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AMC honors operations squadron

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Amber Carter
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  
The 60th Operations Support Squadron Current Operations Flight was named the 2014 Air Mobility Command Aviation Fuel Efficiency Operation Team of the Year Nov. 1 during the Airlift/Tanker Association's annual convention in Nashville, TN.

AMC annually recognizes those who make a significant impact on aviation fuel efficiency and have made significant contributions to Mobility Air Force aviation fuel efficiency efforts through their behavior, actions and innovations.

"Our team was credited with saving approximately $22 million in operations cost and 1.7 million gallons of fuel," said Maj. Nicholas Rowe, 60th Air Mobility Wing Current Operations chief.

One of the achievements that put the 60th Operation Support Squadron Current Operations team above the rest involved opening a new air refueling track, AR 622, which is credited with saving approximately $1.2 million in operations cost.

"It allows us to have flexible time on and off the track," Rowe said. "It's an anchor track for aircraft to do air refueling operations (locally) rather than flying extended tracks up north."

Another way the team used efficiency to save money involved finding empty mission links which are credited with saving $2.4 million in operations costs to include the price of running the aircraft, fuel and inspection time.

"The way mission linking works is when they have a mission that ends in Germany (for example), they look and see what needs to move out of Germany (or anywhere else on the route), rather than just flying an empty jet home," Rowe said. "Keeping the jet fully employed at all times is the goal."

Additionally, the current operations team assisted with in-flight refueling of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels upon their departure from open houses.

"This saved the Air Force approximately 10 Tanker Airlift Control Center tankers," Rowe said. "If we didn't assist with this in-flight refueling, TACC would have to task 10 tankers to do the same job."

This award broadens the scope of the team efforts beyond pure objective data as there is much more to fuel efficiency than raw numbers.

"We developed early on the concept of linking missions together, looking at it smartly, looking at the crew compliment, the aircraft, reliability and gaining the most 'bang for the buck,' " said Linda Corpus, 60th OSS C-5 Galaxy mission development director. "We are dedicated to the mission. We are one of the most mission-driven people you will find."

While real fuel savings are important, this award highlights additional efforts toward the fuel efficiency program.

"Everyone here is hard working and dedicates 110 percent," said Staff Sgt. Rauly Rojas, 60th OSS C-5 planner. "Just like Maj. Rowe said, we aren't average, we are exceptional. We always put in the extra effort."

The fuel efficiency awards program encourages commanders to promote an environment of innovation and creativity to enhance Mobility Air Forces fuel efficiency through fuel use reductions or more efficient operations.

"I personally credit this effort to the culture of our Current Ops team," Rowe said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't hear one of my controllers, directors, or barrel members say that they can do this better or this isn't smart and that kind of thinking is rampant. We don't know how to not think like that in our flight. It's really a unique culture of change and efficiency."