JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas. –
The 502nd Civil Engineer Group was awarded the 2018 Air Force Outstanding Civil Engineer Unit Award, as well as the 2018 Brig. Gen. Michael A. McAuliffe Award for housing excellence.
The Air Force Outstanding Civil Engineer Unit Award recognizes all aspects of support CE offers to include training, housing, emergency services and community relations.
“As a leader in this organization I am very proud to be a part of such a high performing team”, said Lt. Col. Andy Cullen, 502nd CEG deputy commander. “It’s a fast-paced, high-energy unit that tries really hard to meet the constant influx of customer needs, all while sustaining the Department of Defense’s largest joint base.”
The areas where the 502nd CEG have really separated themselves from the rest of the Air Force are Emergency Services and Community Relations program, Cullen added.
“The support CE provided during recent hurricanes and weather related events was really unprecedented,” Cullen said. “It was huge operation to undertake and I’m so proud of this amazing team of engineers. Another area where we’ve done really well is with our community relations programs. We’ve worked closely with the City of San Antonio on numerous P4 [Public-Public/Public-Private] partnership initiatives, to achieve mutually beneficial improvements in areas such as transportation needs and contracting efficiencies.”
In addition to their overall accomplishments, the 502nd CEG was also recognized for housing excellence.
“We work very hard to try and provide outstanding housing customer service to our service members and their families,” said James Fisher, Joint Base San Antonio Housing element chief.
JBSA presents a unique challenge for the 502nd CEG, as the high volume of training missions makes for a huge unaccompanied housing/dormitory need, Fisher added.
“Our size of inventory really separates JBSA from others,” Fisher said. “Annually, we house around 1,300 permanent party dorm residents and 7,500 tech training students. We also maintain 2,127 housing units and providing furnishing support for 39 general officers. Historical facilities and the sheer number of dorms we have presents a constant challenge to keep the facilities at the level they are in.”
While the mission is a huge task, it’s extremely important and the 502nd CEG rises to the occasion day in and day out to provide superior services, Cullen added.
“The Air Force and Department of Defense want to create a community for families,” Cullen said. “People are the most important resource in our military, so we need to make sure that people who live in base housing and the dorms have a safe and reliable community. When a service member deploys, it is essential that their families are taken care of and have a good roof over their head.
“These awards truly reflect the quality of Airmen we have here,” Cullen added. “They make their leadership team proud every single day, rising to the high standard we hold them to.”