Communication Squadron wins Air Force Reserve Command Information Dominance awards

by Senior Airman Jaimi L. Upthegrove
By the 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office

1/13/2015 - HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla.  -- The 482nd Communication Squadron at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, received the Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Outstanding Unit award and three Information Dominance individual awards.

This is the second year in a row for the 482nd CS to win the top unit award.

The unit award honors Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant, the first commander of the Air Force Communications Service. It recognizes cyberspace units for sustained superior performance and professional excellence while managing core cyberspace functions, and for contributions that most improved Air Force operations.

"The Communications Squadron met and tackled many challenges throughout 2014. These awards recognize their achievements and dedication to excellence," said Col. Elwin Rozyskie, 482nd Fighter Wing Mission Support Group commander. "Having the Reserve Command recognize the squadron with these command-level awards is a testament to their achievements and we are very proud of them here."

Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Outstanding Unit Award

The 482nd CS brought home the Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant for their outstanding achievements over the year. They were the first in the Air Force Reserve Command to launch a Knowledge Operations Management Center which is set to become the template for other units. They conducted the first multi-unit base recovery communications exercise which trained five units in one ten day period on contingency planning and support.

"I'm really impressed with what our folks have accomplished this year," said Maj. Michael D. Wells, 482nd CS commander. "They've tackled two major inspections with flying colors and wrote the playbook on how to conduct a communications readiness exercise."

The Information Dominance award recognizes outstanding individuals working in cyberspace career fields for sustained superior performance and contributions to Air Force missions and operations.

Information Dominance Outstanding Radio Systems NCO of the Year Award

Tech. Sgt. Michael Bugger, 482nd CS Radio Frequency Transmission Systems Technician, earned the Air Force Outstanding RF Transmission Systems Non-Commissioned Officer of the year award. Bugger distinguished himself by troubleshooting malfunctioning sirens for the Florida Air National Guard detachment here, overseeing the Homestead ARB E-911 project which assisted increasing safety on base, and spearheaded AFRC upgrade directive of voice over internet protocol phones among other things.

Information Dominance Outstanding Cyber Transport NCO of the Year Award

Tech. Sgt. Bryan Peterson, 482nd CS Cyber Transport Technician, was awarded the AF Outstanding Cyber Transport Systems NCO of the year award. Peterson was a key leader in the Joint Incident Sit Communications Capability workshop and consolidated the base's network infrastructure by installing 30 remote access servers.  Peterson also built an electro-static discharge station which assured the protection of personnel and equipment from electrical shock.

Information Dominance Outstanding Radio Systems Airman of the Year Award

Senior Airman Miguel Luna, 482nd CS RF transmission systems technician, won the AF Outstanding RF Transmission System Airman of the year award. Among his list of accomplishments were arranging and conducting annual wing personal wireless communication system training, installing and configuring more than 25 radios in the emergency operations center, and assisting the air traffic control shop troubleshoot and repair a ramp communication network.