Air Force recognizes excellence

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Thomas Smith is a spiritual man. He walks the walk and talks the talk, and his positive attitude inspires those he works with to reach great heights. 

Mr. Smith's leadership and motivation recently earned him an Air Force Individual Installation Award. The Crestview native is a warehouse supervisor for the 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron. With 33 years of federal service under his belt, Mr. Smith has a personal philosophy he lives by daily. 

"First and foremost, I've always been in a customer service organization," Mr. Smith said. "I believe we owe our customers a quality product delivered in a courteous and timely manner." 

Mr. Smith's main customer is the 33rd Fighter Wing, where his warehouse is located. He and his staff of 14 military and four civilians processed more than 54,000 receipts yearly, with a 99.9 percent accuracy rate, which surpasses the Air Force standard. He get priority parts into the hands of the users, more than 15,000 mission capable assets annually. 

"If a jet is down, I want to get the part into the mechanic's hands so we can get that plane to the warrior," Mr. Smith said. 

Mr. Smith pays keen attention to detail, closely supervising the more than 114,000 monthly transactions his warehouse handles. His warehouse, which is a "true aircraft parts store," is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the staff handles all after-hour receiving, maintains a classified vault and handles parts for F-16s, C-130s and helicopters. 

"Tommy is a leader by example," said Bill Luke, Chief of the Materiel Management Flight for LRS. "He is dedicated and does whatever it takes to accomplish the mission, sometimes under very adverse conditions. His warehouse supports the day-to-day missions plus the deployments and special projects." 

Mr. Smith knows he's blessed with a good team. But with a large percentage of his workers military, Mr. Smith is often short-handed due to deployments. He's not adverse to rolling up his sleeves and working the counter to meet customer needs and is realistic enough to realize "what we don't do today, we'll pick up tomorrow." 

"So many of these young people are so sharp; I try to mentor them and encourage a positive mindset; I try hard to make them aware what they are supporting, and they do a good job." 

What these young men and women supported in 2006 was 12,000 sorties flown with no mission lost due to supply deviations. Mr. Smith's on-the-job training program received no write-ups and his warehouse has a flawless safety record. It's evident his love for the Air Force takes him to a higher level. 

"I am glad to be a part of the Air Force family; I came in as a kid and now I'm the father figure," Mr. Smith said. "It's been a good ride; it's paid for my home and supported my family and I love it. I'll be proud to serve a few more years."