OC-ALC receives DOD maintenance award Published Jan. 19, 2012 By Brandice J. O'Brien 72nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) -- The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center received the 2011 Robert T. Mason Depot Maintenance Excellence Award at a presentation ceremony here Jan. 11. John B. Johns, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for maintenance at the Department of Defense, presented the award, which was given for Tinker Air Force Base's outstanding efforts on the KC-135 Stratotanker Programmed Depot Maintenance line in fiscal 2010. More than 400 personnel from the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group gathered for the event. Ross Marshall, the OC-ALC executive director, officially accepted the award. Johns said it was an honor to be with the Tinker workforce, which knows and takes its role in the maintenance community seriously. "There is no doubt in my mind that you all know what role you play," he said. "You're producing readiness. By producing readiness, you technically produce airpower, which keeps us flying across the world. I have no doubt that ..., by the attitudes and responses I've heard, you know exactly your role. "It's people that make a team work and it's people that make a production line work," Johns said. "That's what this is about; it's what distinguishes you from every other depot maintenance facility." "It's an outstanding award and I'm proud to be a part of it," said Brian Crowell, a 564th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft mechanic. "It's a great recognition for the depot maintenance world." Keith Carver, a 564th AMXS electrician, agreed. "It's well deserved; a lot of people put in a lot of hard work," he said. "I'm not surprised we won the award; we're the best at what we do." In August, Tinker received word that it had won the award. In November, the award was presented to several OC-ALC officials at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards banquet in Fort Worth, Texas. The award is named for Robert T. Mason, a former assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for maintenance policy, programs and resources.