JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND –
Joint Base San Antonio’s 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron is off to a strong start in 2017, taking home four Air Education and Training Command awards in January.
At JBSA-Lackland, Tech. Sgt. Kevin Hong, 502nd LRS NCOIC of cargo movement, Pierre Anderson, 502nd LRS compliance and operations manager, and James Williams, 502nd LRS director, took home honors for Outstanding AF Logistics Readiness NCO of the Year, Outstanding Logistics Readiness Civilian of the Year Category II and Outstanding Logistics Readiness Civilian of the Year Category III, respectively.
The squadron’s fourth award recipient, Master Sgt. Ryan Love, AETC equipment manager assigned to JBSA-Randolph, was recognized as the Outstanding AF Logistics Readiness Enlisted Staff of the Year.
These labels might sound complicated, but Lt. Col Andrew Marsiglia, 502nd LRS commander, said the awards are simply meant to recognize the skill it takes to move people and cargo across the world at a moment’s notice.
“These guys in my squadron who won these awards – they all get the job done, day-in, day-out,” Marsiglia said. “Our line of work demands a quick turnaround, and they meet this challenge.”
Hong, who is in charge of inbound and outbound cargo for JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph and JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, said he also handled larger shipments while on a six-month deployment that spanned mid-2016 to early 2017.
“Here at all three JBSA locations, the simplest way to describe my job is that I take care of Airmen,” Hong said. “That’s what I enjoy doing.”
While deployed, Hong had fewer Airmen under his wing, and focused mainly on cargo.
“I was more of a ‘worker bee’ overseas,” he explained. “But I really got to see how I directly impacted the war fighters. You’d see something pop up on the news – at-the-moment stuff that was happening in the Middle East - and hours later my shipment is arriving to help.”
In late 2016, for example, Hong helped respond to a catastrophic fire in northern Syria. After the U.S. State Department called on the Air Force to send firefighting foam to the affected area, Hong was part of a crew that worked 14 hours to ship the supplies the same day.
“Little things like that really got me fired up,” Hong added.
Hong has more than one reason to be excited, Marsiglia said. In addition to the AETC award, Hong has been selected for promotion to master sergeant in March.
“There’s nobody more deserving of a promotion than him,” Marsiglia said. “He’s absolutely one of our top technical sergeants, and he’s our go-to guy for transportation and cargo movement. We feel Hong is a complete expert who (displayed an) outstanding performance on his last deployment, and he’s a fantastic leader here at LRS.”
“I feel really blessed,” Hong added. “I have great leaders here – I’m not really doing anything differently than I’ve always done it – but I’m lucky that these leaders took the time to write an awards package for me. It’s an honor.”
While Hong handles Airmen and cargo, fellow award recipient Anderson handles quality assurance and staff assessments, while also coordinating policies and procedures between cargo flights.
“What I do is more behind-the-scenes stuff that helps keep the LRS machine running,” Anderson explained.
Keeping that squadron running is no small feat, since the 502nd LRS is responsible for thousands of flights that move tens of thousands of personnel and huge tonnages of cargo across the globe each year, Anderson said.
“The days are always different,” he noted. “The work might be the same, but there’s always a twist to the mission each day that keeps it from being routine.”
Marsiglia said Anderson never backs down from these challenges.
“He’s a truly humble person who is all about taking care of other people, putting others before himself,” Marsiglia said. “He’s just done fantastic work this past year, keeping all of our programs on point.”
Anderson was quick to chalk up any individual accolades to his team’s hard work.
“That award might have my name on it, but the entire 502nd LRS won that award,” he added.
Williams, another civilian Airman in the unit, also received high praise from Marsiglia.
“He’s my right-hand man,” said Marsiglia, noting that Williams helps the squadron navigate efficiency issues and partnerships with local government. “If I drop dead tomorrow, this squadron would run even better without me.”
“He’s just a calming, refined, professional leader in every shape and form,” Marsiglia added. “There’s no problem too big for him – he keeps the mission moving forward. Absolutely the best civilian I’ve ever worked with.”