Air Force announces team excellence awards

  • Published
  • By Richard Salomon
  • Air Force Manpower Agency Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  Air Force officials have announced the five teams selected for the 2006 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards.

The awards recognize teams that used a systematic approach to enhance mission capability, improve operational performance and create sustained results. 

Improvements made by the five award winning teams and the 15 other award nominees are expected to save the Air Force about $620 million in the first year, officials said.

"We are the world's greatest Air Force because our people are constantly seeking new and better ways to make us more effective," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley.

"I can't help but be impressed with the personal pride and patriotism demonstrated by these Airmen; it has been nothing short of outstanding," the general said. "All of these teams are winners and deserve to bring trophies back to their respective units. Undoubtedly, their innovations are helping our Air Force ensure global air, space and cyberspace dominance in the years ahead."

The five 2006 award winners are:

-- The C-5 Programmed Depot Maintenance Process Improvement team from the 559th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Team members reduced depot maintenance flow times by 35 percent using project management techniques that continually monitor and influence system constraints for C-5 Galaxy aircraft.

The team reduced depot times while sustaining a 100 percent on-time delivery during the last two years. The team's efforts increased the availability of C-5s, which then freed up C-17 Globemaster IIIs for intratheater airlifts; the extra C-17 flights reduced dangerous ground convoys by 2.5 per day. 

-- The Air Force Basic Combat Convoy Course team from the 37th Training Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas. Team members created the Department of Defense's first and only course that infuses real-time intelligence, operations and countermeasures into its training curriculum.

Under the team's "intelligence drives operations, operations drives training" approach, more than 1,800 Airmen were able to convoy more than five million miles in dangerous deployed environments. Graduates also participated in approximately 8,000 hostile engagements and received more than 190 Bronze Star Medals.

-- The Air Force F-22 Raptor Acceptance team from Air Combat Command headquarters at Langley AFB, Va. Team members decreased delivery time delays for F-22 Raptors by significantly improving the acceptance inspection requirements. They created an "in plant" acceptance process that puts "blue suit" inspection teams on site with the manufacturers to accept aircraft during the production process.

The new process decreases inspection-related costs and more effectively meets the warfighters' demands for a weapons platform that can be used immediately upon delivery. 

-- The Satellite Life Extension team from the Military Satellite Communications Joint Program Office at El Segundo, Calif. Team members developed and implemented innovative techniques that extended the orbital life of the Defense Satellite Communication System's constellation by a minimum of two years per satellite. The team established an accurate fuel measurement methodology and improved overall satellite operations and maneuvering requirements.

With the new innovations, the Air Force saves about $2 million a year for each year added to the DSCS by eliminating the need to replace lost systems with commercial ones.

-- The Far Field Range Radome Test Modernization team from the 76th Commodities Maintenance Group at Tinker AFB, Okla. Team members modernized radome electrical test support, which significantly reduced depot maintenance delays for various aircraft weapons systems. Using readily available components, they redesigned those systems three years faster than what 12 civilian companies had proposed.

The team also significantly increased the systems' online capability and testing capacity; their efforts saved the Air Force $23.5 million in the first year.

The judges also recognized the following teams as Air Force Best Practices:

-- The 86th Maintenance Squadron's Propeller "Lean" Initiative team from the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

-- The Pacific Air Forces and Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence Remedial Process Optimization team from Pacific Air Forces headquarters at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.

-- The Maintenance Training Flight team from the 347th Rescue Wing at Moody AFB, Ga.

-- The War Eagle F-15E Phase Dock team from the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

-- The C-5 Isochronal Process Improvement team from the 436th Maintenance Squadron at Dover AFB, Del.

-- The Air Force Pap Smear Consolidation team from the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas.

-- The 729th Airlift Squadron Tactics Integration team from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March Air Reserve Base, Calif.

"This CSTEA event has been inspiring," said Christine Anderson, the senior judge. "The other judges and I were honored to have this incredible opportunity to view how the men and women of the Air Force display their amazing innovations, talents and passion. They are indeed adopting the principles of smart operations to meet the challenges of an Air Force at war."