Moody maintainers receive AF-level praise

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Eric Schloeffel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (ACCNS) --  A high deployment tempo, combined with effectively balancing the needs of two airframes, led aircraft maintainers here to receive Air Force-level recognition. 

The 723rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron was recently awarded a 2006 Air Force Maintenance Effectiveness Award. The award serves as testament to the unit's ability to excel despite challenging circumstances, said Lt. Col. Donald Russell, 723rd AMXS commander. 

"Our unit has been on the road a lot supporting a variety of missions, including combat search and rescue (in Iraq and Afghanistan), in-lieu of Army taskings and C-130 support in the Horn of Africa," he said. "We also compete for the award with many squadrons that only support one type of aircraft, while the 723rd AMXS maintains the C-130 and HH-60G Pave Hawk." 

Due to the varied missions and high operations climate that entail supporting the CSAR mission, the 723rd AMXS was forced to focus on working smarter to achieve success, said Colonel Russell. 

"We have finite resources in today's Air Force, so we had to use our assets more effectively," the colonel said. "One of my priorities is to constantly improve through (Air Force Special Operations for the 21st Century) projects to eliminate waste so we can use our Airmen more efficiently." 

One example of effective management is the unit's new support facility, which includes a consolidated tool kit section and a decentralized supply support section. The facility is designed to streamline maintenance operations, which fits into the 723rd AMXS overall mission objective, said Colonel Russell. 

"We've devoted our resources into our facilities, infrastructure and equipment to make life better for the maintainers," he said. "We put a real effort into making this entire operation better." 

The colonel also pointed to problems that plagued the unit in the past that were overcome through efforts to improve maintenance practices. 

"We felt it was important to standardize some of our maintenance management practices and instill some discipline in what we do here," he said. "In the past, we were struggling with corrosion and cracking on both airframes. We emphasized the importance of routine scheduling of preventative maintenance, which really helped our fleet." 

In addition to operational improvements, the 723rd AMXS also took on programs to improve the morale of its maintainers, said Colonel Russell. 

"One particular area that was critical to our success was the dedicated crew chief program," he said. "A dedicated crew chief is the maintainer whose name can be commonly seen on the door of the aircraft. The program gives the particular Airmen cradle-to-grave ownership of the aircraft through all phases of its maintenance. 

"Although the program is not new to the Air Force, we decided to put teeth behind it and increase its importance," the colonel added. "Programs like this instill unit pride and aircraft competition, and they are an overall benefit to the squadron." 

While these programs may have catapulted the unit's success, the Airmen hold the key to whether aircraft are maintained properly and the mission is accomplished, said Colonel Russell. 

"It's extremely humbling to be involved with such a great team," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of my Airmen, NCOs and officers, and their team effort in the area of responsibility fighting the global war on terrorism. This award really shows what teamwork and good leadership can do for an organization." 

While the unit's maintainers share the same pride for their award-winning efforts, they aren't surprised of their recent success, said Tech. Sgt. Joel Ellis, 723rd AMXS NCO-in-charge of the assistant aircraft section. 

"Our mission is sometimes overlooked and is often low-key," he said. "Despite a high-rate of deployments, everyone here has kept up on their training and has done an outstanding job. In my opinion, Moody has the best maintainers in the Air Force."