Army Acquisition Hall of Fame welcomes four new inductees in 2026

WASHINGTON - The Honorable Brent G. Ingraham, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology and Army Acquisition Executive, today announced the 2026 inductees into the Army Acquisition Hall of Fame.

The 2026 Army Acquisition Hall of Fame inductees are Dr. A. Fenner Milton, Mr. Henry Muller, Ms. Chérie Smith, and Ms. Lisa Stangle. These distinguished acquisition leaders will be recognized during a ceremony at the Association of the United States Army's Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., on October 13.

"The Army Acquisition Hall of Fame recognizes leaders whose vision, technical expertise, and commitment to public service strengthened the Army for generations," Ingraham said. "This year's inductees helped build the foundation on which today's acquisition workforce continues to deliver capability, maintain readiness, and ensure Soldiers have what they need to succeed."

The Army Acquisition Hall of Fame recognizes former Army acquisition workforce professionals who served a minimum of 20 years in federal service and have been retired or separated from service at least one year. Inductees are selected based on their significant and enduring contributions to the Army acquisition community and its mission.

The Army acquisition workforce comprises more than 29,300 civilians, officers, and noncommissioned officers dedicated to developing, acquiring, and sustaining capabilities that support Soldiers and the Army mission. This workforce covers six functional areas: engineering and technical management, contracting, life cycle logistics, program management, test and evaluation, and business financial management and cost estimating.

"This year's inductees are true patriots whose brilliant minds and exceptional leadership defined the very best of our acquisition workforce," said Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins, Principal Military Deputy to the ASA(ALT) and Director of the Army Acquisition Corps. "They are, quite simply, giants in our field. Their leadership and character have left an indelible mark on everyone they mentored and served. It is the privilege of a lifetime to celebrate their legendary careers, and they stand as the gold standard for every acquisition professional who wears the uniform or serves our Nation."

For more information on the Army Acquisition Hall of Fame, visit https://asc.army.mil/web/acquisition-awards/hall-of-fame/.

A. Fenner Milton

For exceptional leadership, selfless service, and enduring contributions to Army Acquisition, Dr. A. Fenner Milton is hereby inducted into the 2026 Class of the United States Army Acquisition Hall of Fame. Culminating a distinguished 45-year career, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology, where he managed a $1.4 billion science and technology portfolio, and later became the longest-serving director-and Director Emeritus-of the legacy Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate. Dr. Milton was instrumental in developing and fielding systems including Forward-Looking Infrared imagers, Thermal Weapon Sights, the Driver's Vision Enhancer, and the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle. Highly decorated throughout his service, his pioneering efforts advanced and modernized night vision capabilities, ensuring decisive overmatch and battlefield dominance. Dr. Milton's profound and enduring contributions in support of the Nation reflect great credit upon the United States Army and bring honor to the Army Acquisition Workforce.

Henry Muller

For exceptional leadership, selfless service, and enduring contributions to Army Acquisition, Mr. Henry Muller is hereby inducted into the 2026 Class of the United States Army Acquisition Hall of Fame. Over his distinguished 33-year career, he advanced Army acquisition within the critical fields of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance. Culminating his service as the Tier 2 Senior Executive Service Director of the legacy Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, Mr. Muller's leadership drove vital advancements in tactical communications, cyber operations, and intelligence capabilities, directly supporting Warfighters during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mr. Muller's profound and enduring contributions in support of the Nation reflect great credit upon the United States Army and bring honor to the Army Acquisition Workforce.

Chérie Smith

For exceptional leadership, selfless service, and enduring contributions to Army Acquisition, Ms. Chérie Smith is hereby inducted into the 2026 Class of the United States Army Acquisition Hall of Fame. Over her distinguished 42-year career-spanning from enlisted Soldier to Program Executive Officer (PEO), Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) -her visionary leadership modernized critical force capabilities. As PEO, she managed more than 60 Army acquisition programs across business, warfighting, and enterprise missions, delivering global connectivity for the Army and its mission partners. She revolutionized the Army's digital landscape by delivering Army Vantage, the Defensive Cyber Operations Forge, and the Enterprise Resource Planning Cloud Migration strategy, ensuring data-driven lethality across the force. Her stewardship of multi-billion-dollar portfolios at PEO EIS, PEO, Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, and PEO, Soldier yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in savings while modernizing critical equipment for the warfighter. Ms. Smith's profound and enduring contributions in service to the Nation reflect great credit upon the United States Army and bring honor to the Army Acquisition Workforce.

Lisa Stangle

For exceptional leadership, selfless service, and enduring contributions to Army Acquisition, Ms. Lisa Stangle is hereby inducted into the 2026 Class of the United States Army Acquisition Hall of Fame. Over her distinguished 33-year career as a Department of the Army civilian, she built more than two decades of expertise in major weapon systems acquisition. As Deputy Executive Director of the Army Contracting Command-Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA), she led a workforce of more than 900 personnel, executing over 16,000 contract actions valued at more than $18.8 billion. Ms. Stangle also served as the Deputy Director for Aviation at ACC-RSA, where she was a key advisor to the Program Executive Officer, Aviation, and a trusted expert in the research, development, production, and sustainment of major weapon systems for the U.S. Army and allied partners. Ms. Stangle's profound and enduring contributions in support of the Nation reflect great credit upon the United States Army and bring honor to the Army Acquisition Workforce.