PENSACOLA, Fla. ? Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) has announced the Navy's 2015 Installation Excellence Award Winners with Naval Air Station Pensacola placing first in the large installation category. The annual installation excellence award recognizes the top three large and small installations world-wide and rewards installation performance consistent with Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) strategic criteria for the DoD-wide Commander in Chief Installation Excellence Awards. "I am proud to congratulate all of our Navy Installation Command winners," said Vice Adm. Dixon Smith, CNIC. "Competition this year was very tight and each of the nomination packages was impressive." As a first place winner, NAS Pensacola automatically goes on to represent the Navy for the DoD-wide 2015 Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence, which will be announced in the spring. "I am delighted to announce that Naval Air Station Pensacola is the Navy's nominee for the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence," said Smith. "Congratulations to Capt. (Keith) Hoskins (NASP commanding officer) and the men and women of NAS Pensacola who worked diligently to make their installation the best in the Navy, and hopefully in all of DoD." Capt. Hoskins passed on to NAS Pensacola personnel his feelings on winning the award: ?It is with great pleasure that I congratulate you all on our selection as CNIC Large Installation Excellence Award. This prestigious recognition is a direct reflection of (our) team's professionalism and loyal dedication to our mission.? Established in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan, the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence recognizes outstanding efforts in the operations and maintenance of U.S. military installations. Each branch of the military submits its nomination and an award is presented to the installation whose command has made best use of available resources to accomplish its assigned mission over the course of the preceding fiscal year. Smith also praised the other awardees and said that all 19 nomination packages detailed the hard work and outstanding accomplishments for the submitting installations, which is indicative of their commitment to supporting the Fleet, the Fighters and their Families.
