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AMC names 319th Communication Squadron best communications unit (medium-unit category)

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Luis Loza Gutierrez
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  The 319th Communications Squadron was recently named the winner of the Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Award by Air Mobility Command.

"I think what helped the squadron earn this award was a mentality that dictates being part of a team is the most important thing," said Lt. Col. Frank Gonzalez, commander of the 319th CS. "All these people come together every single day to make the sum greater than the whole, and frankly, that's why I think these Airmen earned this award."

The communications squadron has a long list of actions that led to their win of the prestigious award.

One notable example of these is the new way in which the squadron approached machine patching, a process Gonzalez described as mundane and very time consuming.

He elaborated further by saying some of the tools they had been using were ineffective, which forced the Airmen at the 319th CS to take a time out in order to think about how to best approach the problem. This proved to be wise decision as the Airmen developed new tools that helped them save 24,000 man-hours of work.

"That's like creating eleven-and-a-half new people to work solely on one thing for a whole year," said Gonzalez. "They basically found a way to 'do more with less.' In fact, this process is so good; we are working with Air Force-level folks at Peterson Air Force Base (Colo.) to try to leverage these tools in other places."

Another example of the squadron's notable actions in earning the Gen. Grant Award involved the performance of the Airmen in the airfield, radar and radio sections who earned an outstanding rating during an airfield operations and certification inspection that took place earlier this year alongside members of the 319th Operations Support Squadron.

Out of 416 graded areas, they had only one minor write-up that was corrected on the spot. It was a feat the Gonzalez didn't hesitate to emphasize the uniqueness and importance of.

"Over a 2-year period, only one other unit in Air Mobility Command was assessed as outstanding," said Gonzalez. "This is a big deal because most of these Airmen in these sections are first-termers and new to the Air Force. In fact, at the time there was only one senior NCO and two NCOs throughout those shops. What got them the big win was a desire to do the job right and young people stepping up with a 'next person up' mentality."

Although the AMC-level award reflects the dedication and hard work of 151 Airmen as a whole, Gonzalez was quick to point it shouldn't be lost on anyone that this award really isn't just about the communications squadron.

"There is no way our Airmen could have been competitive without the support of everyone on this base," he said. "From customers that give us unique opportunities to excel on a day-to-day basis, to the leaders that are engaged and set the stage for risk-taking and innovation, Team Grand Forks should be proud...this award is a testament of how we integrated into the larger team to find innovation and assure victory."

When asked about how the squadron's overall morale has been affected since the news about the award, Gonzalez concluded, "I think our Airmen are proud that their hard work has been recognized at the highest levels and I know that feels good... earning this award is a validation to every Airman that what they do is important and it is valuable...the Airmen of the 319th Communications Squadron are looking, not waiting, for the next challenge."

The Lt. Gen. Harold W. Grant Award recognizes a communications and information organization each year for excellent support to the Air Force mission. Grant was a communications pioneer who worked throughout his career to ensure the operating forces had the best communications support available. He was the Air Force director of telecommunications before becoming the first commander of Air Force Communications Service in 1961.