Luke maintenance group takes home DOD award

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Bryan Bouchard
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ORLANDO, Fla. (AFPN) --  Airmen from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., took home their trophy Nov. 15 after being named one of the Defense Department's top maintenance units at a ceremony in Orlando, Fla.

"This is an amazing achievement for the men and women of Luke (AFB)," said Col. Algene Fryer, the 56th Maintainance Group commander. "Maintaining the fleet for the largest fighter wing in the Air Force is a tough job, but thanks to everyone at Luke, we made it happen."

Each year, the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards Program recognizes outstanding achievements by field-level units engaged in military equipment and weapon system maintenance within the Department of Defense.

Six Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards are presented to units from small, medium and large categories. From these six award winning units, one is singled out and selected as the 'best of the best,' and presented with the Phoenix Trophy, the DoD's highest award for maintenance.

While the Luke mission is training-focused, the award puts the 56th MXG ahead of other, more combat-oriented units in the DOD.

"Earning this award is absolutely amazing," said Brig. Gen. Tom Jones, the 56th Fighter Wing commander. "Keeping our jets flying and making sure they're ready to train the best F-16 pilots in the world is a huge responsibility and our Airmen are always up to the task."

While at times, some parts get diverted to units outside the formal-training-realm in the Air Force, Colonel Fryer said he's proud of what the group has done with the resources available.

"In spite of those challenges we demonstrated that we are the best in the business at what we do," he said. "Our mission is to train the world's greatest F-16 fighter pilots and maintainers, while deploying mission ready warfighters. If we don't execute our mission as well as we do, we impact our nation's ability to contend with the global war on terror demands and other threats, and remain the preeminent air and space power force in the world."

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