20th AF commander visit brings recognition to MAFB

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Cortney Paxton
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Airmen of Team Malmstrom were the focus of the 20th Air Force commander as he made a stop to the base May 1 - 3 touring several work areas and conducting an All-Call.

Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston started his trip May 1 with a walk-through of the clinic, and his visit continued on with stops at the keys and codes unit, the 40th Helicopter Squadron, K-10 launch facility and the base legal office. His time was spent talking with Airmen and their leadership.

"It's always fantastic to be back here," the general said. "I'm very proud of this wing and I'm excited to be here."

His visit concluded with an All-Call May 3 in the 3-Bay Hangar to recognize and present three of Team Malmstrom's biggest accomplishments of 2011. Following an introduction, Alston spoke of his pride in Wing One.

"I have two points," he said. "Point one is about recognizing sustained excellence and outstanding performance. The second point is, and it's very important here ... the consequential work that you perform every day of the week."

The awards were presented one at a time, starting with the Lowell F. McAdoo award for the best ICBM operational support squadron in Air Force Global Strike Command. Lt. Col. Todd Sauls, 341st Operations Support Squadron commander, accepted the award on behalf of his squadron. Capt. Isaac Williams, 341st Missile Wing executive officer, emceed the awards presentation and highlighted some key accomplishments.

"The 341st OSS achieved perfect results in 2011 on most critical peacetime operations," Williams said. "These accomplishments directly upheld our mission to provide safe, secure and reliable ICBMs to the president of the United States."

The second award, the Gen. Samuel C. Phillips award, was presented to Lt. Col. Craig Ramsey, 12th Missile Squadron commander, whose unit won the best overall ICBM operations squadron in AFGSC.

"The 12th Missile Squadron aced three higher-headquarters inspections, posted an ICBM simulated electronic launch in October, supported the force development evaluation test launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, and was instrumental in winning the Klotz Trophy for best missile operations in AFGSC," Williams noted.

Col. H.B. Brual, 341st MW commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Charles Anderson, 341st MW command chief, then accepted the third and final award presented at the ceremony.

"The third award is the Col. Lee R. Williams Memorial award for the best missile wing in AFGSC," said Williams. "The 341st Missile Wing has set the tone for the command. We are the only wing to execute three perfect code changes, pass four higher-headquarters inspections, and conquer SELM and Global Thunder simultaneously; all this while providing our nation and allies with the best nuclear deterrence as possible."

The ceremony, along with Alston's visit, concluded with closing remarks by Brual.

"Rather than just let the chief and I receive this award, I thought it would be a great opportunity for Gen. Alston to present this award to you on his next visit to Malmstrom because you're the ones who won all these awards," Brual said addressing the wing. "It wasn't chief and I - we were just your representatives - you won these awards. That day when the chief and I picked up those awards was probably the best day in my military career. Aces, thank you very much for what you do every single day, and I look forward to seeing you out there as we continue to add to our nation's deterrence."