Rodney Thomas (right), chief of the Tobyhanna Army Depot Field Logistics Support Directorate’s West Division accepts the Samuel Sharpe Award from Dr. Richard Wittstruck, Deputy Program Executive Officer-Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, during a ceremony conducted at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
A crowded conference room on Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD was the site where a retired warrant officer and current Department of the Army Civilian(DAC) was recognized for his 28 years of service, many of which spent in conditions very different than office environments on APG.
Rodney Thomas who has deployed 13 times for forward operations was awarded the Ordnance Order of Samuel Sharpe award on July 17, by Dr. Richard Wittstruck, Deputy Program Executive Officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S). The award is the culmination of his long career that most recently included a tour in Afghanistan serving as the Tobyhanna Army Depot Theater Supervisor and Deputy Product Manager CREW (forward). The majority of responsibilities within that role included support to numerous Army systems including a large portion of the PEO IEW&S portfolio.
The Sharpe award recognizes those individuals who have served the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps with demonstrated integrity, moral character and professional competence over a sustained period of time.
The history behind the Sharpe award comes from its namesake, who according to the US Army Ordnance Corps Association, “was appointed to many positions in government during the very early years of this country.” As the first settlers were arriving at the New World, many things would change about the government and life in general. The government of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies was resided over by a Governor, Deputy Governor, and a Council consisting of thirteen freemen. Mr. Sharpe served as one of these thirteen. In 1628 he was also charged with the care of the “five pieces of Ordnance: that belonged to the colony.”
Close to 400 years later, Thomas continues the long tradition set by Sharpe to the Ordnance Corps and greater Army as he served as a longtime maintenance professional (part of the Ordnance Corps). Utilizing a combination of experience and expertise afforded Thomas the opportunity to lead a team focused on sustaining many of the Army&s critical life saving systems currently operating in Afghanistan.
According to Edwin Henry, (formerly) Director PEO IEW&S Forward (Afghanistan), “Thomas managed the day to day execution and oversight of Department of the Army assets in excess of $1 billion, employing more than 150 DACs tasked with sustaining more than 50,000 force protection electronic devices and systems meant to provide protection from enemy improvised explosive devices for Warfighters located on nearly one hundred forward operating bases (FOBs) throughout Afghanistan.”