HILL AIR FORCE BASE – The top performers from the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, 748th Supply Chain Management Group, and the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill Air Force Base were honored last week at the 21st annual Kevin J. Sullivan Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Air Force Association, Ute-Rocky Mountain Chapter. The Sullivan Awards Banquet began in 1994 as a way to recognize top air force performers, and since then, has recognized over 500 top performers. The awards were instigated by then Col. Kevin Sullivan, and having been a major influence over the awards and dedication to the AFA, the banquet was renamed after Sullivan eight years ago.
At the awards ceremony, attendees were invited to take note of the small table at the side of the dining area, reserved to honor missing comrades in arms. “Military tradition is filled with symbols. This table is our way of symbolizing the fact that members of our profession of arms are missing from our midst,” said Jay Mosley, Air Force Association Utah State President. “They are unable to be with us this evening, and so we remember them because of their incarceration.”
The table was set for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors. The table was round, to show everlasting concern for missing men and women, the table cloth was white, symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty.
At the table sat a single red rose displayed in a vase, reminding the crowd of the life each one of them is missing and the loved ones and friends of these Americans who keep the faith, awaiting answers. The vase was tied with a yellow ribbon, a symbol of the military’s continued determination to account for every one missing. A slice of lemon on the bread plate is to remind us of their bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land while a pinch of salt symbolized the tears endured by those missing and their families. The glass sitting next to the plate was inverted, showing their inability to share the evening’s toast and a candle was lit, signifying the commitment to ensure their prompt return.
“The setting is for all of us who served with them and called them comrades, who depend upon their might and aid, and relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you, and we have not forgotten them,” said Mosley.
After taking a few moments in silence to remember those fallen warriors, the awards were first handed out to the Ogden Air Logistics Complex. Danny Aquilar, Sheet Metal Mechanic Supervisor, supporting the U.S. State Department sponsored initiative to regenerate 24 F-16s for the Indonesian Air force. Rachelle Angelo, a lead industrial engineering technician, provided critical initial estimates for her squadron completing the U.S. Navy’s full install of the avionics obsolescence upgrade modification, bringing in over 10,000 hours of additional work across 18 aircraft in fiscal year 2015.
Davin Cassady, a sheet metal mechanic leader, led a worldwide shelter depot repair and executed more than 12,000 hours in six nations at 21 sites on 29 shelters, valued over $2.5 million dollars, enabling warfighter readiness for 44 squadrons. Tong Co, an electronics technician, was tasked to improve the overtime requesting process and took it upon himself to create a computer program that automates the submission, reporting, approval and auditing process for requesting overtime.
C.J. Durain, Supervisory Support Specialist, supervised production analysis for 51 depot work centers, contributing to fiscal year 2014 production of over 75.9 thousand hours, surpassing expectations by over 11 percent, best production execution in complex. Cody Farr is a highly skilled machinist in the 530th commodities maintenance squadron, and successfully developed and implemented two new repairs on f-15 critical shortage components that have fulfilled 14 midcaps and 21 backorders while saving the air force over $586 thousand dollars annually over replacement costs.
Mike Moore, Depot Field Team Chief of the 309th aircraft maintenance group, deployed to the Al Udeid Air base where he operated as the crash recovery section lead and coordinated response to ninety-four emergencies while sustaining forty-thousand flying hours. Terry Hess, Lead General Engineer, has been instrumental in preparing the Ogden Air Logistics Complex facilities for an additional F-22 workload and executed $19 million dollars in construction contracts.
David Heywood, Lead Funds Management Specialist for the 309th Commodities Maintenance Group and has been the driving force behind the monumental task of re-organizing the group’s structure, creating a team with a successful fiscal year 2014 budget of over $448 million dollars. Tech. Sgt. Trevor Jager, Depot Field Team Chief, has ensured his team delivered expert repairs to an F-16 inner stabilizer box beam 31 days under budget and saving air combat command 58,000 dollars. Marcie Kirkman, management analyst, spearheaded an Air Force Sustainment Center Unit, manning document clean-up project for the Ogden Air Logistics complex, eliminating 1,516 vacancies, 1,749 over hires and 652 disconnects.
Zak Layton, the C-130 Flight Controls Production Controller for the 533rd commodities squadron., controlled the throughput of over 260 c-130 ramps, elevators, rudders, flaps, and ailerons by establishing a comprehensive gating system, level loading production by aptly adjusting asset removal points, and by effectively communicating workload requirements between customers and production.
Greg Mikesell, a heavy mobile mechanic leader, led his unit’s technical order re-write for the new transporter erector replacement program and test procedures for the Onan Environmental Generator set. Mary Minter, production controller, is the single scheduler servicing 17 back shops, scheduling 85,000 workload hours across the 309th aerospace maintenance and regeneration group annually.
Paul Persell, an electronics technician and facility program manager in the 309th Software Maintenance Group led his team with little or no lead time to support lightning fast projects, workloads and growth. Tony Peterson, electronic integrated systems mechanic leader, is acknowledged as the primary expert over PMEL’s 503/503a support crew, which consists of over 500 organically supported complex component test stands.
Jerry Peterson, supervisory aircraft maintenance specialist, led the first implementation of “art of the possible” in the 309th aerospace maintenance and regeneration group. Leonard Richmond, a computer scientist using his optics background enabled him to design a cutting edge 360 degree field-of-view display device used in aircraft simulators that has never before been used in industry.
Scott Snyder, as the Pneudraulic Systems Mechanic Supervisor for the 531st armament repair flight gun shop has resulted in a year to date yield of 1277 without overtime: exceeding his standard yield of 1260 and 1471 with overtime, maintaining an effectiveness of 95% and culminating in the on time delivery of 99% of end items, to support the war fighter.
Alan Wayment, funds management specialist, is responsible for oversight of funding for the F-22, F-35 and C-17 partnering programs, with annual customer orders totally over $49 million dollars. Awards continued for the 748th Supply Chain Management Group. Tosh Farr, aerospace engineer, is the recognized expert for the C-5, E-3, and A-10 auxiliary power units and the B-2 airframe mounted accessory drive.
Terri Nelson, T-38 Program Manager, managed a challenging complex-level issue of the time compliance technical order for the t-38 aircraft landing gear replacement program. 1st Lt. Eric Prince, anti-skid engineer, delivered unique support for the F-16 brake and anti-skid control unit as the sole air force point of contact for brake and anti-skid issues for three thousand aircraft. Steve Shy, equipment specialist, manages 153 assets in support of 2,982 f-16s worldwide and over the last year, chaired a team to validate six tech orders, including over 950 pages of critical technical information, for the $10 million dollar common data electronic entry unit organic depot stand-up.
Awards for the 75th Air Base Wing were next in line. Tech Sgt. Jared M. Green, assistant NCOIC stamp-strapp, planned and executed a year and a half-long, 279 million dollar munitions transfer process, fulfilling an air force directive to consolidate all standard air munitions package operations at hill air force base and positioning the 649th munitions squadron to meet combatant commander requirements at a moment’s notice.
The Nate Mazer Award was established by the Ute – Rocky Mountain Chapter in 1996 as a way to recognize the extraordinary volunteer service given by an individual. Mr. Nate Mazer was the first recipient of the award. This year’s AFA Nate Mazer award recipient was Cal Grondahl, who started with the museum less than a year ago, has brought inestimable contributions since becoming a volunteer in this short amount of time. He petitioned for more volunteers, providing more help for the museum and used his skills as a professional cartoonist to assist in promoting the museum and giving back to the community.
