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505th Command and Control Wing News

Wing honors best, brightest

  • Published
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  The best and brightest 505th Command and Control Wing members were honored during the wing's annual awards banquet held Feb. 2 at the Soundside Club here.

Top Airmen, civilians and contractors were recognized for their achievements supporting the wing's mission to improve warfighter capability through command and control testing, tactics development and training. Guest speaker, Ninth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Binnicker, commended the nominees and winners for their superior performance and commitment to excellence.

Col. Edward McKinzie, 505th CCW commander, recognized the wing's 2010 efforts, noting the many achievements and advancements members made for Air Force, joint and coalition C2 warfighters. "Being selected as the best from the amazing members of this wing is quite the achievement," Colonel McKinzie said. "It is a privilege to be your commander, to serve by your side and to recognize not only our top Airmen, but all of you who lead with integrity and serve with excellence."

Individual category winners are:

Airman of the Year - Senior Amn. Stephan DeLoach, 505th Combat Training Squadron, controlled five exercise Unified Endeavor Mission Report cells, delivering 20,000 intelligence reports and providing realistic command and control, or C2, training to more than 6,000 warfighters. He also led a Virtual Flag intelligence fusion center, reviewing 15 sources and posting 60 products daily contributing to the exercise's overall success.

NCO of the Year - Tech. Sgt. John Roberson, 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Detachment 1 at Seattle, Wash., identified and fixed four communication system issues on an AWACS test aircraft, which hadn't been flown in nearly two years, preparing it for Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2010. He also flew a 6-hour sortie, directing Canadian Air Defense Sector repair actions, restoring a crucial datalink assuring continuous AWACS coverage for the Olympics.

Senior NCO of the Year - Master Sgt. Jason Ackerman, 605th TES, Det. 1 superintendent, managed 14 maintenance and aircrew member's workloads ensuring a $2.9 billion AWACS upgrade was complete for an Air Combat Command test event. As superintendent he is responsible for managing performance reports and decorations on 86 personnel at six locations. He also coached youth baseball and wrestling, mentoring 100 children and promoting physical fitness and teamwork.

Company Grade Officer of the Year - Capt. Todd Dawson, 605th TES, at Hurlburt Field, led one of ACC's top priority tests of the new MQ-9 Reaper wide-area video system , Gorgon Stare, and identified fielding requirements to senior leadership . He designed a 54-point metrics database capturing key statistics optimizing funds and test execution. He completed two masters' degree classes and 40 hours of advanced test courses earning his Defense Department Senior Level Test and Evaluation certification, culminating six years of test training.

Field Grade Officer of the Year - Maj. Heather Baldwin, 505th CCW, Chief, Commanders Action Group, managed 136 taskers and was lauded by the U.S. Air Warfare Center for her 100 percent on-time rate which was best in the center. She directed 32 high-level visits including the USAFWC commander, Headquarters Air Force and ACC staffs and was lead for the 505th CCW commander's Capitol Hill visit. She initiated a Wing Newcomer's Handbook and overhauled the Wing's USAFWC metrics slides.

Civilian Technician of the Year - Jasmine Lawson, 505th Training Squadron, managed the 505th Training Group and Training Squadron administrative workflow processing taskings, evaluations and decorations ensuring 100 percent on-time response. Voted as the wing booster club president, she conducted a climate survey and implemented a new direction for the club and developed a unique wing Commander's Cup trophy fundraising and morale program. As a volunteer, she assisted in four fundraisers that generated more than $2,500.

Civilian Specialist of the Year - Kevin Barone, 705th Combat Training Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M., administered 340 client workstations, seventeen servers, two networks and increased data retention by 533 percent. Additionally, he acquired the only secret level VOIP on Kirtland Air Force Base, providing communication capabilities with counter-IED field representatives in Afghanistan. Finally, he dedicated many off-duty hours solving computer problems for families of deployed Airmen.

Civilian Manager of the Year - Laurence Clark, 505th CCW staff, identified and secured $26.1 million in end-of-year funds, paying 99 percent of fiscal 2011 contract bills, the most in wing history. He coordinated 41 personnel, operations and maintenance submissions increasing end of year funds. He successfully advocated for additional monies from Air Combat Command. He is a community leader, volunteering time to youth and homeless.

Team of the Year - Five contracting and five financial management members made up the Contracting and Financial Management Cross Functional Team. They laid the foundation for advanced air, space and cyber test and training capabilities, optimizing funding across four major commands and paved the way for the wing's successful fiscal 2011.

Contractors were honored by their respective companies.

