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Excellence abounds during recent Certified Readiness Exercise Awards formation

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Edward E. Snyder
  • 169th Fighter Wing/Public Affairs
MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, South Carolina --  Nearly 1,500 Airmen that make up the South Carolina Air National Guard and the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, assembled in the base hangar to receive the final results from their Air Combat Command Inspector General Certified Readiness Exercise (CRE), Oct. 5.

Senior leaders of the South Carolina Air National Guard and the 169th Fighter Wing Honorary Wing Commander, Mr. Steven Mungo of Mungo Homes, were in attendance to recognize seventy-five superior performers, twenty-four superior performer teams, members of the CRE preparation team and the men and women of the SCANG. The CRE was conducted Sept. 8 - 10, and assessed the wing's ability to operate safely and efficiently in a deployed chemical combat environment.

Col. Michael Manning, the 169th Fighter Wing commander, was first to speak and announced the wing's overall grade of "Excellent". The wing earned this rating in both the Phase I and Phase II portions of the CRE. Phase I involved the regeneration of 19 aircraft and Phase II involved the wing's employment, sustainment and ability to survive and operate.

"The ACC/IG briefed us that their new standard is a Satisfactory grade and a Sat [Satisfactory] means a unit has met the IG's rigorous standards of performance to accomplish a wartime mission," said Manning. "Our overall grade of excellent is significant and I'm proud of each of you for your contribution to this CRE."

Manning added that the 169th FW, with its Total Force Integration contingent, operates with one-third the manpower and a fraction of an annual budget to accomplish the exact same combat mission that fellow active-duty units perform.

Brig. Gen. Calvin Elam, the assistant Adjutant General for Air, offered his hearty congratulations on a job well done. He likened the efforts of each Swamp Fox member to a quote from the great heavy-weight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali. "Champions are made of something that they have deep inside of them, a desire, a will and a skill to win. But the will must be stronger than the skill."

"Your willingness to achieve an excellent took over and you did just that," said Elam. "You are all champions."

Brig. Gen. Michael Hudson, chief of staff for the SCANG, reminded the wing that the preparation for the CRE began on his watch, but was executed by Manning. Preparations for this inspection began a year and a half earlier and it was Manning who developed the plan to attack the inspection and it could not have been executed any better, according to Hudson.

"We did well on this inspection because we do well every day, all the time. All this inspection did was legitimize our performance once again and reiterate that to the rest of the Air National Guard. It makes me proud to be a Swamp Fox," said Hudson.

Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston, the Adjutant General of South Carolina, expressed his admiration for the team effort it took to continue the Swamp Fox model of excellent performance. He talked of a microcosm that makes America great. A greatness that stems from people that are willing and desire to excel but are also willing to sacrifice those things that are dear to them.

"You just moved forward and did the right things. That says something about you as individuals and that says a whole lot about you as the greatest fighter wing in the world. Truly you are that fighter wing and that is a hard position to maintain and you maintain it with great distinction. Congratulations on what you have done," said Livingston.

Manning introduced the Wing Inspection Team (WIT), Lt. Col. Lee Meares, Lt. Col. John Wilcox, Lt. Col. Charles Blount, Maj. Brian Doyle, Chief Master Sgt. Larry Crowson, Master Sgt. Joshua Thacker, and Master Sgt. James Powell. Each were presented The Adjutant General's coin and received a resounding applause by the audience.

"We all leaned a lot on these guys this past year. I think they came through like a shining star," said Manning.

Lt. Col. Meares recalled a specific moment on day two of the exercise during all the chemical attacks. Some of his WIT members were advised by ACC inspectors to pull back the reigns because they felt that we were going to break our guys down and not make it through the inspection.

"I refused to pull it back. I told the team chief that he doesn't know what we are capable of and I can't demonstrate what you are capable of unless we keep the pressure on," said Meares. "Not only did you guys make it, but every single jet made it on time, we did not need one single time-on-target extension and we finished that day with 16 out of 19 code-one jets ready to fight a third day. Excellent job!"

