FY05 Copernicus Award

1. THE COPERNICUS AWARD HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR INDIVIDUAL
CONTRIBUTIONS TO NAVAL WARFARE IN THE DISCIPLINES OF C4I,
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND INFORMATION WARFARE. THE AWARDS ARE
SPONSORED BY THE ARMED FORCES COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS
ASSOCIATION (AFCEA) AND THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE (USNI).
2. THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF THE FLEET AND THE SHORE ESTABLISHMENT
HAVE BEEN NOTABLY SUCCESSFUL IN BRINGING THE MARITIME SERVICES
SMARTLY INTO THE INFORMATION AGE. INDIVIDUAL SAILORS, MARINES
AND COAST GUARD PERSONNEL HAVE PLAYED CRITICAL ROLES IN ENABLING A
REVOLUTION IN MILITARY AND CIVIL AFFAIRS BASED ON COMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES. THIS REVOLUTION IS MARKED BY THE EMERGENCE
OF NET-CENTRIC WARFARE, WHICH IS A WARFIGHTING MODEL PROMISING
INCREASED COMBAT POWER THROUGH SPEED OF COMMAND.
3. OUR ACHIEVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE THROUGH A SET OF COMMON
PRINCIPLES AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE ACTIONS AND DETERMINATION OF
INDIVIDUALS, MILITARY AND CIVILIAN, JUNIOR AND SENIOR. THE
COPERNICUS AWARD FOR EXCEPTIONAL INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN
INFORMATION SYSTEMS HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO HONOR THOSE PEOPLE AND
TO RECOGNIZE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS.
4. AWARD CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY. WITHIN FISCAL YEAR 2005, NOMINEES
MUST HAVE MADE A SPECIFIC DEMONSTRABLE CONTRIBUTION IN THE
DISCIPLINES OF C4I, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, OR INFORMATION WARFARE.
CONTRIBUTIONS NEED NOT BE TECHNICAL IN NATURE, BUT MAY ARISE FROM
DOCTRINAL, FINANCIAL, ORGANIZATIONAL, OR OTHER DIMENSIONS OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS. THE CONTRIBUTION SHOULD DEMONSTRATE EXCEPTIONAL
INITIATIVE, LEADERSHIP AND INSIGHT WITHIN THE NOMINEE'S AREA OF
EXPERTISE. ALL NAVY, MARINE CORPS, COAST GUARD PERSONNEL,
MILITARY AND GOVERNMENT CIVIL SERVICE PERSONNEL, ARE
ELIGIBLE FOR NOMINATION. UP TO 30 AWARDEES WILL BE SELECTED. EACH
NOMINATING COMMAND IS LIMITED TO SUBMITTING TWO NOMINATIONS. NO
CONTRACTOR OR TEAM (MORE THAN ONE PERSON) NOMINATIONS WILL BE
ACCEPTED.
5. NOMINATIONS AND PRESENTATION. THE AWARDEES WILL BE SELECTED
THROUGH NOMINATIONS FROM NAVY, MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD
(INCLUDING JOINT/NATO) COMMANDS, AFLOAT AND ASHORE. NOMINATIONS
MUST BE ON LETTERHEAD WHEN SUBMITTED BY MAIL, EMAIL OR FACSIMILE,
AND CONTAIN THE CAVEAT 'CO SENDS' WHEN SUBMITTED BY MESSAGE.
NOMINATIONS FOR COMMANDING OFFICERS OR OFFICERS IN CHARGE MUST BE
SIGNED BY ISIC. FLAG ENDORSEMENTS AND LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION ARE
NOT REQUIRED OR DESIRED. THE NOMINATION TEMPLATE AND ADDITIONAL
NOMINATION PACKAGE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND IN WORD FORMAT AT HTTP:
DOUBLE SLANT CNO-N6.HQ.NAVY.MIL/N61C4/COPERNICUSFORMAT.DOC.
NOMINATIONS ARE DUE TO CNO N71C311 NLT 01 NOVEMBER 2005. PACKAGES
RECEIVED AFTER 01 NOVEMBER WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR NOMINATION.
UPON COMPLETION OF THE SELECTION BOARD, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
INDIVIDUAL AWARD SELECTEES WILL BE MADE TO AFCEA/USNI. AFCEA/USNI
WILL MAKE FINAL SELECTIONS AND OPNAV WILL ANNOUNCE THE AWARDEES VIA
NAVADMIN. THE ANNUAL COPERNICUS AWARDS BANQUET HELD AT THE AFCEA
WEST CONFERENCE IN SAN DIEGO, CA WILL BE ANNOUNCED SEPCOR.
6. RELEASED BY D. WEDDEL, ACTING N71.