Exemplars of Civilian Service

The Pentagon provided the following biographical information about the nine employees honored in its exhibit on civilian employees' accomplishments.

Louis Brettschneider

In peace and war, over a career spanning a half century, Louis Brettschneider represented the highest standards of public service and his engineering profession. A military engineering manager fluent in eight languages, Brettschneider, in a succession of posts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dating to 1954, supervised the design and construction, and later the repair and maintenance, of critical U.S. facilities and systems in Europe at the height of the Cold War; played a lead role in humanitarian and disaster relief efforts throughout the Eastern Hemisphere; and lent technical expertise to military contingencies in northern Iraq, Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia. Improving the lives of Americans and local citizens throughout Europe, from Norway to Turkey, and inspiring generations of colleagues with his tireless dedication and superior leadership under challenging and often hazardous conditions, Brettschneider helped insure the quality of hundreds of U.S. military projects that contributed measurably to the defense of the nation and its allies. To honor his living legacy, in 2001 the Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District, named the home of the Engineering Division in its headquarters building in Wiesbaden, Germany, the "Louis Brettschneider Floor." His retirement at the age of 80 in January 2003 marked the close of the illustrious and remarkable career of an engineer ambassador and exemplary civil servant.

Charles P. Nemfakos

Serving the Department of Defense's uniformed and civilian leadership for more than 30 years in a broad range of executive capacities, Charles P. Nemfakos upon his retirement in 2002 was the senior civil service official in the Department of the Navy. Much of his career was spent as the Navy's senior budget director and financial manager, jobs that he redefined with consummate analytical skills and a visionary approach to institutional management and strategic planning. In 1994, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment, Nemfakos oversaw the department's base closure process so effectively that his methodologies were adopted by the General Accounting Office and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. For his bold but steady leadership, devotion to improving efficiency in government, and thorough reshaping of the Navy's management policies and programs for the new millennium, he gained wide recognition as an individual of rare ability, character, and commitment who exemplified the highest ideals of federal civilian service. He twice received the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service, three times was awarded the Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, and also received the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Nemfakos's impact endured in the considerable talent he attracted, hired, and trained who came to occupy senior positions in the Navy Secretariat as well as the other services and in the farsighted changes he guided and encouraged in the teaching of financial management at the services' schools.

David O. Cooke

David O. Cooke, widely known affectionately as "Doc" Cooke, devoted himself to a military-civilian government career of almost 60 years, including 3 ½ years of battleship service during World War II. During his more than 50 years in the Pentagon, he served most prominently as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Administration from 1971 to 1988 and concurrently as Director of Washington Headquarters Services from 1978 to 2002, and as Director of Administration and Management from 1988 to 2002, reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense. His duties entailed oversight of the indispensable support and management functions that made possible the effective operation of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Throughout his long career in the Pentagon he played a prime role in planning and effecting important changes in DoD organization. He was widely recognized as an outstanding figure in public administration. Aptly described as "a fierce believer in and protector of the civil service," he was tireless in his devotion to and efforts on behalf of civil servants. Because he served so long, so ably, and so visibly, Doc Cooke became known as the "Mayor of the Pentagon." His remarkable record of service earned him numerous awards and honors, including twice the Presidential Rank Award for Federal Civilian Service, eight times the DoD Award for Distinguished Civilian Service, and countless other public service awards. In the words of Secretary of Defense William Cohen, "He embodied the most noble virtues of public service."

Ernest C. Simpson

A rare combination of technical expertise in the field of propulsion and superb managerial and leadership abilities made Ernest C. Simpson legendary in the field of Air Force research and development. Simpson served in the U.S Army during World War II and again in Korea, and spent an additional 34 years as a civilian engineer in what is now known as the Propulsion Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. As Chief of the Turbine Engine Division, in the late 1950s he formulated a plan to develop lightweight supersonic engines, resulting in a breakthrough that ushered in a new era of turbine-engine development. In the process he began using a high-speed digital computer that permitted mathematical modeling of complex aerodynamic and thermodynamic processes. He also conceived and implemented the "building block" approach to engine development that became the industry standard. Looking toward future aeronautical developments, Simpson initiated a lift-cruise technology program for vertical-takeoff-and-landing as well as thrust for sustained horizontal flight. By the time he retired in 1980, Ernest Simpson's awards and honors were legion, most notably the Exceptional Civilian Service Award, the highest honorary award a civilian employee in the Air Force can receive. In 1968 he was a joint recipient of the prestigious Goddard Award presented by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Judith C. Gilliom

Judith Gilliom's accomplishments are a record of "firsts." While employed at the U.S. Civil Service Commission and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Gilliom wrote two of the basic documents upon which the federal affirmative action program for people with disabilities is based. Owing to her own severe disability, when she joined the Department of Defense in 1983 as the first department-level Disability Program Manager, Gilliom began telecommuting part-time from her home, an unprecedented practice for that period. Although it was unfunded when she took it over, by 2003 the DoD Disability Program had an annual budget of approximately $8.5 million. She consulted widely within the Department and with other federal agencies and outside organizations regarding electronic access and building standards for the disabled, becoming an influential figure in the national disability rights movement. Gilliom served with distinction in additional program areas as well, as DoD's Asian Pacific American Program Manager since 1987 and as Interim Manager of DoD's Federal Women's Program from 1991 to 1994. For her important and highly visible work and pathbreaking contributions, Judith Gilliom was honored with numerous awards, including the Outstanding Service Award of the Federal Asian Pacific American Council and twice the Civilian Career Service Award from the Secretary of Defense. No less satisfying, she earned grateful recognition from fellow employees in the Department of Defense and throughout the federal workforce.

