LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Lt. Col. Marc Vandeveer, 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron commander, signs every email with the battle cry, "Engineers lead the way!"
His squadron lived up to that mantra, winning 10 annual awards and five runners-up at the 2011 Air Combat Command Civil Engineer Awards in September, a feat never before accomplished.
The 633rd CES earned the Robert H. Curtin Award for Outstanding CE Unit-Large, awarded to the best CE unit in the command. In addition, the squadron and its subordinate units won four additional awards, and five of the unit's engineers earned individual accolades.
The squadron achieved several milestones in a challenging year for Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Engineers successfully mitigated major damage from Hurricane Irene in August, and ensured heating and cooling systems performed during the coldest winter and hottest summer in recent history.
In addition, the unit exemplified the expeditionary culture, deploying more than 170 Airmen worldwide in support of various combat and humanitarian aid missions. The squadron contributed to the Air Force's first ever F-22 phase one, operational readiness inspection, and participated in three major exercises.
"We have an amazing team here," said Maj. Christopher Meeker, the 633rd CES operations flight commander. "Taking care of our Airmen is the biggest priority to the leadership in this squadron, and we've spent many nights working on packages to get these folks the recognition they earned."
Meeker said the accolades represent not only what the squadron has done, but where it is taking the career field in the future.
"We're on the leading edge of a lot of transformation going on in civil engineering in the Air Force, the focus of which is asset management - being smarter with our money and our assets," he explained. "We have one of the most robust consolidation and demolition programs in the Air Force. As far as asset management goes, no one does it better than Langley.
Chief Master Sgt. Tamara Olson, the squadron's chief enlisted manager, attributed the success to the unit's attention to detail.
"When we sweat the details and worry about the small rocks, it builds and builds into the larger, recognizable items," Olson said. "Everybody here, down to the lowest ranking Airman or civilian, pays attention to the details and what's within their circle on influence. Once they master that, it builds upon itself into successes."
The complete list of awards includes:
- Robert H. Curtin Award for Outstanding CE Unit-Large
- Maj. Gen. Clifton D. Wright Award for Outstanding Operations Flight
- Senior Master Sgt. Gerald J. Stryzak Award for Outstanding Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight
- Maj. Gen. Del R. Euberg Award for Outstanding Asset Management Flight
- Cultural Resources Management Award
- Maj. Gen. Eugene A. Lupia Award for Outstanding CE Airman: Senior Airman Joshua Wyant
- Military Fire Officer of the Year Award: Master Sgt. Armando Eversley
- Outstanding CE Civilian Manager of the Year: Todd Barnes
- Civilian Emergency Manager of the Year: Christopher Born
- Senior Military Airman Dorm Leader: Master Sgt. Tricia Evans
The runners-up included:
- Maj. Gen. L. Dean Fox Award for Outstanding CE Senior Military Manager: Maj. Christopher Meeker
- Brig. Gen. Michael A. McAuliffe Award for Housing Excellence: 633rd CES
- Military Airman Dorm Leader: Tech. Sgt. Donnette Meeks
- Environmental Restoration Award: 633rd CES
- Natural Resources Conservation Award-Small Installation: 633rd CES
The award winners will compete in the Air Force Civil Engineering Awards, scheduled for February 2012 in Washington, D.C.