AMC captures 3 of 5 Air Force Analyst of the Year awards

Published Dec. 15, 2008
By Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The Headquarters Air Mobility Command Directorate of Analyses, Assessments, and Lessons Learned (AMC/A9) recently captured three of five Air Force Analyst of the Year awards, including Company Grade Analyst of the Year, Junior Civilian Analyst of the Year, and Analytical Team of the Year.

The awards were presented by Dr. Jacqueline R. Henningsen, the Headquarters Air Force Director of Studies and Analyses, Assessments, and Lessons Learned, during the 2008 Air Force Operations Research Society Symposium Annual Awards Banquet held on Oct. 16 in Newport News, Va.

During the awards banquet, 1st Lt. Christopher Jones of AMC/A9 was named Company Grade Analyst of the Year; Randall Johnson, also from AMC/A9, was named Junior Civilian Analyst of the Year; and the AMC Integrated Fleet Air Refueling Assessment Team captured the Air Force Analytical Team of the Year award.

Dave Merrill, the director of AMC/A9 (Analyses, Assessments, and Lessons Learned directorate), said he was honored and overwhelmed by the near sweep of Analyst of the Year awards this year, but not really surprised given the scope of responsibility assigned to "some of the brightest analysts in the Air Force."

"These awards are a reflection of the outstanding contributions our folks make to the Air Force mission every day," said Mr. Merrill. "I am extremely gratified and humbled that the Air Force has recognized the analytical excellence of AMC/A9 in this way. The folks in this directorate work tirelessly and do what's needed to get the job done. Whether they're developing a billion-dollar airlift study, finding better ways to recapitalize aging mobility platforms, spearheading mobility requirements for the future, or performing analyses and assessments for combatant commanders around the globe, our people continue to demonstrate expertise and excellence that is second to none."

The Company Grade Officer Analyst of the Year award for Lieutenant Jones was awarded by AMC Commander, Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, upon the lieutenant's return from a deployment to the U.S. Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center, or CDDOC. Because of his deployed status, Lieutenant Jones was unable to be present to accept the award during the Air Force Operations Research Society awards banquet.

According to Lieutenant Jones' award citation, he developed 42,000 lines of code, and streamlined executive duties, saving hundreds of man-hours. Jones was also lauded for trailblazing a U.S. Central Command Air Forces $1.5 billion airlift system study, as well as assessing more than 28,000 air missions, which improved Global War on Terrorism supply chain efficiency. The CDDOC director, Admiral Henrick, praised Jones as a "national treasure" for "delivering analytic power" to senior leaders during his 200-plus day deployment.

In the Junior Civilian Analyst of the Year category, Mr. Johnson was recognized for identifying $9 million in savings with a fuel-saving initiative that re-routed C-5 aircraft through Germany rather than Spain. He determined that 262 of the 709 C-5 missions transiting Spain could have saved 1.4 million gallons of fuel by transiting Germany instead.

Mr. Johnson was also the lead airlift analyst and working group co-lead for a Joint Defense Department mobility study that provided information for multi-billion-dollar acquisition decisions. Additionally, he was singled out as the "point man" for a U.S. Transportation Command-sponsored $1.7 million congressional airlift study. According to Johnson's citation, his analytical efforts supporting the Joint Cargo Aircraft program directly contributed to Office of the Secretary of Defense approval to procure 78 Army/Air Force aircraft.

For the Analytical Team of the Year award, the AMC Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessment Team was praised for assembling the first-ever capability and requirements based analysis for an Air Force Source Selection. According to the award citation, the effort armed decision markers with "bulletproof analysis" for the $45 billion KC-X program. Their effort was described by the source selection authority as "ground breaking."

The team was also acknowledged for developing multiple algorithms for assigning air refueling requests from 4,878 aircraft to air refueling tracks and altitudes, ensuring requests were operationally realistic and de-conflicted in time and space. The team was recognized for constructing complete interactive utilities for processing competitor-provided aircraft performance data for input to air refueling models. According to AMC officials, the effort produced extremely accurate results and cut weeks off data processing time.

Members of the AMC Integrated Fleet Air Refueling Assessment Team include: Peter Szabo (team lead), John O'Neill, James Donovan, and Maj. David Longhorn from AMC, as well as Gregory Roth, Rick Orloff, and James Begovich from AFMC.

Also during the award banquet, Lt. Col. David Denhard of 13th Air Force, was recognized as Field Grade Analyst of the Year, and Michael Larkin of Hq. USAF/A9 was awarded the Senior Civilian Analyst of the Year award. Dr. Henningsen also called Mr. Szabo forward as an "honorable mention" runner-up for the Senior Civilian award in his role as leader of the AMC Integrated Fleet Aerial Refueling Assessment team.