MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. –
The 305th Civil Engineer Squadron Readiness Flight was recently presented two Colonel Frederick J. Riemer Awards, recognizing them as the best readiness flight in both Air Mobility Command and the Air Force.
The Air Force award was presented to the 14- member flight by Maj. Gen. L. Dean Fox, the Air Force Civil Engineer, Feb. 23 at Bolling Air Force Base, Md. "We are honored to have received this award," said Steven Robertson, 305th CES emergency management chief. "The exceptionally dedicated work of our people has been recognized with best-in-Air Force honors twice in the last four years (in 2002 and 2005), and we were the Air Force’s runner-up in 2001.
"We're also very proud and humbled to have been privileged with receiving the AMC Riemer Award. This is the fifth time in the last seven years," he added. "To paraphrase Tiger Woods: 'We do the best we can do — we'll let history determine if it's the best ever.' I'm honored to be the flight chief of such a dynamic group of professional people. I'm very proud of each one of them and inspired by what they do for Team McGuire."
A combination of things have helped the flight get to where they are today, said Mr. Robertson.
"Having clear goals and objectives that define where we want to be and what we'd like to accomplish to improve our operation and holding ourselves accountable to do what we said we were going to do helped us prepare," he said. "While flexibility is always important, especially when dealing with the daily detours life throws our way, it's more vital than ever we stay engaged and not let circumstances permanently derail our improvement efforts."
Although having goals and planning have helped, the flight members agree they would not have been able to do as well as they did with out the enthusiasm and support of Team McGuire's senior leaders.
"We certainly didn't get to where we are in a single year, and we most definitely didn't get here by ourselves," Mr. Robertson said. "We did it with the tremendous support of CE, mission support group and commanders — past and present — who believed in us and in what we’re trying to accomplish."
Now that the flight has received the award, they will have to wait before they are eligible to compete again. Once a flight wins at the Air Force level, they are ineligible to compete the following year. However, that is not going to stop them from being ready.
"While we can occasionally stop to reminisce about trophies received, we can never rest on our laurels," Mr. Robertson said. "Reflections of the past should help guide, never cloud, a clear vision of the future. We're driven to continuous improvement, not by the hope of awards, but rather because of our self-imposed mandate to do the right things for all the right reasons. In our complex business of emergency management, where credibility is everything, we're only as good as our response to the next event. That's why we work so hard to be ready for anything, anytime, anywhere."