ASD Misawa Receives Supply Blue "E" Award

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, Naval Air Facility Misawa Public Affairs

MISAWA, Japan (NNS) -- Aviation Support Division (ASD) Misawa was officially awarded the 2011 Ashore Navy Supply Blue "E" Award for Supply Excellence, April 30.

Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Force 5th/7th Fleet Rear Adm. Matthew Carter was on hand to present the award to ASD Misawa personnel and congratulated them for their outstanding effort.

"An award like this takes a team effort," said Carter. "And should all be very proud for achieving this impressive feat."

The Blue "E" is awarded to supply departments that demonstrate excellent quality and efficiency, as judged by a comprehensive, multiple-day Supply Management Inspection (SMI). ASD Misawa scored a cumulative 97.3 percent, which easily qualified for the award.

Additionally, the command also had to continually meet standards of excellence with monthly Type Commander Pulse Points, a comprehensive Supply Department Training Program, and Continued Process Improvement projects.

"The key to achieving the 'E' is details," said Senior Chief Logistics Specialist Christopher Burn, ASD Misawa leading chief petty officer. "Maintaining 100 percent validity and ensuring that all records are filed and processed correctly is tantamount to success."

Earning the award was especially challenging for various reasons, but ASD Misawa was able to pull it off with a little help from a their "friends."

"It takes the entire team to make this happen," said Burns. "Our brothers at Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment (AIMD) Misawa provided a helping hand and sent four of their guys over TAD (Temporary Assigned Duty)."

Of note is the sheer scope of the job that ASD Misawa undertakes. Not only do they support the deployed P-3 squadron in Misawa, but they are also responsible for squadrons around the world.

"A lot of people think we just support the aircraft on the flight line here, but we also support all the P-3 aircraft in Kadena Air Base in Japan, as well as P-3s that are operating in Bahrain and Qatar," said Warrant Officer Clive Dixon, ASD Misawa officer in charge. "We also have squadrons on detachment in the Philippines and Thailand, not to mention that we provide support to the Fleet Repair Center in Atsugi, Japan.

"So when we talk about meeting issue-effectiveness, it can be very challenging to support customers that are not even in the same geographical location as you are," said Dixon. "The real challenge for us is to meet our customers' needs who may be more than 7,000 miles away."

Despite the unique logistics involved in making sure aircraft operating halfway around the world remain up and running, ASD Misawa personnel excelled under the challenge.

"Everyone played their role and stepped up to the plate," said Dixon. "With the support of Naval Supply Fleet Logistics Center Site Misawa and AIMD Misawa, our guys were really able to do awesome work."

And the culmination of that work comes in the form of a large blue "E" that now adorns the wall of ASD Misawa.

"Hey, the 'E' stands for excellence," said Burns. "You can't argue with that."