TOP STORY > >By Col. Charles K. Hyde 314th Airlift Wing commander On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fie

By Capt. Joe Knable
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

(Editor’s note: this is the third article in a three-part series about the upcoming visit by five colonels from Air Mobility Command headquarters who will visit the command’s three finalists for the Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Award.)

During the 2009 fiscal year, Team Little Rock stood up the 19th Airlift Wing as AMC’s newest C-130 wing. The move bolstered the base’s world class Combat Airlift support to combatant commands around the world, continued its role as the C-130 Center of Excellence to create and sharpen combat airlifters in all crew positions for the entire U.S. C-130 fleet and for 34 partner nations, and deployed 1,656 combat-ready war fighters from its three wings and tenant units.

For these reasons, and so many more, Team Little Rock is a finalist for AMC’s nomination for best base in the Air Force.

Everyone on base needs to understand why the inspection team is here Monday and should be ready to share why Team Little Rock is the best base in the Air Force, according to Col. Greg Otey, 19th Airlift Wing and Little Rock Air Force Base commander.

A year’s work for the more than 6,300 active-duty military and civilian members that comprise Team Little Rock was summarized into a four-page, 173-bullet nomination package that clinched the base’s selection as an AMC finalist. Little Rock Air Force Base is “AMC’s busiest base, period!” according to the nomination package. It is the largest base in the world for C-130 training, deployment, and global execution of C-130 Combat Airlift.

The blue ribbon team of inspectors will focus on seven categories during the inspection. They will evaluate how the base has:

Improved the installation’s work environment or physical plant;

Improved the installation’s quality of life;

Enhanced productivity of the installation’s work force;

Increased customer satisfaction or improved customer service;

Encouraged bottom-to-top communication and team problem solving;

Promoted unit cohesiveness and recognized outstanding individual efforts; and

Promoted energy conservation and environmental safety to include compliance, remediation, and stewardship.

In the past year, Team Little Rock has improved its work environment and physical plant by orchestrating a $22 million medical clinic renovation, and through precise design phasing kept the project on track with no break in service for the 17,000 members served by the clinic.

The base has improved quality of life by pushing the Air Force to accept a $5 million gift from the local community for a joint education facility that will serve both the base and the community, the first in its kind and a model for future ventures.

Team Little Rock enhanced the productivity of its work force because it contains the DOD’s largest aerial delivery operations.

Airmen built 1,485 platforms and 2,366 bundles and provided vital training for 1,800 aircrew graduates.

The 19th Communications Squadron improved customer service by developing e-files for 776 buildings making data 80 percent easier to retrieve by the base’s 469 users. This was lauded asa command benchmark program.

The base also encouraged bottom-to-top communication and team problem solving by returning the security forces squadron to eight hour shifts after five years of 12-hour shifts. Communication from the bottom up also helped relocate 844,000 aircraft parts valued at $24 million during a re-warehousing project, resulting in a 99 percent inventory accuracy.

Just a few of the outstanding achievements of Team Little Rock Airmen include Air Force Materiel Management Airman of the Year Award, Air Force Fuels Flight of the Year and the Air Force’s Best Financial Services Office. Team Little Rock members also brought home nine 2009 AMC Rodeo awards including best C-130 Wing, best Aerial Port Team and best C-130 Maintenance Team.

The base promoted energy conservation and environmental safety in many ways including saving $400,000 per year in fuel costs with the purchase of 139 low-speed vehicles. The savings will pay for the new vehicles in just two and a half years.

Colonel Otey explained why Team Little Rock is the best base in the Air Force. “We have more C-130s here at Little Rock than anywhere else in the world. I learned to fly the Herk here at the C-130 Center of Excellence, I helped stand up the C-130 weapons school here, and now I am proud to command the world’s premier C-130 Combat Airlift wing here. Every member of Team Little Rock is an integral part of this proud tradition of combat airlift excellence, and it takes every member to make combat airlift happen. These combat airlifters are doing a great job to accomplish this while conserving our resources, preserving our environment, and making the quality of life for our Airmen and families better.”