Gray Owl Award

The Gray Owl Award is presented to the naval flight officer (NFO) on continuous active duty in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps who has held that designation for the longest period of time.[1]

A naval flight officer in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps is distinct from a naval aviator in that the aviator pilots the aircraft, while an NFO provides knowledge and expertise to assist piloting, such as in navigation, airborne weapons, aerodynamics, flight planning and safety.[2]

By virtue of being qualified for the Gray Owl Trophy, which by definition represents long years of dedicated service to the Navy or Marine Corps, the recipient is considered “a symbol of stalwart and intrepid professionalism.”[1]

Similar awards include the Gray Eagle Award, presented to the Naval Aviator on continuous active duty in the U.S Navy or Marine Corps who has held that designation for the longest period of time;[3] the Ancient Albatross Award, an identical honor for United States Coast Guard aviators; the Old Salt Award, presented to the surface warfare officer serving on continuous active duty with the earliest surface warfare officer qualification,[4]

History

Grumman Aerospace Corporation (now the Northrop Grumman Corp.) awarded the first Gray Owl Trophy to U.S. Navy Captain George N. LaRoque in June 1979.

Original idea

The award traces its origins to 1978, when U.S. Navy Captain Kenn Haas decided that there should be an award for the NFO community that equaled the Gray Eagle Trophy. Haas asked Grumman Aerospace Corporation to sponsor the award, the proposal was accepted and the first formal presentation of the Gray Owl was held the next year.[5] Haas later became the third recipient of the Gray Owl in 1983.

Trophy
A Gray Owl Award.

The trophy takes the form of a sculpture of an owl mounted atop a mahogany base. Each recipient’s name plus the date and duration of their time holding the Gray Owl are engraved on the trophy.[1]

The Gray Owl Trophy may be kept in possession of and displayed by the command to which the Gray Owl is assigned. Otherwise, it may be placed in the custody of the National Museum of Naval Aviation on a temporary basis until required for presentation to the successor.[1]

When the incumbent retires or dies, the award is passed from the previous holder to the next earliest designated NFO on active duty. The ceremony should be conducted as near as practicable to the official date of succession with both principals present, unless physically impossible. “…Presentation ceremonies, while perhaps light, should be nonetheless dignified.”[1]

Eligibility

Eligibility for the Gray Owl Trophy Award is determined by the official active-duty precedence list for NFOs, on continuous service, not recalled, who has held that designation for the longest period of time. The date of designation as an NFO is the governing factor for determining who will receive the award from the list of active duty officers. In the event two or more NFOs on active duty have been designated on the same date, the senior one qualifies as the Gray Owl.[1]

Recipients
ADM Harris accepts the Gray Owl Award from Northrop Grumman executive and retired U.S. Navy Captain Brick Nelson, 13 November 2015.

The most recent “Gray Owl” was Vice Admiral Walter E. Carter Jr.. He was passed on the award by VADM Herman A. Shelanski, Naval Inspector General, until the later's retirement on 1 August 2018.[6] Shelanski received the trophy and title from Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, in a ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum on 10 May 2018.[7] The current “Gray Owl” has not been announced.

Name Rank (Upon Receipt) Dates as Gray Owl
George N. LaRoqueCAPT1979–1982
R.L. RhodesCAPT1982–1983
Kenn HaasCAPT1983–1984
Thomas J. JohnsonCOMO1984–1990
Richard M. DunleavyVADM1990–1992
Stephen F. LoftusVADM1992–1994
Jon S. ColemanRADM1994–1997
Herbert A. Browne IIVADM1997–2000
Joseph S. MobleyVADM2000–2001
William J. FallonADM2001–2008
James D. KellyRADM2008–2009
Gerald R. BeamanVADM2009–2013
Allen G. MyersVADM2013–2014
David H. BussVADM2014–2015
Harry B. Harris Jr.ADM2015–2018
Herman A. ShelanskiVADMMay 2018–Aug 2018
Walter E. Carter Jr.VADMOctober 2018 – 2019

References
  1. OPNAV Instruction 1650.24D (5 December 2013). "Chief of Naval Operations Aviation-Related Awards" (PDF). Department of the Navy.
  2. "Naval Flight Officer". Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  3. Grossnick, Roy; et al. (1997). History of Naval Aviation 1910–1995. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center. p. Appendix 32, "Gray Eagle Award".
  4. and the Old Goat, who is the longest serving Naval Academy graduate. Morris, Tyrell (22 June 2015). "Vice Adm. Tidd Receives Surface Navy Association's "Old Salt" Award". Defense Media Activity. U.S. Navy. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  5. "Gray Owl Title Passed" (PDF). Naval Aviation News (July–August 1997): 45.
  6. "Vice Admiral Herman A. Shelanski". 3 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  7. "National Naval Aviation Museum Foundation to Host Naval Aviation Symposium". 25 April 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
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