News Briefs & Events Blog 

January 2012

• Jennifer Fisher of Wyle's CAS Group has received a commendation for her role as the Joint Research and Development Contract lead for Global Defender 04d exercise. Fisher, an eight-year Wyle employee, is the program manager for warfighter exercises in support of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and, in this role, she ensures the smooth coordination of war games throughout the world. According to Col. Jimmie Mitchell, the MDA’s director for Ground Test/Exercises/War Games, this was the most complex exercise ever conducted by the Missile Defense Agency. Fisher coordinated the disparate efforts of more than 500 exercise participants in an effort that lasted almost one year. She anticipated upcoming risks and developed effective mitigation strategies. In addition, Fisher anticipated the needs of the government exercise director and had solutions prepared and options clearly outlined.
  
  
• CAS Cares, Inc., a non-profit organization operated by CAS volunteers, recently celebrated 20 years of giving back to the communities that have helped make it successful by doing what it does best, providing much needed funding to several non-profit agencies including Big Brothers Big Sister of North Alabama. Since its inception in 1991, more than $2.5 million has been donated to a variety of organizations that serve a diverse set of needs. Primarily focused on serving non-profit agencies that provide health and human services, CAS Cares funds programs that make a difference every day.
  
  The American Red Cross, the Community Free Clinic, HEALS Clinic and the National Association for Mentally Ill are just a few of the organizations that have benefited over the past 20 years from CAS Cares grants. CAS Cares grant funds are obtained solely from employee donations. Almost 75 percent of Wyle CAS employees participate in the program. Because the money is completely employee-generated, employees are also very involved in the grant process.  The Wyle CAS Group employee volunteer committee, A Touch of CAS, interviews applicants and works with the CAS Cares Board of Directors, a group of nine elected members, to determine award amounts and grantees for the year. Employees from all business units within the Wyle CAS group are represented.
  
  In 2011, the board approved more than $200,000 in grant awards to almost 40 agencies located in the communities where the Wyle CAS Group has offices.  The size of the grants varied based on the committee’s recommendations, but typically ranged in size from $1,000 to $15,000. CAS Cares is proud of the difference they have made over the last 20 years and looks forward to many more years of giving.
  


• Wyle will be exhibiting at the 92nd annual American Meteorological Society meeting at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. Jan. 23 to 26. In booth No. 107, Wyle will demonstrate the IC4D (Interactive Calibration in 4 Dimensions), a tool for aviation weather forecasters. Wyle representatives to include ShiKeng “Sky” Yang, Holly Uhlenhake, Ashley Jones, Vernon McDonald, Chez Marshall, Dave Miller, Larry Klein and Ty Bachus .The theme of the 2012 AMS Annual Meeting is “Technology in Research and Operations—How We Got Here and Where We’re Going.” Stop by and talk to our NOAA and NASA scientists. More show details are available at: http://annual.ametsoc.org/2012/.
  
  
• Jack McFadden, a senior project engineer for Wyle CAS’ Test and Engineering East unit, was recently featured in ITEM Magazine as an industry expert in electro-magnetic compatibility (EMC) testing. The publication, which hit the streets in October, posed several questions about the new EMC standards and other related issues to McFadden. This magazine reaches 64,000 subscribers and more than 192,000 readers worldwide and is 100 percent dedicated to the EMC market. Its print and online publications have been practical design and engineering resources for electronics engineers since 1971. The article can be accessed at the following link: http://www.interferencetechnology.com/articles/digital-publications/single-news-item/article/2011-test-design-guide.html.
  
