Secretary of Defense William J. Perry today presented the 1995 Secretary of
Defense Maintenance Awards, including the prestigious Phoenix Trophy, during a
ceremony held at the Pentagon. The Maintenance Awards recognize annually the
most significant weapons system and equipment maintenance achievements within
the Department of Defense.
All four military services were represented this year in the competition
categories of small, medium, and large. This is the eleventh year of the
Maintenance Awards program that was established to encourage maintenance
excellence, to recognize outstanding achievement in maintenance management and
production, and to demonstrate the essential role of maintenance in the
readiness and sustainability of U. S. forces. The program is sponsored in
conjunction with the American Defense Preparedness Association.
The 1995 Maintenance Awards recipients are:
. Army: 51st Maintenance Battalion, 29th Area Support Group, Mannheim,
Germany--winner of the Phoenix Trophy, which recognizes the most significant
equipment maintenance achievement within DoD. The battalion demonstrated
excellence during the past year by providing outstanding maintenance support
for 429 units throughout Germany. The 51st provided direct and general
support maintenance for all types of equipment, from small arms to
large-wheeled vehicles. The battalion prepared and returned more than 2,000
wheeled and tracked vehicles from Europe to the U. S. in a three-month period
as part of the drawdown of Army forces in Germany. The unit also managed the
maintenance of all wheeled, tracked, and heavy engineer equipment staged for
prepositioning on ships at Antwerp, Belgium. The battalion further provided
support for numerous contingency missions in 16 major operations in 10
different countries, including a mission to Africa where it produced and
distributed more than 7 million gallons of purified water to crowded refugee
camps in Zaire.
. Army: Aviation Company, 1st Support Battalion (Multinational Force and
Observers-Sinai), Egypt--The Aviation Company played an extremely important
role in support of the multinational mission to ensure a lasting peace between
Egypt and Israel. Its mission included around-the-clock aerial medical
evacuation, troop movements, resupply, and treaty verification. The Aviation
Company provided its own aviation maintenance support to sustain one of the
Army's highest peacetime flying hour programs. The unit's UH-1 helicopters
flew more than 2,900 accident free flight hours in the course of more than
1,150 operational missions.
. Navy: Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA), Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba--The 228 men and women of SIMA Guantanamo Bay distinguished themselves as
the premier maintenance activity in the Caribbean theater. They excelled in
providing timely, responsive, high quality intermediate-level maintenance to
ships and vessels of all kinds. The SIMA group aggressively planned and
executed maintenance for 170 ships and service craft for the Navy, Coast Guard
and Army. In addition, it provided vital support for more than 45,000 Haitian
and Cuban migrants housed in the camps at Guantanamo Bay.
. Marines: 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine
Force Pacific, Camp Pendleton, Calif.--The 1st Combat Engineer Battalion is
recognized for accomplishing outstanding maintenance while providing close
combat engineer support to the 1st Marine Division. The batallion sustained a
superb maintenance program for unit equipment--a 90 percent mission capable
rate--ranging from wheeled vehicles, road graders and bulldozers to heavy earth
excavators. Throughout last year, the battalion supported a demanding
schedule of more than 150 operational commitments.
. Air Force: 388th Maintenance Squadron, Air Combat Command, Hill Air Force
Base, Utah--The 388th distinguished itself last year by accomplishing superior
F-16 aircraft maintenance. The squadron's focus on customer satisfaction and
teamwork enabled the wing's three operational fighter squadrons to produce more
than 13,000 sorties and 19,000 flying hours while maintaining a 91.1 percent
mission capable rate, the best in Air Combat Command. The squadron's workforce
consistently delivered command-leading results that were capped with a victory
in the "Gunsmoke" worldwide tactical fighter team competition.
. Air Force: 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.--In 1994, the
maintainers at the "Home of Air Superiority" reached record levels in nine of
15 primary maintenance indicators, despite having the oldest F-15s in the
fleet. The 1,408 men and women in the logistics and operations groups
supported 14,687 training sorties and 18,654 flying hours, while averaging a
90.1 percent fully mission capable rate--the highest in the F-15 community.
