at the headquarters and those remotely located in Mississippi and California,” said Dr. Edward Franchi, Associate Director of Research (ADOR), OAST Directorate. “She has dealt very effectively with a number of extraordinary challenges while performing her normal duties to ensure that the Directorate is most responsive to the needs of the Code 7000 divisions and the Director of Research and Commanding Officer staffs.”
These duties include supporting the ADOR in his role of Undersea Warfare Focus Area Coordinator, such as preparing Focus Area Overview and Focus Area New Start introduction presentations, scheduling all meetings to discuss white paper proposals and New Start dry runs, and assisting the ADOR in preparing the Focus Area New Start feedback report. All these tasks required liaisons across 12 NRL divisions that participate in the Undersea Warfare Focus Area.
Joyce also supports the ADOR in his unique role as U.S. representative to the NATO Maritime Science and Technology Committee, for which she assisted in preparing documents and presentations to the committee that promulgate U.S. positions on maritime science and technology. Her efforts in these additional support roles make important contributions toward the accomplishment of NRL’s mission as the corporate laboratory of the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
Additionally, Joyce helped process over 100 conference travel requests for the OAST Directorate per year, she accomplished an extraordinary amount of extra work while the Special Assistant position was vacant, and she helped indoctrinate the new Military Deputy, who had no outgoing Military Deputy to assist him.