AFMC selects Hill for excellence

by Richard W. Essary
75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

10/31/2014 - HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah,  -- Hill was selected as Air Force Materiel Command's choice for the Commander-in-Chief's 2015 Annual Award for Installation Excellence.

This award recognizes the outstanding and innovative efforts of the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations. Each year one installation from each service is selected for this honor. Installation excellence enables better mission performance and enhances the quality of life for service members and their families, according to a Department of Defense news release.

"Being selected to represent our command is an incredible honor for Team Hill," said Col. Ron Jolly, 75th Air Base Wing and installation commander. "Whether we are deploying combat-ready Airmen around the world, providing exceptional medical care for our beneficiaries or championing activities to bed down F-35 operations, this recognition is a testimony of Team Hill's hard work and commitment to our nation's security."

Hill will compete against other Air Force-level command winners for the award. An inspection team will visit each finalist base, and the winners are traditionally announced in the spring.

Nearly 10 of Hill's units and programs brought home "best" in Department of Defense, Air Force, AFMC and Air Force Sustainment Center recognition during the award period including: the military treatment facility, dental services, fire department, environmental and energy programs, housing management, communications, sexual assault prevention and response, and public-public, public-private partnerships.

Team Hill has much to be proud of during the award period, officials said. Along with the exceptional recognition, the installation embraced AFSC's "Art of the Possible" culture that led to a number of successes and cost-savings' initiatives.

Some of those include:

- Hill completed approximately 5,300 flight plans for local depot-maintenance and tenant aircraft missions and received a 99 percent customer-service satisfaction rating with zero discrepancies from those units.
- The chapel organized weekend retreats for Hill's families and single Airmen to focus on resiliency skills before, during and after a deployment.
- The Hill clinic created a new satellite pharmacy to decrease wait times by 400 percent. It also collaborated with a nearby health department to develop a civilian flu vaccine program that was benchmarked by the Air Force.
- The fire department completed 1,100 emergency responses, protecting people and base facilities.
- The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office conducted 11 education and outreach activities on- and off-base, involving more than 2,000 participants.
- The communications directorate led the Air Force's third largest network migration and resolved more than 2,600 trouble tickets.
- The 629th Munitions Squadron, which is the busiest munitions inspection operation in the Air Force, executed more than 5,000 shipments to units worldwide.
- Contracting awarded nearly $18 million worth of contracts to fix a hangar roof and renovate a facility that will directly support Hill's ability to reach "initial operational capability" for the F-35 Lighting II. Additionally, Hill began 33 construction projects related to the F-35 worth $111 million.
- The base's environmental program validated a laser paint-removal system for the C-130 Hercules that strips paint seven times faster than previously accomplished.
- Hill's use of solar arrays and municipal landfill methane gas saved the Air Force nearly $674,000 annually.
- The Enhanced Use Lease Office administered the largest EUL project in the DOD -- three projects to date worth $83 million -- at no-cost to the government.
- Team Hill partnered with the community to host one of DOD's largest air shows, which enabled 550,000 spectators to witness firsthand the pride and precision of the Air Force.