Genie Chaiken, director of command strategy at Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR), was announced the winner of the inaugural Women in MilSatCom Innovation Award at a ceremony held in London, Nov. 7, 2024. Hosted by the Satcom Innovation Group (SIG) and SAE Media Group, the award recognizes women who are innovators across the military satellite communication (SATCOM) industry.

With numerous years in the telecommunications industry—both private and federal—Chaiken worked with both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy to increase satellite connectivity and fast-track innovation. With space evolving into a critical battleground, the U.S. military has increasingly looked to commercial modernization to help it keep pace with the rapidly changing battlespace. Throughout her career, Chaiken has demonstrated a commitment to pushing past traditional government obstacles of slow technology adoption and bringing holistic satellite communications (SATCOM) capabilities to the military.

“All of us at NAVWAR are so proud of Genie for being recognized with this monumental award,” said John Pope, executive director of NAVWAR. “Her drive, innovation and dedication embody the trailblazer mindset we value. Congratulations Genie, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish next!”

Prior to coming to NAVWAR, Chaiken was the principal assistant program manager for both military and commercial SATCOM in the communications and Global Positioning Service (GPS) navigation program office at Program Executive Office (PEO) Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I). During her time at PEO C4I, she was instrumental in creating the Satellite Terminal transportable Non-Geostationary (STtNG) program, alongside Vince Squitieri, Bill Joo and Dr. Kurt Fiscko.

STtNG is a flexible and dynamic system that leverages commercial industry proliferated low- and medium-orbit satellites, allowing the Navy to incorporate changes expeditiously while keeping pace with industry capability. It helps meet the Navy’s top priorities for resilient and diverse communications capabilities, something Chaiken recognized as increasingly vital. Chaiken played a crucial role as the representative of STtNG at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), securing the necessary funding to launch this critical initiative. Her efforts were instrumental in successfully demonstrating these capabilities for the first time over an operational Navy network in under 11 months.

Her championing of STtNG over the past four years has resulted in the formation of a mission-critical capability that will make the Navy more capable and resilient in the new global battlefield. To be able to communicate in a contested and congested battlefield will be crucial, if not imperative, to the future success of military missions.

Chaiken was recognized at the Global MilSatCom Conference in London for her work in bringing STtNG onboard. She overcame the traditional government obstacles of slow adoption through her strengths at building powerful partnerships with industry and her ability to identify and fast track the promising innovative SATCOM breakthroughs. She led the way in the Navy engaging industry to optimize and modernize its protected capabilities. Through her leadership and tenacity, she helped identify, test and validate commercial capabilities that are now poised to give the Navy resiliency across multiple orbits and bands. She has implemented innovative approaches that speed deployment of new capability to Navy ships at a rate never seen in Navy history.

“I feel incredibly honored to be recognized by the SIG and SAE Media Group with this tremendous award, alongside all the other amazing nominees,” said Chaiken. “STtNG is something I have been passionate about for the past four years. As it becomes more widely implemented throughout the Fleet, I’m proud of our PMW/A 170 SATCOM team contributions to the warfighting effort.”

The award was presented to Chaiken by Helen Weedon, the managing director of SIG, at the Women in MilSatCom Forum, during the Global MilSatCom Conference, in London.

“The nominations for the first Women in MilSatCom Innovation Award were all of the highest caliber, which made deciding on a winner extremely difficult for the judges,” said Weedon, “however Genie is clearly a deserving winner, having shown excellent leadership and outstanding innovation. Congratulations!”

About NAVWAR:

NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.