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AFDW Comm and Info Annual Award winners announced

  • Published
  • By Aletha Frost
  • AFDW Public Affairs
AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON --  The Air Force District of Washington 2008 Communications and Information annual awards were recently announced by AFDW commander Maj.Gen. Ralph Jodice. The winners were selected on the basis their leadership and job performance in primary duties, significant self-improvement, and base and community involvement. 

Individual and team award winners recognized during the event ,and award categories are:

Airman First Class Richard Anderson- 2E Airman of the Year
Airman Anderson is a network engineer assigned to the 744th Communications Squadron, at Bolling AFB, Washington D.C. Airman Anderson engineered and maintained $17 million Metropolitan Area Network supporting the National Capital Region. He configured, controlled and monitored network infrastructure connectivity serving more than 3,000 base customers. He also trained four technicians on cutting edge Information Transfer Node upgrade procedures reducing downtime for 12,000 users from two hours to five minutes.

Tech. Sgt. Joseph Lawrence - 2E NCO of the Year
Sergeant Lawrence is the team chief, Secretary Defense Travel Team assigned to the Pentagon. He led 13 worldwide missions to 17 countries logging 115 temporary duty days and flawless command and control support for the Secretary of Defense. His innovative solution to streamline the antiquated equipment deployment process reduced annual travel costs by $114,000 annually. He also completed 22 college hours towards a Bachelor degree in Information Technology and maintained a 4.0 GPA.

Master Sgt. Robert Carmona - 2E Senior NCO of the Year
Sergeant Carmona is the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Secretary Defense Travel Communications team at the Pentagon. His unmatched leadership and technical expertise led the way for 85 missions, to 118 locations, for 1,300 TDY days of command and control support for the Secretary of Defense and his staff. He also completed nine credit hours towards a Bachelor degree in Computer Information Systems while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Senior Airman Chatsuda Evans - 3A Airman of the Year
Airman Evans is an information manager assigned to Air Force District of Washington Knowledge Operations Center at Andrews AFB, Md. According to her awards package, Airman Evans is the cornerstone in AFDW command, control, communications and computer systems and provides premium service always. Airman Evans troubleshot and repaired 900 computer trouble calls and resolved 810 issues within minutes of trouble call initiation leaving only 10 percent repairs requiring help desk assistance. She also managed and evaluated 44 records custodians as liaison with base records manager. She also has completed 15 college credit hours at the University of Maryland with a 3.2 GPA.

Tech. Sgt. Jason Hettinger - 3A NCO of the Year
Sergeant Hettinger is the AFDW and Andrews AFB official mail manager. He oversees official mail for both bases with operating expenses of more than $600,000 annually. He also supervises a team of 12 Airmen. He is a proven top quality planner, who was pivotal in creating AFDW's first Knowledge Operation Center. With less than 30 days on station, Sergeant Hettinger earned "outstanding" during the DoD Military Postal Services Agency inspection. His mail management practices set the standard for DoD.

Senior Master Sgt. Arthur Henderson - 3A Senior NCO of the Year
Sergeant Henderson is dual-hatted as the 844th Communications Group and 744th Communications Squadron, 3A, Information Management Functional Manager. He manages key programs relating to Information Management, 47 knowledge operation centers, AFDW headquarters, two Air Force bases and four Wings, supporting more than 11,000 customers. He is a top-notch manager, who uncovered more than $120,000 worth of unpaid contracts and mitigated $10,000 worth of printing waste in his section.

Airman 1st Class Joseph Arenas - 3C Airman of the Year
Airman Arenas is a COMSEC technician assigned to the 744th Communication Squadron Operation Location-B, Bolling AFB. Sergeant Arenas led his office during the 2008 base-wide Communication Security Information Assurance and Assistance Program inspection, with zero discrepancies identified. His program received an "Excellent" rating by the Air Force Communications Agency. He completed the COMSEC inventory accounting for 390 items with 100 percent accountability within AFDW. Sergeant Arenas managed 28 local COMSEC elements and provided security and accountability for $23 million in AFDW command and control assets. He has completed 32 credit hours towards his Community College of the Air Force, knowledge that he applies daily in his work environment.

Tech. Sgt. Shontel Moulton - 3C NCO of the Year
Sergeant Moulton is the assistant NCOIC, Global Information Grid Facility, 744th Communications Squadron, at Andrews. Sergeant Moulton installed Defense Switch Network trunks furnishing bandwidth that increased Executive Airlift Command node access from three to six in support the presidential airlift support mission. He processed 86 authorized service interruptions effecting 202 DoD assets; exceeding standards. Sergeant Moulton also reviewed and revalidated 41 circuits and discontinued service for 21 extraneous assets, saving the Air Force more than $50,000 annually.

