JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
Joint Base Charleston's 628th Logistics Readiness Squadron was awarded the South Carolina's Excellent Squadron of the Year award April 24 by the Air Force Association Chapter of South Carolina.
The Outstanding Air Force Squadron of the Year award recognizes the outstanding mission performance and achievement by a South Carolina based Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve or active duty Air Force squadron over the duration of the previous calendar year.
"It is the first squadron award that we won as the 628 LRS, so it's the beginning of a great history and legacy that we will leave for those coming after us," said 2nd Lt. Adrianne Schilling, maintenance support officer in charge. "It shows we are competitive as a squadron not only in the Air Mobility Command, but against other Air Force commands."
In order for the 628 LRS to be critiqued for this award, they had to put a package together and the Air Force Association Chapter of South Carolina reviews it.
"This award is based on an assessment of general excellence in performance and achievement during the previous calendar year, however the results of the most recent inspector general inspection or the Operation Readiness Inspection must be addressed," said Eleanor Phillips, 628 LRS office manager. "In addition, any civic, humanitarian or related unit activity will be considered."
The mission of the 628 LRS is to enhance rapid global mobility and sustainment for America's armed forces by providing supplies, equipment, vehicles, war reserve material, port services and fuels valued at more than $500 million to Joint Base Charleston, which consists of one air base wing, two air mobility wings and multiple tenant units. The 628 LRS also directs logistics planning requirements for 4,500 Airmen, 3,450 tons of equipment to include spares packages, mobility bags and weapons, as well manages resupply and retrograde of C-17 Globemaster III parts for all Air Forces Central (Command) and United States Air Forces in Europe.
Throughout the past year, the 628 LRS garnered the IG Team Award, obtained the AMC IG Team Recognition Award, attacked the 2009 AMC Unit Compliance Inspection and was rated "Excellent," where the UCI team chief stated, "LRS is 1st-rate."
In addition to the 628 LRS accomplishing their mission throughout the year, they have also been known for their civic and humanitarian contributions.
"The 628 LRS has raised $12,000 for charities with community partners, dedicated 3,300 hours of service to 32 events and touched 97,000 tri-county residents," said Mrs. Phillips. "We have also sponsored 13 social events, fielded 11 sports teams and ran three family programs, which highlighted Airmen taking care of Airmen. The squadron also helped raise $63,000 for research on Leukemia and Lymphoma."
Currently, Joint Base Charleston is in the implementation stages of merging with the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, and once it is completely stood up in October 2010, the logistics readiness squadron's workload will increase significantly as they pick up more vehicles, ships, boats and other assets from the Navy.
"Everyone is working extremely hard due to the merging of Joint Base Charleston, the Afghanistan surge and the daily operations tempo," said Lieutenant Schilling. "The Airmen of the 628 LRS are doing an outstanding job, which can be seen from the group and wing level awards. Our goal as a squadron is to continue working at excellence in all we do."