ALCOAST 422/18 - DEC 2018 WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT - 2018 CG ENGINEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

R 210734 DEC 18
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-4//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS//N01650//
ALCOAST 422/18
COMDTNOTE 1650
SUBJ:  WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT - 2018 CG ENGINEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
1. I am pleased to announce the winner of the 2018 Coast Guard Engineer of the Year Award
is Mr. James Landreth, a Professional Engineer currently serving at the Coast Guard Surface
Force Logistics Center. Mr. Landreth was selected from a remarkable pool of nominees based
on his educational, professional, and personal achievements.
   A. As the principal Mechanical Engineer for the National Security Cutter (NSC) Propulsion
Systems, Mr. Landreth became the Technical Warrant Holder for the NSC main propulsion System,
guiding engineering partnerships with industry to resolve main diesel engine performance and
reliability issues, including highly visible Root Cause Failure Analyses. These expertly
crafted acquisition-sensitive reports identified the causes of failure and articulated clear
plans to prevent recurrence, avoiding over $2M in annual repair costs. Mr. Landreth also
served as senior technical representative to major equipment vendors and negotiated numerous
changes to design issues related to metallurgy, heat transfer, and fluid flow. His efforts
as principal investigator resulted in $3M in financial considerations. Mr. Landreth is a
graduate of the US Naval Academy and the University of South Carolina with an Masters Degree
in Nuclear Engineering. He holds a Professional Engineering license in South Carolina and is
a recent graduate of the JPME Phase 1 at the US Naval War College.
   B. An awards ceremony will be held in Washington, DC on 22 February 2019 to recognize the
accomplishments of Mr. Landreth. Additionally, as the Coast Guard Engineer of the Year,
Mr. Landreth has been nominated for the National Society of Professional Engineers Federal
Engineer of the Year Award.
2. The following nominees are honorably recognized for their remarkable accomplishments
within their respective engineering community:
   A. LT Trevor Clark, Civil Engineering Unit Oakland - LT Clark is recognized for his work
as the Aids To Navigation Program Manager. LT Clark coordinated CG helicopters to rebuild
remote ATON structures, the first of which was Mission Bay Jetty, saving the Coast Guard
$1M in construction costs. He has also initiated the CG's first small Unmanned Aerial System
structural inspection program. LT Clark is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology with
a Masters Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, and a
Master of Business Administration. LT Clark is also a registered Professional Engineer in
California and has recently published an article on Drone Technology.
   B. LCDR Jonathan White, Command, Control, and Communications Engineering Center - LCDR White
served as the project lead for SeaWatch, the primary shipboard command, control, and navigation
system installed on 80 cutters. LCDR White led the development of SeaWatch v3.1 domain
separation and virtualization. Overcoming significant delays to hardware delivery by
reprioritizing requirements, he delivered a complete system within 30 days of the original
schedule after eight months of development work. LCDR White holds a Masters Degree in
Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.
   C. LT Daniel Burke, Marine Safety Center - LT Burke serves as Team Leader of Marine Safety
Center’s (MSC) elite Salvage Engineering Response Team. He deployed to Corpus Christi in the
devastating aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, where he directly supervised the salvage of a 500'
drillship that had grounded, flooded, and blocked access to the port. Under his expert guidance,
13 other vessels were safely salvaged, allowing critical waterways to be reopened to maritime
commerce. LT Burke is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Virginia and a
graduate of the University of Michigan with a Masters Degree in Naval Architecture & Marine
Engineering.
3. Well done to the following distinguished engineers who were deservedly nominated for the
2019 Coast Guard Engineer of the Year Award:
   A. LCDR Samuel Babbitt, COMDT (CG-41)
   B. LCDR John Adams, Coast Guard Yard
   C. LT Lemuel Beauchamp, Air Station Miami
   D. LCDR Tracey Torba, Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center
   E. LT Keely Higbie, Base Cape Cod
   F. MK1 Lous Turcio, USCGC Pendant
   G. Mr. Paul Soucy, C3CEN
   H. Mr. David Robinson, CEU Miami
   I. Mr. Seraj Dhaliwal, C3CEN
4. I applaud all the nominees for their accomplishments along with their Commanding Officers
and supervisors for taking the time to submit well-supported nominations. Our successful CG
mission execution requires talented engineers that possess in-depth technical knowledge,
strong leadership skills, practical experience, and professional credentials to provide
mission support while effectively and efficiently sustaining our cutters, boats, aircraft,
systems, and shore infrastructure. I encourage all leaders to recognize their highest
performing engineering professionals by nominating them next year for the Coast Guard Engineer
of the Year Award.
5. Questions regarding the Engineer of the Year Award may be directed to LT Parker Bratman,
COMDT (CG-4A) at (202) 475-5553 or via email, Andrew.P.Bratman@uscg.mil.
6. RDML M. W. Bouboulis, Chief Engineer and Assistant Commandant for Engineering and
Logistics, sends.
7. Internet release is authorized.