The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Legion of Merit to Commander Craig B. Luigart, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service as the first Chief Information Officer, Naval Air Systems Command from October 1991 to June 1993. Commander Luigart’s development of an advanced communications network for the Naval Aviation Systems Team ensured the highest degree of communications capabilities and flagship status within the Department of Defense as the preeminent information system. As a result of his pioneering efforts, Microsoft Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer described the project as “the model design for the 1990’s,” and featured it as the principal integrated systems model in the firm’s 1992 Annual Report. Additionally, the project is personally being considered by the Vice President of the United States as the model for the President’s Information Systems for the White House and Executive Office Buildings. Motivated by downsizing and decreasing budgets, Commander Luigart established a wide range of networking and communications standards which, to date, have provided $33 million of recovered labor savings to the team. With innovations such as the ability to “electronically speak” to the Fleet from desktop workstations, global communications to any military or civilian organization, and systems designed to conform to all current and emerging ANSI standards, he has guaranteed advancements well into the future for the Naval Aviation Systems Team. Commander Luigart’s extraordinary vision, superb management, and unsurpassed devotion to duty reflected great credit upon himself and we keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting a Gold Star in lieu of a Second Award of the Legion of Merit to Commander Craig B. Luigart, United States Navy, for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance outstanding service as the first Director, Information Networking Project office, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition), Washington, D.C. from February 1995 through May 1996. Commander Luigart consistently performed his demanding duties in an exemplary and highly professional manner. He displayed superb managerial expertise, unswerving leadership, and keen technical acumen and initiated enterprise information technology and management solutions for the Department of the Navy Pentagon Headquarters and the entire Navy Department. These solutions provided immense flexibility, “seamless” connectivity, improved productivity, and unprecedented reliability of enterprise information for the Navy’s tactical and business decision makers. His visionary approach crafted a state-of-the-art wide area network that will connect over 300,000 Navy and Marine Corps users. This information management legacy is the critical foundation on which the Department of the Navy will build the future processes and information flow required to propel it into the changing warfare environment of the 21st Century. His innovative guidance, scientific expertise, and adroit diplomacy provided essential understanding for senior Navy leadership, enabling them to address the continuous process improvement and the complicated warfare implications. Commander Luigart’s tireless leadership, extraordinary vision, and unsurpassed devotion to duty reflected great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.