After another round of applause a list of impressive wing accomplishments were announced by Lt. Col. John Wilcox, the ceremony narrator. The Installation Control Center provided command and control for all flying operations and base recovery after 12 airfield attacks. The Contamination Control Area expertly decontaminated 21 Swamp Fox under extreme heat. The Airfield Damage Assessment Team (ADAT), Damage Assessment and Response Team (DART) and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Recon Teams quickly up-channeled post-attack information to expedite base recovery. The 169th Communications Flight placed over 17,000 feet of temporary communication lines and quickly reacted to restore service in response to 47 trouble tickets. The 169th Force Support Squadron maintained accountability of 958 exercise players, provided meals for 182 Airmen, processed 41 casualty messages and 17 sets of remains...simulated. The 169th Civil Engineer Squadron defended their cantonment area, completed 104 work orders, all while maintaining base utilities. Firefighters, from the 169th CES, responded to 10 calls and successfully accomplished their barrier reset and aircrew extraction exercises exceeding all timing requirements. The 169th Logistics Readiness Squadron delivered over 129,000 gallons of fuel to 110 aircraft, processed six Mission Impaired Capability Awaiting Parts (MICAP) issues, provided base-wide transportation services and issued all required equipment. High-quality financial services support managed financial assets of over one million dollars and accurately responded to 46 scenarios and 26 customers.

Aircraft maintainers regenerated 19 aircraft, four above tasked and two hours early. They delivered 92 combat-ready aircraft, eight above required and 30 mission-ready spares. Weapons loaders reloaded 86 air-to-air missiles, 64 HARMs and 58 JDAMs. Munitions personnel broke out and inspected 115 AIM-120s, 75 AIM-9s and 145 HARMs. They assembled 288 bombs, exceeding tasking by 450 percent. The electronic warfare reprogramming team successfully completed the first aircraft in less than half of the allotted time.

Intelligence analysts briefed and debriefed all sorties including 199 weapon employments, supported a Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) event and provided commanders with the timely dissemination of 169 messages. Aircrew Flight Equipment technicians expertly maintained 28 sets of flight gear and in response to laser hazards, fitted 22 pilots for Aircrew Laser Eye Protection (ALEP) glasses. The Aircrew Contamination Control Area team decontaminated two pilots with zero deficiencies. 157th Fighter Squadron pilots flew 92 missions that simulated the delivery of 105 air-to-air missiles, 45 HARMs and 49 precision guided munitions. They successfully located, suppressed and destroyed 12 surface-to-air missile systems, all assigned targets and 74 adversary aircraft with zero losses.

The finale to the ceremony was the recognition of 75 CRE Superior Performers and 24 Superior Performer Teams. Each name of each member and team was announced and received a certificate and a wing commander's coin.

INDIVIDUAL AWARDEES
169 Fighter Wing
Maj. Thomas Rivers
Capt. Alan Findley
Tech. Sgt. Justin Estes
Staff Sgt. James Seymore
Senior Airman Ashleigh David

169 Maintenance Group
Master Sgt. Seth Berger 169 AMXS
Master Sgt. Randall Silvia 169 AMXS
Master Sgt. Adam Fekete 169 MXS
Master Sgt. Charles Walker 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Scotty Austin 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Shawn Bryan 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Brandon Burton 169 AMXS
Tech. Sgt. Jeffery Hardee 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Michael Irick 169 MXG
Tech. Sgt. Julian Morris 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Jeremiah Parks 169 MXS
Tech. Sgt. Patrick Pham 169 MXS
Staff Sgt. Benjamin Miner 169 MXS
Staff Sgt. Timothy O'Neil 169 MXS
Staff Sgt. David Pearson 169 AMXS
Staff Sgt. Wayne Sigman 169 MXS
Senior Airman Cory Boivin 169 MXS
Senior Airman Cameron Carder 169 MXS
Senior Airman Glen Delozier 169 MXS
Senior Airman Michael T. Hanner 169 MXS
Senior Airman William E. Lee 169 MXS
Senior Airman Jessie Lindsey 169 AMXS
Senior Airman Rhiannon Oleary 169 MXS
Senior Airman Kevin Pascal 169 MXS
Senior Airman Jeremiah Richardson 169 MXS
Senior Airman Sheree Smith 169 MXS
Senior Airman Ashley Williams 169 MXS
Airman 1st Class Ryan Claymore 169 AMXS
Airman 1st Class Ryan Rudin 169 MXS
Airman 1st Class Walter Rueda-Perez 169 AMXS
Airman 1st Class Randy Williams 169 AMXS

