Bennett Awards created these custom awards for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States. Newport News Shipbuilding is the sole builder of Aircraft Carriers in the United States and has been in operation since 1886.

Newport News Shipbuilding commissioned these custom awards to for recognition awards they give out each year at an annual reunion of Naval Aviators. These awards recognize the top performing Carrier Air Wing (the fighter pilots who operate on the carrier) and the top performing Aircraft Carrier. The award is named after James D. Ramage, a Naval Aviator in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War, and a driving force in putting nuclear-capable attack aircraft aboard aircraft carriers. His call sign was “Jig Dog”, and these awards are called the “Jig Dog Awards”.

This unique custom award design is based on a figurative sculpture of James D. Ramage. The original model was hand sculpted, and then the individual sculpture awards were cast in bronze with an antique patina. These sculpture awards measured 13” high, and were mounted on 2” black marble bases, bringing the total height to 15” tall. The bases has personalized gold-fill engraving.