Innovative Airmen recognized by AF vice chief of staff

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs Command Information

7/29/2015 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer presented the inaugural General Larry O. Spencer Innovation Awards July 23 at the Pentagon, to Airmen who made the most significant contributions to saving Air Force financial and manpower resources this year.

"This is personal for me -- not because of the award name, but because I'm so passionate about innovation," Spencer said during the ceremony.

Andrew Sloper, a logistics management specialist at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, was the individual award winner. He increased the Ogden Air Logistics Center's capacity by 216 percent while reducing annual depot costs by 37 percent during the F-22 Raptor depot consolidation initiative streamlining. His effort provided a projected $300 million "should cost" savings.

"I've often been accused of having a lot of passion in what I do," Sloper said. "Making sure that we streamline our processes and get the aircraft back to the warfighter is my number one priority."

The team award went to the Air Combat Command Surgeon General's Home Station Medical Response and Bioenvironmental team from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The team identified and eliminated a redundant chemical detection capability across the Air Force, which resulted in an immediate savings of $2.3 million and a total savings over the life cycle of $3.5 million.

"It's an honor to be a member of this team receiving the inaugural General Larry O. Spencer Innovation Award," said Maj. Perry Johns, assigned to the Home Station Medical Response Branch. "Air Force leadership has created a culture of innovation and good stewardship. I hope this initiative has laid a cornerstone on which the Air Force will continue to build future successes."

In the spirit of that culture, Spencer challenged those in attendance to think about the vast impact innovation has had, and will continue to have, on the Air Force.

"What is the Air Force going to look like when you're standing up at your retirement ceremony?" Spencer asked. "It's going to look a lot different than it does now. The reason these awards are so important is that you all now are contributing to the way the Air Force is going to look in the future."