22nd AMXS: prestige level 4

Published Jan. 23, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Victor J. Caputo
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- One of the latest crazes to sweep through the dorms of many bases is the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. During a recent ceremony in the 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, one small comment gave Airmen insight into how far this craze has gone.

"For the Airmen who play Black Ops," said Lt. Col. Christine Peyton, 22nd AMXS commander, "We're 'prestiging' our squadron to Prestige four."

A popular feature of the video game is called "Prestige Mode." After accomplishing a certain number of missions and fulfilling various goals, the player has the option to reset their level to one, but they also gain a multitude of "perks and benefits" for a total of 10 prestige levels.

The squadron was celebrating the creation of two new aircraft maintenance units, "Black" and "Gold," to aid the two existing AMUs, "Blue" and "Green."

The 22nd AMXS keeps McConnell's KC-135 Stratotankers mission-ready, which allowed the 22nd Air Refueling Wing to accomplish approximately 33,000 flying hours and garner a multitude of awards and honors.

With more than 300 people per AMU, "Blue" and "Green" were at near capacity, but "Black" and "Gold" took half of the personnel and halved the amount of Airmen that needed supervision per AMU.

"It's very important to do this because it allows us to take care of our No.1 one asset: the people," said Peyton. "It's going to allow you to get to know your people better, take care of their needs and make sure they have what they need to do their job on a daily basis."

The major allure of 'prestiging' in the game is to upgrade your character with abilities such as increased accuracy, faster movement and more endurance. An anticipated benefit of the AMU split is the ability to increase hands-on training with Airmen from their supervisors

"When I was an Airman," said Tech. Sgt. Mark Koehler, 22nd AMXS "Black" crew chief section chief, "I came from a base that slowly went [down] to two AMUs. I feel like we lost some of the ability to get to know our people and being able to take care of them. We weren't able to genuinely train them well."

Another way 'prestiging" helps the player is by providing them with extra experience while playing at a low level, and with incoming crew chiefs being split between the four AMUs, they can have an easier time being implemented into the squadron.

"I can manage the new inbounds with more time," said Koehler, "and get to know them better to help their transition from technical school to permanent-party Air Force."

Even with new structure in the squadron, the mission for the 22nd AMXS stays the same: keeping McConnell's KC-135 Stratotankers mission-ready and providing enhanced leadership oversight among the crew chiefs

The squadron is confident that it can face all challenges it will face in the wake of their newest 'prestige' and will continue pressing to the next level.

"We're going to hit a few bumps in the road, I am sure," said Peyton, "but we have the right leadership in place. I have the utmost trust and confidence in all of you and I know you're going to do well. You're going to lead us to success. Good luck."