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SAS takes 3 Analyst of the Year Awards

  • Published
  • By Airman Brian McGloin
  • Air Education and Training Command
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Air Education and Training Command officials recently announced the command's nominees for the 2009 Analyst of the Year awards.
Nominations were submitted based on team and individual accomplishments in annual analyses, assessments and lessons learned. These nominees will now compete at the Air Force-level competition.

Company Grade Analyst of the Year

Capt. Ryan Caulk, AETC Systems Analysis Squadron, is nominated for the Company Grade Analyst of the Year award for studies he conducted leading to cost and manpower savings.

"Undergraduate Pilot Training Smooth Flow created a mathematical model to schedule pilots coming out of source commissioning smartly," Captain Caulk said. "Academy guys have 60 days of leave following graduation, you can't schedule training then."

So the team scheduled ROTC cadets selected for UPT and dispersed them throughout the pipeline essentially decreasing training delays, Captain Caulk said.

UPT Smooth Flow reduced pilots' downtime by an average of 41 days, saving the Air Force about $26 million, according to information submitted with the award package.

In addition to reducing wasted man hours and streamlining training, AETC SAS conducted a study leading to taxiway improvements which ultimately saved the command money, according to the award package.

"It's good to have people to bounce ideas off of," Captain Caulk said. "A lot of our processes are collaborative. Everyone has a unique way of looking at things."

Senior Civilian Analyst of the Year

Marlon Gardley, AETC SAS, is nominated for the Senior Civilian Analyst of the Year award and believes he didn't do anything in addition to his usual job as an analyst to earn the award.

Mr. Gardley's work saved the Air Force time and money with streamlined and innovative processes for gathering information.

"For many of our projects, surveys are distributed to users to get feedback to the effectiveness or suitability of a new technology," 1st Lt. Luke Dras, AETC SAS, Technology Innovation Deputy Flight commander, said. "Mr. Gardley created a tool that allows us to administer and collect surveys through email. This process saves many hours of work when compared to giving a traditional paper and ink survey."

Mr. Gardley is instrumental in the development of new technology using electronic media and 3-D imaging to replace traditional instruction tools, such as chalkboards. These innovations allow more students to have a more realistic education, according to information submitted with his award package.

"I use sound research techniques," Mr. Gardley said. "I try to develop a comprehensive approach to every problem to try to answer the questions that are on the minds of leadership. Research can be an ominous task, but discovery is awesome. It's worth it. Discovery is the whole process."

Analytic Team of the Year

AETC SAS Studies and Technology Team is nominated for the Analytic Team of the Year award.

"Basically we look at analyzing work in the command and in the Air Force," Captain Caulk said.

The team came up with a process called Job Spin, a method using an updated algorithm to decide where to assign new enlisted Airmen after they graduate basic military training, the captain said.

"For us it's just great to have our folks recognized," said Lt. Col. David Denhard, AETC SAS commander. "They do such great work."

The nominees will represent AETC at the Analyst Assessment Lessons Learned Conference in San Antonio later this year where the Air Force Analyst if the Year awards will be presented.