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Wing honors best, brightest

  • Published
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  The best and brightest 505th Command and Control Wing members were honored during the wing's annual awards banquet held Feb. 2 at the Soundside Club here.

Top Airmen, civilians and contractors were recognized for their achievements supporting the wing's mission to improve warfighter capability through command and control testing, tactics development and training. Guest speaker, Ninth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force James Binnicker, commended the nominees and winners for their superior performance and commitment to excellence.

Col. Edward McKinzie, 505th CCW commander, recognized the wing's 2010 efforts, noting the many achievements and advancements members made for Air Force, joint and coalition C2 warfighters. "Being selected as the best from the amazing members of this wing is quite the achievement," Colonel McKinzie said. "It is a privilege to be your commander, to serve by your side and to recognize not only our top Airmen, but all of you who lead with integrity and serve with excellence."

Individual category winners are:

Airman of the Year - Senior Amn. Stephan DeLoach, 505th Combat Training Squadron, controlled five exercise Unified Endeavor Mission Report cells, delivering 20,000 intelligence reports and providing realistic command and control, or C2, training to more than 6,000 warfighters. He also led a Virtual Flag intelligence fusion center, reviewing 15 sources and posting 60 products daily contributing to the exercise's overall success.

NCO of the Year - Tech. Sgt. John Roberson, 605th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Detachment 1 at Seattle, Wash., identified and fixed four communication system issues on an AWACS test aircraft, which hadn't been flown in nearly two years, preparing it for Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2010. He also flew a 6-hour sortie, directing Canadian Air Defense Sector repair actions, restoring a crucial datalink assuring continuous AWACS coverage for the Olympics.

Senior NCO of the Year - Master Sgt. Jason Ackerman, 605th TES, Det. 1 superintendent, managed 14 maintenance and aircrew member's workloads ensuring a $2.9 billion AWACS upgrade was complete for an Air Combat Command test event. As superintendent he is responsible for managing performance reports and decorations on 86 personnel at six locations. He also coached youth baseball and wrestling, mentoring 100 children and promoting physical fitness and teamwork.

Company Grade Officer of the Year - Capt. Todd Dawson, 605th TES, at Hurlburt Field, led one of ACC's top priority tests of the new MQ-9 Reaper wide-area video system , Gorgon Stare, and identified fielding requirements to senior leadership . He designed a 54-point metrics database capturing key statistics optimizing funds and test execution. He completed two masters' degree classes and 40 hours of advanced test courses earning his Defense Department Senior Level Test and Evaluation certification, culminating six years of test training.

Field Grade Officer of the Year - Maj. Heather Baldwin, 505th CCW, Chief, Commanders Action Group, managed 136 taskers and was lauded by the U.S. Air Warfare Center for her 100 percent on-time rate which was best in the center. She directed 32 high-level visits including the USAFWC commander, Headquarters Air Force and ACC staffs and was lead for the 505th CCW commander's Capitol Hill visit. She initiated a Wing Newcomer's Handbook and overhauled the Wing's USAFWC metrics slides.

Civilian Technician of the Year - Jasmine Lawson, 505th Training Squadron, managed the 505th Training Group and Training Squadron administrative workflow processing taskings, evaluations and decorations ensuring 100 percent on-time response. Voted as the wing booster club president, she conducted a climate survey and implemented a new direction for the club and developed a unique wing Commander's Cup trophy fundraising and morale program. As a volunteer, she assisted in four fundraisers that generated more than $2,500.

Civilian Specialist of the Year - Kevin Barone, 705th Combat Training Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M., administered 340 client workstations, seventeen servers, two networks and increased data retention by 533 percent. Additionally, he acquired the only secret level VOIP on Kirtland Air Force Base, providing communication capabilities with counter-IED field representatives in Afghanistan. Finally, he dedicated many off-duty hours solving computer problems for families of deployed Airmen.

Civilian Manager of the Year - Laurence Clark, 505th CCW staff, identified and secured $26.1 million in end-of-year funds, paying 99 percent of fiscal 2011 contract bills, the most in wing history. He coordinated 41 personnel, operations and maintenance submissions increasing end of year funds. He successfully advocated for additional monies from Air Combat Command. He is a community leader, volunteering time to youth and homeless.

Team of the Year - Five contracting and five financial management members made up the Contracting and Financial Management Cross Functional Team. They laid the foundation for advanced air, space and cyber test and training capabilities, optimizing funding across four major commands and paved the way for the wing's successful fiscal 2011.

Contractors were honored by their respective companies.