Two communications specialists earn individual awards

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The awards earned by Team Malmstrom and its personnel continue to mount for 2006. Two former members of the 341st Communications Squadron, now migrated under the Missile Maintenance umbrella, received Air Force Communications and Information Annual Individual Awards for work they accomplished last year.

Staff Sgt. Gregory Chapman, a native of Jacksonville, N.C., and 13-year Air Force veteran, knows the ins and outs of his job well. He has been a Team Malmstrom warrior for 10 years and is currently in charge of the Visual Imagery and Intrusion Detection Systems for the 341st Maintenance Operations Squadron.

"In a nutshell, my work center is in charge of maintaining the security systems at the WSA," he said.

In a nutshell, maybe. But in reality, the married father of three has a long list of accomplishments to his credit.

During the award period, his initiatives led to a first time in three years validation of the WSA requirements with the security forces, resulting in realignment of outage response priorities; cutting the standard one hour response to a 30-minute average. His savvy intuition with technology cut the upgrade contract to the WSA perimeter by 30 days for several key issues he worked during the renovation, with regards to wiring, cable systems and repair procedures. For daily operations, he installed heaters in field distribution boxes which minimized false alarms and the need for security forces personnel to post in adverse weather. A new sensor he fabricated for the maintenance bays decreased nuisance alarms from an average 20 per month down to one.

In house, his accomplishments are equally impressive.

He lobbied Air Force Space Command for a VIIDS trainer and led the $200,000 self-help installation of the same resulting in the elimination of formal training and temporary duty costs.

He oversaw the transfer of 1,000 tools and test equipment to an automated database and finished six weeks ahead of the 20th Air Force deadline. He established a VIIDS augmentee program where seven flight members contributed more than 3,500 hours to stand-by support. He has many monthly and quarterly awards to his credit during the past year as well.

"Sergeant Chapman's unmatched technical expertise is a maintenance and security forces squadron force multiplier," said Lt. Col. John Fisch, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron commander. "He is headquarter's 'go-to' person and is often requested by name to augment inspection teams."

When not devoting his off-duty time to the improvement of his section, Sergeant Chapman enjoys basketball, golf and spending time with his children. He credits his father, a retired gunnery sergeant, with having the most influence on his career.

"He has taught me about taking care of my people's needs ahead of my own," Sergeant Chapman said.

Another key player in the maintenance communications world is Gerald Snodgrass, the missile radio trainer for the 341st MMXS.

With more than 32 years in the career field as a senior chief electronic technician for the Naval Reserve and 22 years as a civil servant at Malmstrom, his greatest joy is training the Airmen.

His duties include teaching them how to check out, troubleshoot and repair the UHF and VLF radio communications at the missile alert facilities. He is also the main point of contact for 20th Air Force, AFSPC, Hill Air Force Base and contractors concerning MAF radio communications.

What set him apart in the 2006 award period are numerous accomplishments he credits to the Airmen he works with.

He was able to troubleshoot 137 outages over the telephone, which saves more than 2,000 man hours and averted more than 100 dispatches to the missile complex. He expedited 18 ultra high frequency inspections that are vital to ICBM operations, resulting in 99 percent uptime (AFSPC standard is 90 percent).

A two year old "noise" problem was finally traced to fire alarm panels, due to his expertise. His recommendation and actions saved the Air Force nearly $90,000 in on-site maintenance; $2.5 million in replacement costs and $138,000 in parts swap outs.

His training reputation is known throughout the command and he has been by-name requested to conduct training for other space and missile personnel. That's following his success locally. Nine of 16 Airmen recorded error-free quality assurance evaluations; end of course testing averages are at an 86 percent rate, four additional technicians have been specialty trained on Naval equipment which eliminated one in five dispatches, eight personnel have been trained on two UHF dual modem antennas which saved an addition $22,000 in repairs. He has been instrumental with in-shop upgrades which saves Malmstrom and the two sister wings 90 hours per year.

While both his children are grown, he and his wife Terry Lynn are at home in Great Falls. Mr. Snodgrass is a graduate of Great Falls High School and enjoys the sports most native-Montanans do - shooting, fishing, hunting and motorcycle riding, both trail and road. Add another hobby - working - to that list and it's no wonder he's accomplished so much during the past year.

Ask him who has had the most influence on his accomplishment and he gives the credit back to those he trains.

"The Airmen I train to do the job have had the most influence," the proud instructor said. "I can see the change from a student right out of technical school to a qualified and confident communication technician. This provides a sense of accomplishment and self-gratification."