  
• Wyle will be exhibiting at the 2012 Military Health System Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, Md. from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2. In booth #924, Wyle will have representatives from the newly formed Science, Technology and Engineering Group including LiMing Shen, Vernon McDonald, Robyn Peoples and Ashley Jones. Stop by the booth to hear Wyle’s compelling story on operational medicine and clinical research. Wyle’s unique integration of science and technology grants us expertise in providing healthcare in unique or extreme environments. The focus of this conference will be on sharing knowledge and achieving breakthrough performance in healthcare delivery, research, education and training. More details are available at: http://www.health.mil/2012mhsconference.aspx
  
  
• Wyle’s Aerospace Group President Pete Green participated in a groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 6 with Patuxent Habitat for Humanity’s Veterans Home Repair Program to kick off an addition to the home of injured U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Caleb Getscher. Getscher was injured in Afghanistan June 18, 2011 when he stepped on an IED and lost both legs and one arm. He is currently undergoing rehabilitation at Bethesda Naval Hospital.  As Caleb rehabs Patuxent Habitat for Humanity, in partnership with Home Depot, is working to make the Getscher house wheelchair accessible for Caleb so that he can live and function in his home with his family including one-year-old daughter, Camily. 
  Wyle was one of the first to sponsor the effort contributing $2,500 and in-kind design and print production for various materials.  Wyle’s donation of printed materials plus the monetary contribution gave the project a jump start of nearly $5,000.
  
  
• The Crawford House in Colorado Springs, Colo. recently received a $5,000 donation from CAS Cares, Inc., a non-profit organization which receives 100 percent of its funding from employee donations. In addition, they provided volunteers to help serve Thanksgiving meals to residents of the homeless shelter which serves veterans undergoing treatment for substance abuse. Wyle volunteers helped prepare and serve Thanksgiving dinner to more than 40 residents. Nine volunteers including: Steve and Kellie Hayes, Wayne and Linda McAdoo, Mitzi Romanelli and her daughter Crystal, Jeff Malloy, Jeff Sprague and Jay Bowen. Wyle employees did everything from washing dishes to working the serving line. The residents were very grateful for both the food and the outpouring of support. CAS Cares proves that the giving of time and caring helps change communities one person at a time.
  
  
• Wyle’s Aerospace Group, based in Lexington Park, Md., recently named Ivan Behel, Stu Ashton and Doug Eddy to serve as vice presidents of three newly formed divisions. Behel, a retired Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot, has held several senior management positions with the company over the past 15 years, including most recently, vice president for the Group’s former Acquisition Solutions Division. Eddy, a long-time Wyle employee and former naval aviator who previously was an operating unit vice president, will head the Group’s new Acquisition Engineering Division; and retired naval aviator Ashton, who has served as the company’s flight director as well as in several senior operational leadership roles including operational unit vice president, will lead the Group’s Aviation Systems Division.
  
  
• Wyle CAS’s Air, Space and Missile Defense Operations Division has opened an office in Leavenworth, Kansas to support and grow both Wyle efforts and the Strategic and Homeland Defense Division in the area. Wyle’s Air, Space and Missile Defense unit supports the Mission Command Training Program at Fort Leavenworth. The Strategic and Homeland Division supports the Training and Doctrine Analysis Command there.
  
  
• Wyle employees in Southern Maryland helped make Christmas brighter for less fortunate local children by donating Christmas gifts to the company’s annual gift and toy drive. Employees’ generosity filled three SUVs which transported the gifts to St. Joseph’s Community Center in Mechanicsville, Md., and Patuxent River Detachment #1305 of the Marine Corps League Toys for Tots.
  
  
• Michael Kather, aviation program operating unit director from Wyle CAS Group’s Aviation and Integrated Tactical Systems Division, supported the U.S. Army’s Fixed Wing Project Office at the Army Aviation Association of America Aircraft Survivability Professional Forum in November at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala. Kather was selected to represent the project office during the Sustainability and Maintainability panel discussions with a presentation and question and answer session during the event.
  
  
• Wyle CAS efforts supported an award winning enterprise scheduling system. Wyle’s Mark “Jed” Ponti, located in Colorado Springs, Colo. and the Joint National Integration Center Research Development Center (JRDC) Lead Planner, recently accepted an award on behalf of the Missile Defense Agency’s JRDC Program Management Office for the development of a process that streamlined the assignment of critical resources. 
  