169 MISSION SUPPORT GROUP
Capt. Michael Adams 169 LRS
Capt. Gareth Fleisher 169 CES
1st Lt. Marian Burgess 169 CPTF
Master Sgt. William Burrows 169 CF
Master Sgt. Jessica Feil 169 CES
Master Sgt. Ryan Johnson 169 CPTF
Master Sgt. Jonathan Richardson 169 CPTF
Master Sgt. Glenn Vereen 169 CF
Master Sgt. John Wilkes 169 CPTF
Master Sgt. Matthew Williams 169 CES
Tech. Sgt. Stephen Aun 169 CF
Tech. Sgt. Tiffany Brunson 169 LRS
Tech. Sgt. Matthew Delles 169 LRS
Tech. Sgt. Ruth Fleenor 169 FSS
Tech. Sgt. Nathan Melton 169 LRS
Tech. Sgt. Veronica Moore 169 CES
Tech. Sgt. Joseph Pender 169 FSS
Staff Sgt. Scheherazade Charles 169 LRS
Staff Sgt. Michael Cooper 169 CF
Staff Sgt. Ismael Fierro 169 CES
Staff Sgt. Christopher Knotts 169 CPTF
Staff Sgt. Robert Nine 169 CF
Staff Sgt. Chad Peebles 169 SFS
Staff Sgt. Quinten Quinones 169 FSS
Staff Sgt. Lashawnda Thrower 169 LRS
Staff Sgt. Katina Wise 169 FSS
Senior Airman Ashley Douglas 169 MDG
Senior Airman Michael Shelley 169 CF
Senior Airman James Walter 169 FSS

169 OPERATIONS GROUP
Maj. Daniel Bowes 157 FS
Maj. William Broman 157 FS
Maj. Heath Hewett 169 OSF
Maj. Quaid Quadri 157 FS
Master Sgt. Alison Schier 169 OSF
Tech. Sgt. Jim Harvey 169 OSF
Tech. Sgt. Tanya Joseph 169 MDG
Tech. Sgt. Troy Robinson 169 OSF
Staff Sgt. Dustin Biegler 169 OSF
Staff Sgt. Tyla Brackeen 169 OSF

SUPERIOR PERFORMER TEAMS
169 FW Chaplain Corp Team - Lt. Col. Brian Bohlman
169 FW Command Post Team - Master Sgt. Phillip Fulmer
169 FW Contamination Control Area Team - Maj. Wade Rivers
169 FW Electronic Warfare Integrated Reprogramming Team - Master Sgt. Jon Bonovich
169 MXG Crash Damaged or Disable Aircraft Recovery Team - Master Sgt. Bronson Priebe
169 MXG Hydrazine Response Team - Master Sgt. Juan Perez
169 MXG Load Crew AL2 Team - Master Sgt. Fred Knox
169 MXG Load Crew 3 Team - Senior Airman Patrick Cooley
169 MXG Munitions Assembly Conveyor Pad Team - Tech. Sgt. Bryan Anthony
169 MXG Post Attack Reconnaissance Team (Bunker 1) - Tech. Sgt. Joshua Collier
169 MXG Radar Warning Receiver Pit Team - Staff Sgt. Kenyon McKenzie
169 CE Aircrew Extraction Rescue Team - Staff Sgt. Joseph Thompson
169 CE Damage Assessment and Response Team - Master Sgt. Eric McCollough
169 CF Incident Response Team - Master Sgt. Wesley York
169 CF Post Attack Reconnaissance Team - Tech. Sgt. Stephen Aun
169 CF SCO Team - Senior Master Sgt. J.D. Rider
169 CF Unit Control Center Team - Senior Master Sgt. Gregory Stevens
169 LRS Fuels Distribution Post Attack Reconnaissance Team - Master Sgt. Rawdon Naumann
169 LRS Fuels Distribution Team - Senior Master Sgt. Evans Kohn
169 MDG Post Attack Reconnaissance Team - Tech. Sgt. Pearl Gantt
169 OG Aircrew Crew Contamination Control Area Team - Staff Sgt. Tyla Brackeen
169 OG Mission Planning Cell - Maj. William Broman
169 OG Post Attack Reconnaissance Team - Staff Sgt. Dominico Jones
169 OSF Intelligence Team - Maj. Shane Gainous