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MHAFB gets $1 million to benefit quality of life
by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON -- Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley formally honored the Gunfighters as the Air Force's best installation during ceremonies May 3 and 4 at the Pentagon.
The annual award recognizes five military installations -- including one from each service branch -- that stand out among all others for superior mission support in a variety of categories.
Each of the winning units won $1 million to benefit quality of life improvements at their respective installations.
"This is an especially critical time for the country, and it is a time like this that requires great leadership," Secretary England said at the May 4 ceremony. "It requires great leadership starting with the president of the United States and the secretary of defense and all the great people that we have in the Pentagon, but it takes leadership throughout the organization. It takes leadership at every single level of our organization and every single place in our organization."
Mountain Home Air Force Base beat out 85 other Air Force installations for the best-in-Air Force award.
"This is a real treat for a chief and a secretary to get to do," General Moseley said during the May 3 presentation. "To recognize excellence and outstanding work and be able to tie that to a base, population and community makes it real special ... you have really done us proud."
As part of the award selection process, an inspection team visited the Gunfighters from Feb. 4-7 to rate the base against the service's other two finalists -- Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., and Hurlburt Field Air Force Base, Fla. The Gunfighters stood out with improvement initiatives that included the base's $60 million Republic of Singapore Air Force facility bed down plan, a $1.3 million aircraft hangar high-expansion foam system to increase base aircraft protection and construction of a $730,000 multi-use indoor running track without a military contract. Also highlighted was the base youth center, which earned marks by other Air Force inspectors as "best seen to date."
Mountain Home also showcased a robust energy program where they installed new boilers in multiple facilities to reduce heating costs by $1.2 million. The base later renegotiated natural gas rates to slash costs by 24 percent to save the base $800,000.
"This award validates the hard work, commitment and pride of all of our Gunfighters who work together to make Mountain Home the best base in the Air Force," said Col. Tony Rock, 366th Fighter Wing commander.
"Words can't describe my pride in the team's continued commitment to excellence and high performance. I am simultaneously humbled and awed to be part of this team and lead our Gunfighters as we continue to prove we are the premier combat wing in the entire Air Force."
Excellent installations lead to better mission performance and enhance quality of life for military men and women and their families, the colonel added.
In addition to recognizing leaders, these awards highlight the people who make these winning installations function every day, according to Secretary England.
"Any time you have an opportunity to say thanks to people for a job that's extraordinarily well done, it's an opportunity you never pass up, because at the end of the day, that's what this organization's all about," the secretary added. "It's about joint civilian-military teams; it's that teamwork behind the lines that allows our people to do their jobs at the front lines."
This year's other excellence awardees included the U.S. Army Garrison Japan at Camp Zama, Japan; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, Calif.; Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga.; and the Defense Supply Center in Columbus, Ohio.
President Ronald Reagan created the Commander in Chief's Annual Award for Installation Excellence in 1985. The competition included Defense Logistics Agency units in 1988. During this month's ceremonies, recipient installations received a trophy, an installation excellence flag and a letter signed by President George W. Bush. Editor's note: Army Sgt. Sara Wood from the American Forces Press Service contributed to this report.