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Kirk has provided leadership and effort that can only be described as nothing short of extraordinary.  Kirk is recognized for his extraordinary leadership and technical expertise effectively managing the Legacy Test team for conducting the first legacy radio call on the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite, first simultaneous WCDMA and Legacy call, and successfully demonstrating numerous voice and data calls through the legacy payload. This is fantastic news for Legacy users around the world! Their reliance on this capability will continue for many more years to come.  Kirk's contributions to these major milestones will ensure that mobile users of the existing UHF Follow-On (UFO) system will have a smooth transition to MUOS, which will provide significantly improved and assured communications for U.S. mobile warfighters. With the adaptation of state-of-the art 3rd Generation (3G) mobile technology, the MUOS design will deliver simultaneous voice, data and video services as well as the ability to increase capacity and features over the life of the program.

The successful test, conducted at Lockheed Martin's Space Systems facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif., validated the compatibility of the dual UHF payloads with legacy radios, MUOS test terminals using the newly developed Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) waveform, and the ground system. A simultaneous WCDMA data call and legacy voice call was performed to validate simultaneous operations of the dual payload configuration.

Many months and long hours were involved preparing and guiding the Legacy Test team in their readiness for these very important events, as well as overcoming key technical challenges. Kirk has been instrumental in achieving this major demonstration by orchestrating activities across LM, SEIT, Space, Boeing and many government agencies. This seamless integration of resources could not have been accomplished without his collaborative effort, professionalism, humor, and positive, can-do attitude.

As a testament to Kirk's leadership, one team member expressed his gratitude in working on a team where "everyone got along and each person performed their job in a selfless manner.. no matter how long the hours were. Even after working 18.5 hours one day... following a short night of sleep! I wish that I could say the same for all of my jobs and projects. But I cannot. That combination is very rare. I, like you all, am very tired.. and it is nice to be back home. But this is an experience that I will always remember. And all future tasks have a new reference. The bar has been set!"