  The JRDC Program Management Office was recently awarded an Industry Honorable Mention for Excellence in Enterprise Integration by the National Defense Industrial Associations Association for Enterprise Information in recognition of the JRDC’s resource-loaded Integrated Master Schedule “1-n” process. “This global enterprise scheduling system allows the JRDC Program Management Office to efficiently manage and assign 30 personnel to 600 to 700 engineering tasks per week,” said Ponti. Since implemented in early 2010, the 1-n process has improved the on-schedule critical resource task accomplishment rate from 40 percent to more than 90 percent on a consistent basis.  In addition, the process was observed as an industry Best Practice by the Defense Contract Management Agency.
  
  
• Wyle employees from the company’s new Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. office dropped off several pounds of donations for the Aberdeen Police Department's holiday food and toy drive.  According to the drive's organizer, Jennifer Liberto, this year's effort is geared toward eight families with children ranging from 12 months to 15 years old. Wyle employees were so moved by the experience that a second wave of donations is being collected. The Aberdeen office, one of Wyle's newest locations, was opened in April 2011 to enhance the company's day-to-day customer communications and provide technical support to Army commands based at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The staff is involved in supporting the Army Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ASR) systems, test and evaluation activities and reliability, maintainability, supportability, quality and interoperability risk mitigation analyses.
  
  
• Wyle CAS office honored as one of Northrop’s Top Suppliers. The Wyle CAS Group office in Colorado Springs was recently awarded the 2011 Supplier Excellence Award by Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector. Through quality products and services, these suppliers help bring superior value to Northrop Grumman and its government and commercial customers, meeting the highest criteria for schedule, management performance and responsiveness, technical performance, financial performance and mission assurance.
  
  "Suppliers are an integral part of the Northrop Grumman team and help bring innovation and value to our customers," said Linda Mills, corporate vice president and president for Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "This award is our highest supplier honor and it recognizes their dedication and commitment to excellence." According to Mike Hanyok, Wyle CAS group Warfighter Support Sector manager, only 27 of the more than 6,500 suppliers were honored at the ceremony held on Nov. 10. This equates to Wyle CAS being in the top half percent of all suppliers supporting Northrop Grumman’s Information Systems sector. “Wyle CAS was recognized for the exemplary support they provided to the Joint National Integration Center Research Development Center in their efforts to streamline processes,” said Hanyok.
  
  
• Wyle’s Lexington Park, Md. office hosted American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) guest speaker, Bob Coolbaugh Dec. 12. Coolbaugh shared his experience piloting the only flying replica of Eugene B. Ely’s 1911 Curtiss pusher aircraft. AIAA’s “Lunch-n-Learn” seminar was attended by more than 70 individuals who learned about Coolbaugh’s three-year endeavor of planning, building and finally providing audiences nationwide with the opportunity to see the flying replica. The biplane is credited by many historians as establishing Naval aviation with its successful landing on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania Jan. 18, 1911.
  
  Wyle was a major sponsor of the replica aircraft and its crew during the Centennial of Naval Aviation celebration this year. Performances took place at events throughout the summer and fall including air shows at Naval Air Stations Patuxent River, Md., Oceana, Va. and Pensacola, Fla. Bob and the Curtiss pusher head home to New Market, Va. this month for recuperation and repairs. To find out more about the Curtiss pusher, go to http://elycurtisspusher.com.



• Santa visited Wyle’s Aerospace Group headquarters in Lexington Park, Md. Thanks to Wyle sector manager Mark Smith, who played. Smith, who played Santa, reprised his role for Wyle’s annual open house and company-hosted ‘Visit with Santa’ for employees’ children and grandchildren. Santa and his elves spent Saturday morning taking holiday photos, handing out goodies and visiting with wide-eyed tots and inquisitive school-aged kids. The company funded event provided employees with all the joys of taking their little ones to visit Santa at the mall without the drive, competition for parking and long lines.