Officials Announce DOD Maintenance Award Winners

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2012 – Pentagon officials today announced the 2012 winners of the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards for depot and field-level units.

The awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements in weapon system and military equipment maintenance, officials said.

The 2012 Robert T. Mason Depot Maintenance Excellence Award recipient is the Air Force's C-130 Programmed Depot Maintenance Team at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Ga. During 2011, the team increased C-130 aircraft availability by returning 64 aircraft to operating units, reduced in-progress work from 41 to 36 aircraft, slashed flow days from 102 to 69 days, achieved 100 percent on-time delivery by the end of the fiscal year, and lowered customer-reported deficiencies by 60 percent despite increased operational and repair demands on the aging C-130 fleet.

The team also expanded the use of dedicated crews, incorporated high-velocity maintenance concepts into the main production line and consolidated widely scattered production facilities, freeing valuable space for other workloads.

The depot-level award is named for Robert T. Mason, a former assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for maintenance policy, programs, and resources. Mason served as the champion of organic depot maintenance for three decades and was instrumental in transforming the department’s organic depot-level operations, officials said.

This year's winners of Secretary of Defense Field-level Maintenance Awards are:

-- The 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, U.S. Division South, Fort Hood, Texas, and the 23rd Maintenance Group, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., in the large-unit category;

-- Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 40, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., and the 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in the medium-unit category; and

-- Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven 7, Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., and the 353rd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan, in the small-unit category.

The awards will be presented at a Nov. 15 banquet during the 2012 DOD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition in Grand Rapids, Mich.