LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Hard work may be its own reward, but it's nice when somebody notices. The 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing's Rick Griset, wing historian, is a case in point. He is the recipient of the Air Force History and Museum Program's 2009 Allan S. Major Award which recognizes the Air Force's best single-person history office.
"Receiving this award is a great honor to me," said Mr. Rick Griset. "While I did my best, I really did not expect to win."
Gen. Norton Schwartz presented the award to Mr. Griset at a ceremony May 13 at the National Museum of the Air Force, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, during the bi-annual World Wide Air Force History and Museum Program conference.
"When I heard my name called I was really surprised," said Mr. Griset. "Receiving the award from Gen. Schwartz and getting to shake his hand was a real honor."
Mr. Griset began working at the 480th ISR Wing in September 2006, about 3 years after it was activated. His initial assessment of his new office revealed a significantly delinquent history program with no annual histories or heritage pamphlets written since the wing's activation. Mr. Griset quickly researched and authored the first ever history of the newly activated wing and wrote and published its first ever heritage pamphlet.
"Rick has aggressively and effectively met the historical needs of this wing," said Col. Dan Johnson, commander of the 480th ISR Wing. "I am honored to have him on our team."
Due to Mr. Griset's hard work and diligence, the history office is in great shape today.
"This was my first history for this wing and I faced a lot of challenges during the year," he said. "I know the award is for the best over-all wing history program, but I feel my program still has a long way to go."
Mr. Griset said he looks forward to the next couple of years when he plans on researching and writing a history of the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System, which is the wing's weapon system.