The Hal Gershanoff Silver Medal Award is both a tool of recognition of deeds and a beacon of appreciation for the spirit of dedication, commitment, contribution, and selflessness that were uncommonly tangible in Hal’s service to the EW community and to AOC.AOC presents the 2021 Hal Gershanoff Silver Medal to Mr. Steve “Tango” Tourangeau for many decades of support to AOC and the EW community and for his passion and commitment to advancing the art and science of EMSO.

Tango’s membership in AOC spans over 30 years, spawned by his assignment as an F-4 EWO in 1985. He is a retired USAF officer, master navigator, and EWO with operational and flight test experience in fighter, mobility, and special ops aircraft. He has served as an appointed member of the AOC Board of Governors, served on the Board of the Kittyhawk Chapter, and after revitalizing the Granite State Roost Chapter, he served as President from 2015-2018 and again 2020-Present.

Tango is a long serving member of the JED Editorial Advisory Committee and has led the Granite State Roost to several Chapter of the Year and Regional Membership Growth awards. During his time on the Chapter Board, he established a sponsorship program, developed a partnership with the local IEEE chapter, and initialized numerous chapter activities that have become annual events. In addition, while serving as the AOC Scholarship Chair in 2015, Tango developed the prestigious annual Raytheon grant of $25,000, established the criteria for the scholarship applicants and saw that the award process was formalized and followed. This scholarship grant is still implemented today.

What is probably most notable contribution in the past year is last October 2020, during the COVID crisis, Tango traveled to the Pentagon for a meeting with Mr. Dave Tremper, OUSD A&S Director of EW Programs and Executive Secretary of the EW EXCOM to discuss the importance of EP features on every spectrum-dependent system. Following this interaction, Mr. Tremper has been on a crusade, speaking at every possible venue on the importance of EP features in the EW community.

In 2019 Tango and his wife, Melinda, established Reginald Victor Jones (RVJ) Institute as an International Center of Excellence for EMSO. He is also the Vice President, Warrior Support Solutions, LLC.

Figure 1 – Mr. Steve “Tango” Tourangeau, Hal Gershanoff Silver Medal Award Winner 2021