Fort Belvoir, Va. –
DCAA recently announced the Customer Outreach and Team of the Year award winners for 2025. Awardees accomplish major contributions to DCAA’s mission, exemplify DCAA values and demonstrate outstanding expertise in their field.
Milena Pennamon awarded Customer Outreach Award
Ms. Milena Pennamon, a supervisory auditor from the Air Directorate, has been named DCAA’s Customer Outreach Award Recipient for her exceptional leadership and innovative approach to customer service. Her strategies strengthen partnerships and create new opportunities for DCAA within the defense acquisition community. Her sincere approach strengthens relationships with customers and builds trust in DCAA’s ability to deliver value and excellence.
Pennamon demonstrated her leadership by successfully guiding her team through a complex audit for the U.S. Coast Guard, navigating tight deadlines and significant challenges. Throughout the process, she provided clarity and guidance, earning glowing praise from the Coast Guard and further solidifying their trust in DCAA. To prioritize customer service within DCAA, Pennamon introduced a “phone first and follow-through” policy. This initiative encourages auditors to proactively connect with customers, present DCAA’s services, and address their concerns. Her innovative practices and commitment to building lasting partnerships have set a new standard for customer support.
Team of the Year
The Lockheed Martin Aero F-35 Performance Based Logistics proposal audit team is DCAA’s Team of the Year for their exceptional performance on an extremely complex $12 billion Performance Based Logistics proposal. The team reported $2.9 billion questioned costs and provided invaluable support to both the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment and the F-35 Joint Program Office. Their work delivered timely and impactful audit results, facilitating 11 assist audits and successfully navigating multiple proposal revisions. The team leveraged innovative approaches, such as creating dynamic Excel models, to ensure meaningful contributions to the procurement process. Their findings were instrumental in shaping the government’s negotiation objectives and decision-making, earning high praise from both customers.
The team demonstrated DCAA’s core values; teamwork, accountability and excellence throughout this precedence-setting procurement. Focusing on collaboration, the team provided critical insights into demand quantities, subcontractor issues and historical repair data. Their work supported high-profile briefings to senior leadership, including the Assistant Secretary and the Undersecretary of Defense for Sustainment. The members of the team are:
- Christopher Vick – Supervisor
- Jessica Barajas – Senior Auditor
- Devon Wiesmann – Auditor
- Robert Sisombath – Senior Auditor
- Amy Arzamendi – Senior Auditor
- Matthew Murphy – Senior Auditor
- Andrea Powell – Senior Auditor
- Christopher Mushalla – Senior Auditor
- Elizabeth Mushalla – Senior Auditor
- Nathaniel Whayland – FAO Supervisor
- Marina Landreneaux – Assistant for Quality