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Altus AFB's 97th FSS fosters excellence with 3 AETC awards

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cody Dowell
  • Altus Air Force Base Public Affairs

Airmen from the 97th Force Support Squadron, at Altus Air Force Base brought home three awards, recently as part of the 2019 A1 Awards Program for Air Education and Training Command.

These awards recognize the outstanding performance of the entire A1 community, which is comprised of many types of members from manpower and personnel career fields. The awards range from: installation awards, individual legacy awards, officer awards, enlisted awards at staff and operational level, enlisted awards at the installation level, civilians at the staff and operational level, civilians at the installation level, and team and program awards.

This year, 97th FSS won the Sustainment Services Flight Award, the FSS Commander Support Team award and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Shaconda Ross, the noncommissioned officer in charge of force management assigned to the 97th Force Support Squadron was also named Support NCO of the Year.

“I manage the force management section, which involves Special Duty Assignment Pay, Unfavorable Information Files, the Enlisted Forced Distribution Panel, annual performance reports, awards, decorations, and duty status updates,” said Ross. “If requirements for the programs I manage are not submitted or processed, then members run the risk of not getting paid or promoted. This risk could potentially delay in deployment or moving of an Airman and their personnel records could be impacted in a negative manner.”

Airmen from the Hangar 97 dining facility earned the Sustainment Services Flight Awards by their efforts providing quality food to the permanent party members and the students, here. In 2019, the sustainment services team was awarded with Air Force John L. Hennessy Award for food service excellence, which changed their work ethic.

“After winning the Hennessey award, we have just kept that hardworking mindset,” said Staff Sgt. Almyr Zamudio, the production log manager assigned to the 97th FSS. “We realized to just keep working to be excellent all day, every day and it’s normal for us now. Even with the swapping of leadership and personnel, since then we have kept that strive for greatness going.”

The 97th FSS commander support team is comprised of 13 members who communicate with the squadron to ensure they have the tools needed to accomplish the mission.

“There were many challenges that we had to overcome,” said Chief Master Sgt. Edgard Castillo, 97th Force Support Squadron superintendent. “We empowered our team to take chances. We tell them to think big and get after what we deserve; not what we can afford. At every opportunity we challenge our team to do it ‘bigger and better’ than the last time.”