Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst --
The 305th Aerial Port Squadron air freight flight commander was awarded the Gen. Lew Allen, Jr. trophy on Aug. 24.
Capt. John Diaz received the award for his outstanding leadership, which helps make Air Mobility Command’s mission possible.
“I was shocked and happy at the same time because I know this is a very hard award to obtain,” said Diaz. “I am absolutely honored and definitely share this award with everyone in the 305th Air Mobility Wing.”
The Gen. Lew Allen, Jr. trophy is an AMC-level annual award named after the 10th Chief of Staff of the Air Force and recognizes the accomplishments of base-level officers and senior NCOs directly involved in sortie generation.
Diaz attributes his success to the hard working Airmen from around the base, especially those under his supervision.
“To me, this isn’t a ‘me’ award,” said Diaz. “This is a team award, across the board. That’s honestly the way I look at it. I think we all play a part in providing rapid global mobility.”
Diaz excelled beyond rank, and under his leadership, the joint base quickly lifted 2,000 tons of armor and 75 vehicles to Iraq, processed 21,000 pieces of explosives with zero mishaps and prepped a C-17 Globemaster III in less than two hours to deliver relief to Nepal in the wake of the devastating earthquake there last year. These feats are only a fraction of Diaz’s accomplishments in the past year.
“The Air Force does a good job of recognizing strong teams and strong leaders,” said Maj. Eric Quidley, 305th APS commander, “The Air Force absolutely got it right this time. Captain Diaz is a known commodity. Airmen want to work for him. He is an unquestionable asset of the Air Force.”