William P.S. Sanger

In 1826 Loammi Baldwin, Jr., a prominent civil engineer working for the U.S. Navy, recognized the abundant talent and drive of the 17-year old William P.S. Sanger and appointed him an apprentice. The capable young man helped Baldwin survey the Gosport Yard at Norfolk and its adjacent waters, and the survey formed the basis of the plan to expand and improve the yard. Sanger so impressed Baldwin that the following year Baldwin hired him as the resident engineer for a spectacular project, the construction of the U.S. Navy's drydock located at the Gosport Yard. This engineering marvel, completed in 1833, strengthened the young republic's naval power and became a monument to civil engineering in America. A national historic landmark, it is still in use. In 1836 the Navy appointed Sanger the Civil Engineer for the Board of Navy Commissioners, and when Congress established the bureau system in 1842, Sanger became the Civil Engineer for the Bureau of Navy Yards and Docks. One of his major projects in the 1840s was the construction of the drydock at the New York Navy Yard. His vision and leadership guided the development and expansion of the Navy's shore establishments on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and fostered the professional development of the Navy's civil engineers. In 1867 the Navy founded the Civil Engineering Corps, and Sanger was its first member and received a commission as Civil Engineer. He retired in October 1881, after five decades as an eminent civil servant and highly esteemed officer with the U.S. Navy. Jerome Karle

Since 1968 Dr. Jerome Karle has been the Chief Scientist of the Laboratory for the Structure of Matter at the Naval Research Laboratory. During a 57-year career as a Defense Department scientist as of 2004 and an internationally renowned research chemist, Dr. Karle has been the recipient of virtually every major federal service award and professional honor, including the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His pioneering research in the development of mathematical models for determining the molecular structure of chemical compounds has had wide application in both the military and civilian sectors, producing benefits ranging from more effective propellants and explosives to new drugs for cancer and malaria. Dr. Karle holds honorary degrees from several prominent universities and has been Chairman of the Chemistry Section of the National Academy of Sciences. He has received the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Secretary of the Navy Award for Distinguished Achievement in Science, and the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. His work and reputation have been instrumental in making the Naval Research Laboratory, which he still led at age 85, one of the preeminent advanced research facilities in the world. Jerome Karle's long and brilliant tenure and extraordinary personal and professional achievements in the service of both the nation and society epitomize the proud record and unique contributions of the Defense Department's career civilian scientists.

Daniel Adam Dickey

D. Adam Dickey, as he preferred to be called, began his long professional love affair with manned flight during the infancy of aviation. In a distinguished career that dated from World War I until his retirement in 1957 from the Air Force's Aircraft Laboratory at Wright Field, Dickey assured American preeminence in the field of aircraft propeller design and development. During the Great War Dickey was employed by Westinghouse, which worked with the Army in the development and testing of propellers. There, Dickey's expertise resulted in a radical advance, a hollow Bakelite Micarta reversible-pitch propeller that, unlike the earlier laminated wood propellers of the Wright brothers and other pioneers, did not bend and warp. In 1919 Dickey left Westinghouse to work for the U.S. Army Air Service, where he continued testing and evaluation of other materials for propellers, including an aluminum alloy that was first used on World War II's B-17 "Flying Fortress." As size and power requirements for military aircraft increased, Dickey also contributed to the design and construction of new state-of-the-art testing facilities. Chosen from among 1.5 million civilian employees in the War Department, Daniel Adam Dickey received the first Defense Emblem of Exceptional Civilian Service Medal, a signal honor presented by Secretary of War Henry Stimson on December 8, 1943.

Leonard Niederlehner

As the Acting Chief or Deputy Chief Legal Officer of the Department of Defense for 38 years, from 1953 to 1991, Leonard Niederlehner provided legal advice to 17 Secretaries of Defense and expert direction and support to the legal offices of the Military Departments and Defense Agencies. His legal opinions on such constitutional issues as the President's appointive powers and the separation of powers doctrine delineating the authority of the President from that of Congress provided authoritative, dependable guidance to the Department of Defense. He assumed personal responsibility for preparing numerous influential opinions relating to the organizational structure of DoD and the relationships between the various elements of the department. He was the Pentagon's recognized and greatly respected spokesman in legal matters involving the White House, the Department of Justice, and Congressional committees. Acting General Counsel for eight years on seven different occasions, he served longer than any other General Counsel and provided vital continuity of leadership. He was the recipient of three Presidential Rank Awards and four Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Awards. As the acknowledged civilian career leader and foremost authority of the legal component of the Department of Defense, Leonard Niederlehner exemplified the highest standards of government service and conduct in the performance of his invaluable functions.