Life support wins ACC Small Program of the Year award

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Jim Lambertsen
  • 33rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 33rd Fighter Wing Life Support Section was selected from eight other units as the 2006 winner of the Air Combat Command Small Program of the Year Award.

This section, composed of 58th and 60th Fighter Squadron Life Support Airmen, overcame manning challenges to win the award as there were times throughout the year the section was 65-percent manned. Also contributing to the award was the section's exercise and real-world activities.

"It was all of our hard work and preparation that led to our top level performances in the latest Operational Readiness Inspection and Operation Noble Eagle," said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Davidson, NCOIC of the 60th FS Life Support.

In 2006, life support conducted five Phase II Operational Readiness Exercises in just seven months, amounting to 1,052 sorties supported by the section.

The life support section is responsible for training, maintaining, inspecting, and basic upkeep of all aircrew life support equipment. This includes anything from a flight helmet or oxygen mask to parachute or survival kit.

The section is also responsible for the composite tool kit. In 2006, Staff Sgt. Matthew Harms, 58th FS Life Support, had every tool in the kit laser-etched and, to assist with tool accountability, he took pictures of the tool kit layout in order to aid in organizational upkeep and track which tools were missing. He also reformatted the CTK master binder to include all forms and publications, making it user-friendly so any Airman can reference it with ease.

"It was a huge team effort, and it was great to see the NCOICs from both shops working together in the same shop filling in for those missing to elevate mission effectiveness," said Master Sgt. Joseph E. Jones, superintendent of 33rd FW Life Support.
Sergeant Davidson has worked in the shop for six years and this was the first time it won the small unit award.

"We were nominated for the award in 2005, but did not win; so, in 2006, the life support team was able to identify the areas that we were lacking and filled in the gaps to be named the best in ACC," he said.

Now that 33rd FW Life Support has won at the ACC level, they will continue on to compete against the other commands for the Air Force award.