TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – “The 60th and 349th Maintenance Groups at Travis Air Force Base, California, are firing on all cylinders,” said Col. David Hammerschmidt, 60th MXG commander.
Recently, the two groups were awarded five Air Mobility Command awards.
The 60th and 349th MXGs generated mission readiness by having total-force Airmen and aircraft to deliver airlift power. With the group’s overall high volume of mission success, they were awarded the Clements McMullen Daedalian Large Unit Weapon System Maintenance trophy.
The award recognizes the unit that has best met the objective of providing safe, serviceable and available equipment for sustained use in peacetime and wartime. A Daedalian trophy and award is presented annually to a United States Air Force unit determined to have the best weapon system maintenance record for the preceding calendar year. First awarded in 1960, this trophy is presented each year during the Daedalian National Convention
“No one Airman loads or launches aircraft alone; it takes a team,” said Hammerschmidt. “We measure our aircraft maintenance and aerial port workload together with our Ops brothers and sisters in terms of ‘thousands’ of passengers, ‘hundreds of thousands’ of short tons and ‘millions’ of gallons of fuel. No one person can do that alone. We are and always will be focused on building teams to keep our mission moving.”
The Groups generated 4,000 KC-10 Extender missions, which was more than 24,000 flight hours and refueled 11,000 aircraft. The C-5M Super Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III together transported approximately 75 million pounds of cargo.
“When my unit was announced to receive an AMC award, I was honored,” said Airman 1st Class Aimee Moore, 60th MXG C-5M journeyman. “I knew we were capable of great things, but this shows how hard work and determination pays off. It feels good to be recognized.”
Moore was part of the overall C-5M mission where she helped with the 45 million pounds of cargo the aircraft flew and the 1,500 mission essential flights.
Having leadership who supports their Airmen makes the mission more personal, said Moore.
“This job is personal to me because my team relies on me to be invested in what we do,” said Tech. Sgt. Jacob Haines, 60th MXG C-5M craftsman. “Airmen need me to be a leader and a mentor. My supervisor and leadership need me to be a leader and ensure our people are getting the job done right.”
For Lt. Col. Gary Charland, Jr., 60th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander who received the Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez Award, it comes down to teamwork.
“We’re a group of multi-talented, extremely skilled professionals who can accomplish anything that is set before us,” said Charland. “We are America’s ‘A-Team.’”
“A-Team: Attitude, teamwork, excellence, aptitude and mission accomplishment,” he said.
Team Travis is as mission essential as it is because we’re just that, a team, said Charland.
“One of our biggest strengths in the shop is to have active duty, civilians and reservists working together,” said William O’Sullivan, 60th Maintenance Squadron Nondestructive Inspection Shop supervisor also awarded the Lieutenant General Leo Marquez civilian award. “All three different entities may wear different hats, but our recipe to success is centering our focus on supporting all three jets.”
“Part of being on a team is supporting each other,” O’Sullivan said. “We know that one person being recognized is a reflection of the team’s success and its ability to get the job done.”
Travis Airmen are working hard and won’t stop working hard until the mission is done, said Charland.
“Our command can depend on Travis to get the mission done,” said Hammerschmidt. “That dependability is the result of a constant focus on quality.”
Team Travis does not serve for awards, however, when the team is recognized, Airmen can feel appreciated, he said.
“It is an honor to be recognized at the major command level above so many other aircraft maintenance squadrons,” said Haines. “All maintainers work hard, but this year, we took home the prize!”