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Luke named AETC's commander in chief winner

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Ryan DeCamp
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Air Education and Training Command named Luke Air Force Base its Commander in Chief Installation Excellence Award winner for the fiscal year 2010.

"The competition is designed to use a balanced scale to compare bases, knowing each one is different with resources and missions," said Capt. Vince O'Connor, 62nd Fighter Squadron instructor pilot and Luke CINC project officer. "Judges compare the resources a base has to what they've been able to do with them to complete the mission, improve quality of life and increase productivity, among other things."

Luke AFB will now compete with other major command winners to be named the Air Force's best. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps all have CINC competitions as well, though the branches will not compete head-to-head. The award began in 1984.

Captain O'Connor said he expects to hear if Luke AFB will be one of the Air Force's two finalists in the next couple of weeks. The Air Force winner receives a $1 million prize for its base and the runner-up receives half that amount.

"Until now the competition has been based on a paper nomination form," he said. "An award team will actually visit the two finalists for a more thorough look."

AETC notified Captain O'Connor that Luke AFB won about two weeks ago, and he says the award did not just recognize one or two areas of the base.

"They were looking at all of Luke including the 944th Fighter Wing, Det. 1, and others, so it's much more than just a wing award," he said. "The judges wanted information from environmental, contracting, safety, medical and the list goes on and on. They were looking at all aspects of this base."

Luke AFB's four-page nomination package listed roughly 200 bullets.

"The heavy lifting has been done by the men and women of Luke Air Force Base, because they're the ones who have done the great work," he said. "The squadron and group project officers have done a great job of compiling that information and getting it to me to shape into a 1206 that can, as a whole, show everything Luke has to offer."

Beyond the prize money, the Air Force winner also receives an installation excellence trophy, flag and a congratulatory letter signed by President Barack Obama. Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, took the Air Force's top prize a year ago.

"This award represents all the hard work our Thunderbolts have done and we should all be proud of it," said Brig. Gen. J.D. Harris, 56th Fighter Wing commander. "Our mission here is to train the world's best F-16 pilots, maintainers and mission-ready warfighters, but Luke is about much more than that. We do a great job of taking care of the families that help make that mission happen and all the other items needed to ensure we're meeting the Air Force's mission as a whole. This award represents the fact that we're doing that, and I'm proud to be to be part of it."