By Miriam Rodriguez
WSMR Public Affairs
U.S. Army Photo by Louis Rosales
WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. Eric Little presents Danielle Shanks with a commander’s coin for her support to PC-21.
U.S. Army Photo by Louis Rosales
White Sands Test Center Commander Col. Shawanta D. Smart presents Ralph Gallegos with the Civilian Service Achievement Medal for his support to PC-21.
WSMR employees recognized for supporting Project Convergence 21
Several White Sands Missile Range employees were recognized for their support to Project Convergence 21 (PC-21) during a ceremony Dec. 6 at the Cox Range Control Center.
WSMR Commander Brig. Gen. Eric Little thanked the individuals for their contributions and presented them with a commander’s coin.
“We are here to thank you and recognize you for your tremendous performance during PC-21,” Little said. “White Sands Test Center and White Sands Missile Range leadership are very aware of the flexibility and resiliency you have all demonstrated. It was very significant.”
Project Convergence is the Joint Force experimenting with speed, range, and decision dominance to achieve overmatch and inform the Joint Warfighting Concept and Joint All Domain Command and Control. A campaign of learning, it leverages a series of joint, multi-domain engagements to integrate artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomy to improve battlefield situational awareness, connect sensors with shooters, and accelerate the decision-making timeline.
Little said that moving forward WSMR is going to carry a heavy load for PC-22.
“As we move forward, we need to modernize our range and our capabilities,” Little said. “We have a responsibility to modernize our range. We have a responsibility to our Army, to the Joint Force, and to our Nation.”
WSMR Command Sgt. Maj. Jose G. Melendez said not only do we need to modernize the range we also need to modernize the workforce. “My charter is leader development. We have to modernize how we train and how we afford you time to help you develop skills so we can continue testing.”
The following individuals were recognized by Little for their support to PC21: Miguel Agullo, Robert Beck, Ramon Calleros, Ira Cooke, Jaime de la Cruz, Ernest Ferrales, Jose Guerrero, John Lopez, Larry Nab, Aashish Patel, Rene Plancarte, Daniel Pokusa, Michael Puga, Dante Ramos, Cedric Rivera, Danielle Shanks, Gregory Thompson, Alex Torres, and Roman Guerrero.
“In recognition for their phenomenal efforts in support of Project Convergence 21 Use Case development, planning and execution from July 2021 to November 2021 on White Sands Missile Range. During this period, the team provided extraordinary support to Joint Mission Command, the Navy detachment and Fort Bliss by developing meaningful Use Cases and data analysis that enabled leadership decision-making. The team's accomplishments reflect great credit upon White Sands Test Center, the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, and the Department of the Army.”
White Sands Test Center Commander Col. Shawanta D. Smart presented the Civilian Service Achievement Medal to Ralph Gallegos for his support to PC-21.
“For exemplary performance from 1 August - 12 November 2021, in the position of great responsibility as Security Coordinator Specialist for the White Sands Test Center, Material Test Directorate during Project Convergence (PC-21). Mr. Gallegos's unwavering dedication, professionalism, and commitment to excellence was instrumental in preparing and briefing an informative citation of the PC-21 security mission to the Commanding Officers and facilitating, coordinating, and maintaining oversight of all visiting foreign nationals without incident. Mr. Gallegos's efforts reflect great credit on him, the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Test Evaluation Command, White Sands Missile Range, and the White Sands Test Center.”
Smart also recognized several employees who received Special Act Awards and On the Spot Awards for their support to PC-21.
The following individuals received Special Act Awards: Steven Roberts, Jaime Calanche, Andrew Delgado, Edgar Cano, Ronald Olson, Christopher Gardner, Cynthia Squire, Roberto Gomez, John David Bratton, Hope Cervantes, Rosanna Guerrero, Shawn Hall, Aubrey Halterman, Ivan Hernandez, Sadou Maiga, Dwayne Purvis, Albert Sterling, and Jacob Waters.
The following personnel received On the Spot Awards: Daniel Dominguez, Alejandro Gomez, James P. Gonzalez, Jacob Lara, Eric Mata, Victor Miranda, Gabriel Partido, Carlos Pomar, Juan P. Sanchez, Moreno Abel, Clint Berryman, Juan Brun, Chris Bueno, Alfredo Corral, Socorro Martinez, Hector Anaya, Salena Berge, Ricardo Gallarzo, Raul Grajeda, Adrian Herrera, Esteban Montoya, Kim Mott-Moates, Sheyla Salinas-Childers, and John Gamboa.
“The outstanding support you provided during Project Convergence 2021 (PC-21) ensured all test planning and test execution were completed in a timely and effective manner. Your technical knowledge, positive attitude and strong work ethic were instrumental in the successful execution of the PC-21 Use Cases conducted at White Sands Missile Range and displayed to Army Leadership at Yuma Proving Ground. The dedication and professionalism you demonstrated led to a successful event that will prepare our nations warfighters for the future and is a positive reflection you, this Command and the Department of the Army.”