Maj. Douglas A. Gimlich was named recipient of the second place individual award in the Pentagon’s 2008 chief information officer awards program, and Lt. Col. Angela J. Burth received third place honors, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 31. Gimlich is assigned to US Air Forces in Europe headquarters; Burth works on the Joint Staff. Pentagon CIO John Grimes selected the recipients from among 80 nominations worldwide. These awards, in their eighth year, recognize exemplary performance in information management and information technology management. Army Lt. Col. Anthony O. Evans of Ft. Belvoir, Va., received the first place individual award, while US Strategic Command’s joint task force global network operations took home the first-place team award.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.