Airmen recognized with Air Force Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Amaani Lyle
  • Air Force Public Affairs Agency
Five teams from across the service received Air Force Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards during the Air Force Association's 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition here Sept. 20.

Gen. Norton Schwartz presented the awards, and lauded three teams' efforts with Air Force Best Practice honor.

With process improvements resulting in more than $230 million in potential first-year savings, 23 teams earned nominations in recognition of their systematic approach to enhance mission capability, improve operational performance, and ensure sustained results.

The winning teams were:

The Workflow Team, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington

The team of active duty and civilian personnel from the Air Force Surgeon General's modernization division is responsible for developing a workflow that brings simplified and standardized documentation to the Department of Defense's electronic health record. The process allows for increased accuracy in coding encounters, resulting in millions of dollars in increased revenue. Its success has led to the basis for the tri-service workflow. The team was also designated as an Air Force Best Practice.

The Total Force GPS IIF-1 Satellite Launch and Early Orbit Team, 19th Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.

With members from two wings, two major commands and a federally funded research and development center, the team performed launch operations for the first of 12 $225 million GPS Block IIF satellites. The team merged two ground systems, built numerous automated command plans, reconfigured multiple global C2 ground antenna assets and restructured rehearsal timelines. This resulted in a 22 percent increase in manpower efficiency and a 60-day reduction in the launch-to-operational-handover timeline. The lessons learned were incorporated in GPS launch processes and used during the GPS IIF-2 launch on July 15.

The Command Air Transportation and Traffic Cargo Managers Team, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

The integrated team of air cargo movement functional managers, data analysts, and transformation advisors targeted key DoD distribution processes to establish new rules of engagement, aircraft and pallet build standards, end-to-end material flow options and control metrics. Their efforts balanced the efficient and effective movement of air cargo from major supply depots through AMC's global channel airlift operations system to all combatant commanders and global customers. This prevented $60 million in airlift costs and increased system-wide aircraft utilization by 10 percent.

The Propulsion Flight F-100 Recovery Team, 48th Component Maintenance Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, U.K.

The team provides Pratt and Whitney F-100-220/229 engines for worldwide F-15 and F-16 operations. The maintenance professionals' restructured production process cut non-productive travel time from 103 miles to 22, engine flow days from 162 to 44, and backlog from 27 engines to 0, creating a standardized and exportable process.

The Minot Doehrs Reporting Suite Initiative Team, 5th Medical Operations Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

The 14-member bioenvironmental engineering team focuses on preventing the next Gulf War Syndrome. The DoD health exposure repository does not provide in-garrison or deployed commanders with the ability to control risks and ultimately prevent ill.ness. Consulting with 32 installations, the team developed an integrated and streamlined reporting system capable of analyzing and reporting occupational and environmental health exposures for 500,000 active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen worldwide. In 12 months, the system has been adopted by 36 wings in eight major commands.
Additionally, the judges opted to recognize an additional two teams as Air Force Best Practices:

The 189th Airlift Wing Rapid Augmentation Team, 189th AW, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

The Cyber Animals Team, 426th Network Warfare Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill McPeak first chartered this award in October 1992.