Master Sgt. Corrine Camacho - 3C Senior NCO of the Year
Sergeant Camacho is the superintendent, Infrastructure assigned to the 744th Communications Squadron, Andrews AFB. She leads the Air Force's largest multi-function switch. Under her leadership, Sergeant Camacho's section maintained a 99.99 percent uptime rate; providing outstanding support to warfighters worldwide. She led a 30-person Web team during Air Force Portal content migration to centralize and ease access to vital Web resources. She directed $145,000 technical control upgrades that increased circuit longevity for eight years. She steered $292,000 wireless contract and monitored requirements that supplied 642 vital network assets to the base. Her team oversaw for Air Force's first Area Processing Center installation that consolidated network assets and increased data storage capability. Sergeant Camacho also executed a $1 million budget to enable seamless communication support for Special Air Missions and the Presidential Airlift Group.

1st Lt. Thomas McGrevey - 33S Company Grade Officer of the Year
Lieutenant McGrevey is the flight commander, 744th Communications Squadron, Andrews AFB. He provided communication support for the Air Force Chief of Staff conference, ensuring 24-hour support to 45 general officers. He managed a 75-person team for the 11th Wing after-hours relocation and $120,000 network upgrade with zero customer impact. He led the $465,000 technical control renovation; maximized network uptime during revamp project completed ahead of schedule. He initiated an evaluation on 125 accounts and identified discrepancies to update records ensuring that $12 million assets were inspection ready and mission capable. He also planned and designed the Group Cyber Tasking Order process to maintain increased awareness and enabled command and control of the Air Force network within the National Capital Region.

Maj. Eric Crowell - 33S Field Grade Officer of the Year
Major Crowell is the 744th Communications Squadron Operations Location-B, Commander, Bolling AFB. He earned the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for managing 13 networks for four area headquarters and 63 team sites while deployed. He engineered a $10 million Iraqi special operations forces network; providing five commando brigades with critical data and phone capabilities in 10 days. He guided Bolling's communication security inspection success with 100 percent accountability of 3,000 items and received the Air Force's top rating. He executed a $10 million budget and maintained 24/7 secure/nonsecure computer, communication and information services with 15,000 users supported. Recognized for his as a phenomenal leadership, Major Crowell led 225 personnel and $200 million in assets in support of the Air Force's largest Air Logistics Center with -six major commands and seven Wings.

Mr. Paul Howk - Civilian Manager of the Year
Mr. Howk is a sectrum management/project manager assigned to the 844th Communications Group, at Andrews. He performed more than 100 frequency reviews, deleted 30 obsolete assignments and cleared all overdue tasks, saving more than $60,000. He acquired a new frequency for the Bolling AFB Mass Notification System - a solution that ensures the safety of AFDW personnel. He also designed a aircraft radio system and coordinated with five DoD agencies to achieve 71,000 square nautical miles of coverage.

Ms. Jennifer Weatherly - Civilian Specialist of the Year
Ms. Weatherly is the AFDW Records, Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act manager. Ms. Weatherly persuaded Headquarters, Air Force to set a precedent by allowing AFDW to notify 2,500 users of a Personal Identification Incident breach via e-mail, saved more than $7,000. She conducted PII training for more than 300 people and ensured DoD compliance in required reporting procedures. She closed 134 Fiscal Year 08 Freedom of Information Act cases - a first in AFDW history and one of only three commands Air Force-wide with no backlog. Ms. Weatherly expertly managed a storage facility for 2,000 inactive records and enforced procedures for handling official records. She also is a superb speaker, briefing more than 600 Airmen and civilians on PII and electronic records management procedures, stressing the need to enforce and comply with Air Force Instructions and DoD guidance.

General Edwin W. Rawlings Award - The General Edwin W. Rawlings Award was presented to the 844th Communication Group/SCX, Andrews Area Processing Center Standup Team, as the superior enterprise implementation team for engineering and constructing the first Air Force Area Processing Center.

Information Assurance Element - 744th Communication Squadron, Operating Location-B, Bolling AFB as the Communication Security Office of the Year for its professionalism, actions and overall communication security management.

Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Award -The Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Award was awarded to the 744th Communications Squadron, Andrews AFB, for outstanding communications support by its 211 military and civilian members in supporting six wings and 60 partner units and federal agencies on Andrews and Bolling. 744th members oversaw AFDW's largest communication security account, enabling secure communications for Air Force One, the Secretary of Defense and the Air Force distinguished visitor aircraft fleet. The squadron also consolidated three disparate domains into a single, cohesive NCR network - standardizing network management and control. Squadron members completed a $465,000 technical control renovation six months ahead of schedule. They also orchestrated the installation of a $7 billion computer system for the 79th Medical Wing, ensuring secure global access to 9.2 million patient records. The 744th led the installation of a $15.3 million Nuclear, Biological, Chemical threat detection system on Andrews AFB, guaranteeing first responders receive critical communications. The squadron also guided the first AFDW Internet Protocol TV installation, enabling live video feeds via the network - saving the command more than $140,000 annually. They also executed a $1.6 million land mobile radio upgrade one year ahead of schedule.

All winners will now compete at the Air Force-level competition.