Members of Northrop Grumman's leadership team, Lisa Strama, director of Rolling Meadows and Huntsville Manufacturing Operations (left); Carl Smith, vice president of Infrared Countermeasures Programs (second from left); Wayne Melzer, Infrared Countermeasures program manager (far right); accept the Diamond Award of Excellence from Tim Sokol, FAA Safety Team program manager (second from right). The Diamond Award for Excellence is the agency's most prestigious maintenance and training honor.

Northrop Grumman Corporation received the Diamond Award for Excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the company's ongoing commitment to maintenance training and safety during a ceremony held at the company's Rolling Meadows facility on April 14. The Diamond Award for Excellence is the FAA's most prestigious maintenance training honor.

Northrop Grumman's Rolling Meadows FAA Certified Repair Station began operation in May 2009 and was established to meet regulatory requirements for customers operating aircraft under civil aviation rules.

"Having an FAA Certified Repair Station at our facility demonstrates our commitment to our customers and an understanding of their needs," said Carl Smith, vice president of infrared countermeasures for Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "By earning this award we have demonstrated our focus on continuing education and our desire to produce the safest and highest quality aviation products."

"The FAA strongly believes in recurrent training as a means of promoting aviation safety," said Tim Sokol, program manager of the FAA Safety Team. "Having 100 percent compliance by Northrop Grumman's FAA Repair Station employees is an outstanding achievement and shows Northrop Grumman's commitment to continuous improvement." Each repair station employee who participated in the training program also earned an individual Aviation Maintenance Technician Award.