PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 45th Civil Engineer Squadron continues to be recognized in Air Force Space Command awards in 2016.
“With such great success in accomplishing such an extensive and demanding mission, it is no surprise that the 45th CES received Air Force Space Command’s Outstanding Large Civil Engineer Unit Award for 2015,” said Lt. Col. Jason Glynn, 45th CES commander. “We also garnered four other unit awards and ten individual awards at the major command level and had three members recognized at the Air Force level. I am extremely proud to be associated with the men and women of the unit. They push me to be better every day.”
To support the installations under the 45th Space Wing, the 45th CES designs, constructs, maintains, repairs and protects 3,270 facilities, 1,018 buildings located within the 8.2 million square feet of real property, which supports 135,000 active-duty military members, civilians and retirees, worth $3.4B in plant replacement value. The 45th CES provides broad spectrum services to include facility operations, planning and engineering, fire and emergency services, readiness and emergency management, explosive ordnance disposal and asset management. These services are also provided to partner units who have real estate here such as the Air Force Technical Application Center, the 920th Rescue Wing, the Department of State and others.
“An essential aspect of strong teamwork evident in the unit can be seen in the 45,000 hours of annual preventative maintenance conducted by the squadron,” said Glynn. “On top of this, the unit processes and completes over 7,000 work orders each year while also driving a robust construction project program.”
The squadron’s year of recognition started when six professional performers and three professional teams from the 45th CES were recognized in the 45th SW's recent Unit Effectiveness Inspection report which credited the 45th CES with “strong teamwork and innovative mindset” as an effective platform to battle aging facilities and numerous corrosion issues.
Additionally, the Engineering Flight was awarded the 2015 Brigadier General Archie S. Mayes Award for Outstanding Engineering Flight for their efforts in executing 154 projects valued at over $70 million while staying ahead of schedule, despite major changes in the funding process.
“We rely on our engineering flights to provide onsite support for mission partners and launch authorities,” said Glynn. “In the last 18 months alone, the Cape Engineering Flight has supported more than 25 successful space launches as well as several missile launches for offshore Navy missions. The flight ensures that power distribution reaches all launch critical facilities and that water deluge systems are fully operational. On top of its launch support, the Cape Engineering Flight plans and oversees infrastructure upgrades on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station so that the 45th SW can continue to complete is valuable mission.”
The squadron also won the SMSgt Gerald J. Stryzak Award for Outstanding Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight for the second year in a row because of their emergency response capability that pairs EOD with the Patrick AFB Fire and Emergency Services Flight, and the Readiness and Emergency Management flight. In 2015, EOD technicians safely destroyed 1,700 items of unexploded ordnance in addition to maintaining a $7 million munitions account.
The Readiness and Emergency Management Flight was awarded the 2015 Colonel Frederick J. Reimer Award for Outstanding Readiness & Emergency Management Flight. Flight responsibilities include training base personnel on response procedures for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear attacks. The training flight conducts around 25 training sessions each year and often collaborates with nearby cities and counties to align emergency management processes.
Additionally, the 45th CES was awarded the 2015 Major General Clifton D. Wright Award for Outstanding Operations Flight. The flight completes more than 45,000 hours of preventative maintenance and processes about 7,000 work orders each year. They also received recognition during the 45th SW's recent Unit Effectiveness Inspection.
Below are the Air Force Space Command individual award winners and what they won:
Senior Master Sgt. Barry Snyder, Jr. won the 2015 Society of American Military Engineers Goddard Medal.
William Goehl won the 2015 Outstanding Civil Engineer Manager of the Year, Civilian Supervisor Category.
Jeremiah Roan won the 2015 Outstanding Civil Engineer Manager of the Year, Civilian Manager Category. (Air Force runner-up)
Chief Master Sgt. Lamar Heard won the 2015 Major General Joseph A. Ahearn Enlisted Leadership Award.
Capt. Benjamin Shafer won the 2015 Major General Eugene A. Lupia Award, CGO Category.
Airman First Class Jake Flores won the 2015 Major General Eugene A. Lupia Award, Airman Category. (Air Force runner-up)
Tech. Sgt. Noah McKenzie won the 2015 Air Force Military & Civilian Emergency Manager of the Year, Military Category.
Staff Sgt. Jerod Trainor won the 2015 Fire Instructor of the Year.
Tech. Sgt. Jeremy McLendon won the 2015 Ground Safety Well Done Award 2015. (Air Force winner)
Tech. Sgt Michael Asuncion won the 2015 NCO of the Year.