2008 Verne Orr Award winner announced Published May 14, 2008 RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The Air Force has selected the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., as the winner of the 2008 Verne Orr Award. The Air Force Association established this award in honor of former Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr. The award recognizes an Air Force unit (active or Reserve) that makes the most effective use of its human resources. The wing delivered more than 213 million pounds of cargo, 24,000 passengers and executed more than 19,000 missions, 23 percent more than any other wing, with an Air Mobility Command-best reliability rate of 96 percent. It developed an emergency fuel plan allowing 16,000 predator flight hours, a 30 percent increase from original planning. Leading AMC, the wing initiated the aerial port expeditor program, saving more than 199 man-hours per month and reducing the launch sequence of events by 55 percent. The AFA will present the award during its Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition 2008 in September in Washington, DC. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page