RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A packed theater crowd jumped to its feet and cheered when the Air Education and Training Command Inspector General team announced an overall "Excellent" rating for the 12th Flying Training Wing Tuesday.
The wing earned high marks across the board during the 10-day ORI that began Nov. 17 and concluded with the theater out-brief Tuesday morning.
Ratings for major categories are:
Commander's Items: Excellent
12th Operations Group: Excellent
12th Maintenance Directorate: Excellent
12th Medical Group: Satisfactory
Contingency Operations: Excellent
"I'm so proud of every one of you!" said Col. Jacqueline Van Ovost, 12th FTW commander, after hearing the results. "You guys are outstanding to me. You come in every single day and shatter the standard."
A direct indication of the wing's success was the naming of 186 outstanding performers, more than twice the number named at the last base the AETC IG team inspected. AETC Inspector General Col. Monty Brock also recognized five top performers and five professional performer teams at the out-brief.
He "coined" four Airmen and a civilian as Top Performers: Marlin Richardson, 12th Services Division; Senior Airman Huger Ford, 12th Mission Support Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Juan Nieves, 12th MSS; Master Sgt. Clifton Garner, 12th Civil Engineer Division; and Maj. Eric Schmidt, 435th Fighter Training Squadron.
The Professional Performer Teams are the 12th Security Forces Squadron Training Team; Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineer Requirements, or SABER, Contracts Team; Search and Recovery Honor Guard Team; 12th Logistics Readiness Division's Renovation Team; and 12th Maintenance Directorate Crashed, Damaged, Disabled Aircraft Recovery, or CDDAR, Exercise Team.
In addition to evaluating operations, maintenance, support and medical mission accomplishment, the IG team's 120 inspectors spent the ORI evaluating the wing's compliance with commander's items and contingency operations. Those operations included the ability to mobilize and operate in a deployed environment, force protection of the base, and accident response.
"We live with you on a daily basis," said Colonel Brock, in reference to AETC being a tenant unit on Randolph. "We've had gracious hosts and superb facilities, and we want to thank you for your support. We know first-hand how well you perform all the time. We knew we were going to come in and see a great wing at work."
Following the announcement of the ORI results, Col. Dan Clark, 19th Air Force vice commander, thanked the IG team for its thorough evaluation and bid them farewell. He then addressed the jubilant 800 members of the wing in attendance and told them they each are "a contributor and exhibitor of the hard work and dedication it takes to be a world-class organization."
Col. Van Ovost closed the out-brief, giving thanks to the members of the wing for their monumental effort in preparing for and earning such high marks from the inspection team. A balloon drop concluded the event and the crowd moved down the street to celebrate in Air Heritage Park at a hamburger and bratwurst lunch put on by the 12th Services Division.