CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Hundreds of Team Charleston members packed into the base theater Aug. 15 to hear the results of the operational readiness inspection held Aug. 3-10 at Alpena Air National Guard Base, Mich.
Excitement and anticipation could be felt in the air from every Airman, Department of Defense civilian and family member present. Organizational chants from the 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Security Forces Squadron, Aerial Port Squadron along with many others, could be heard throughout the entire building.
Silence fell across those in attendance as the inspector general team members took the stage and announced the final 437 Airlift Wing result of the 2008 ORI. The final result: EXCELLENT.
Air Mobility Command inspectors said that Team Charleston is more than capable of "Taking the Fight to the Enemy" and that they should be proud of their accomplishments.
Col. Joseph Mancy, 437th Operations Group commander and exercise deployed 805th Air Expeditionary Wing commander said he has never been more proud of Team Charleston than he is right now.
"As the deployed exercise 805 AEW commander, I personally thank each Team Charleston member for the hard work, long hours and the time they spent preparing and training for the inspection," said Colonel Mancy. "This was just another opportunity for us to demonstrate that Team Charleston is truly the 'best of the best,' and this is why we are the best team and the best base in AMC."
Col. John "Red" Millander, 437 AW commander, said that teamwork doesn't just happen and that it takes a lot of concerted effort to bring everyone together to form a cohesive team, a dream team like none he has ever seen before, and that he is extremely proud.
"For the past year we worked and trained hard ... as a team with one objective in mind. We worked side by side with our reserve teammates, and results like this take continuous effort and dedication to excellence," said Colonel Millander.
"Validation by the AMC IG is important and we now have that. But what matters most to me, and what I am most proud of is the quiet confidence that Team Charleston is absolutely ready to perform any mission the nation may call us to do," he added. "Every member of Team Charleston has earned the right to hold their head high with pride in that accomplishment ... all our hard work has definitely paid off."
The AMC IG identified the following Airmen and Department of Defense civilians during the ORI out-brief for their individual, team and unit performance:
Individual Recognition
437th Civil Engineer Squadron: Capt. Benjamin Knost
437th Contracting Squadron: 1st Lt. Adrian Oliver, Master Sgt. Terry Harrelson and Airman 1st Class Phillip Johns
437th Operations Support Squadron: 1st Lt. Jonathan Stojan
437th Maintenance Squadron: Tech. Sgt. Andre Mackie
437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron: Tech. Sgt. Gregory Milano
437th Security Forces Squadron: Staff Sgt. James Richardson, Senior Airman Crystal Pascalli and Senior Airman Jennifer Pentecost
The AMC IG team identified the following Airmen and DOD civilian for their exceptional performance during the ORI and coined them at the out-brief:
Exceptional Performers
15th Airlift Squadron: Capt. Josh Long, Tech. Sgt. Rodney Wiles and Staff Sgt. Joshua Watson
437 AMXS: Tech. Sgt. Jamie Brown, Tech. Sgt. Michael Sedovic and Airman 1st Class Tyrell Haney
437 CES: Tech. Sgt. Ronald Helgert and Senior Airman Joshua Bates
437th Communications Squadron: Staff Sgt. Xochiquetzal Baldwin
437th Comptroller Squadron: Staff Sgt. Naomi Frese
437th Force Support Squadron: Tech. Sgt. Nina Murphy and Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rawlings
437th Logistics Readiness Squadron: Tech. Sgt. Joseph Landreth, Airman 1st Class Robert Corbett and Brian Jones
437th Medical Operations Squadron: Staff Sgt. James Jordan
437 OSS: 1st Lt. Charles Logan and Airman 1st Class Jamie Williams
437 SFS: Tech. Sgt. Sloan Kalina, Staff Sgt. Ryan Stocklin and Airman 1st Class Daniel Jedziniak
The AMC IG team recognized the following teams for their performance during the ORI:
Team Recognition:
Aircraft launch team, aircrew flight equipment team, airfield damage repair team, damage assessment and response team, deployment control center team, entry control point security team, fuels refueling maintenance team, information management team, installation control center intelligence team; mobility readiness spares package team, post-attack reconnaissance team, power production team and sortie production team.
In addition to the AMC IG individual and team awards, the following Airmen and DOD civilians were recognized by the 437 AW/CC as Star Performers for their contribution in the wing receiving an "Excellent" rating from the AMC IG team:
Star Performers
437th Medical Group: Capt. Isaiah Manigault, Master Sgt. Kevin Baker, Tech. Sgt. Martin Saienni and Staff Sgt. James Jordan
437th Mission Support Group: Master Sgt. Kenny Johnson, Tech. Sgt. Chad Murphy, Bobby Robinson and Gary Morris
437th Maintenance Group: Capt. Randy Harvey, Chief Master Sgt. Mike O'Hara, Tech. Sgt. William Holt and Keilly Yarborough, Airman 1st Class Robert Audey, Michele Arnold, Debbie Burnette, Travis Ellis, Gary Huckaby, Barbara Leblanc and Jeffrey Lucas
437th Operations Group: Capts. Brent Hooper, Matt Inscoe and Chris Stephens and Mr. Roy Johnson
437 AW Staff: Maj. Evan East, Capts. Erica Harris and Christopher Moore and Tech. Sgt. Diana Tamayo