Petty Officer First Class Christopher Elliott was named Joint Non-Commissioned Officer/Petty Officer of the Year at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Dec 2. Working in the Science and Technology directorate, Elliott was recognized as a leader in the department's test and evaluation of advanced technical programs, ensuring DIA's most critical assets were field ready. Elliott engineered a novel data collection application in just weeks, supporting two national field tests which solved numerous technological issues affecting intelligence collection efforts. In addition, he developed a streamlined process to transfer unclassified data to classified platforms, saving hundreds of hours of critical work. Elliott is currently finishing his Bachelor of Science and aced numerous Defense Acquisition University courses over the past year. He also acts as career counselor for Navy personnel attached to DIA. The Defense Intelligence Agency provides intelligence on foreign military and operational threats to senior military and government leaders. With more than 16,000 personnel assigned to more than 140 countries and every combatant command, DIA plans, manages and executes intelligence operations during peacetime, crisis and war as the indispensable source of Defense Intelligence expertise.