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89th APS named Air Force Large Terminal of the Year
Senior Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace
89th Airlift Wing
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Maryland – The 89th Aerial Port Squadron won the Air Mobility Command Large Terminal of the Year award for operations from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016.
The 89th APS provides around-the-clock air transportation support for the president, national leaders, combatant commanders and Special Air Mission operations.
Sometimes referred to as The President’s Port, the 89th APS supported 80 Air Force One missions, while processing 75,000 passengers, 19,000 tons of equipment and more than 8,000 other SAMs during the award period. Their port operations and support for the Presidential Airlift Group, 89th Operations Group and 89th Maintenance Group allowed the 89th Airlift Wing to maintain a 99.9 percent departure reliability rate; the best in the Air Force.
“Our aerial porters are leaders and innovators, and this award is a testament to the hard work they perform each day,” said Col. Neal Bruegger, 89th Airlift Support Group commander. “We grow leaders in the port, and we need strong leadership to manage the 24/7 alert status we maintain to support the President of the United States and our other high-profile customers.”
In addition to supporting Air Mobility Command and White House-direction airlift missions, the 89th APS has a vital medical evacuation support role. During the award period, they supported 440 medevac missions for more than 3,000 patients and 129 tons of cargo, and saw numerous heroes transferred from the battlefield to U.S. hospitals.
"I'm immensely proud of our team, we've worked hard to build a culture of excellence here and our Airmen have answered the call,” said Maj. Jordan Clark, 89th APS operations officer. “To be named AMC's best aerial port for 2016, out of a number of tremendous units, is humbling and serves as further motivation to live out our motto of, ‘Safe, by the book, then on time.’"
One of the busiest ports in the Air Force, the 89th APS guided ground operations for hundreds of high-profile events, including the 2016 ISIL Summit; Canadian, Japanese, British Prime Minister visits; dozens of presidents, kings, queens, princes and princesses; the Pope; an airshow; and hundreds of ambassadors and heads of state.
When India asked for assistance in transferring national treasure, the 89th APS stepped up and teamed with the Department of Homeland Security to transfer $100 million in artifacts, including 200 stolen cultural items.
“There’s never a dull day at the port,” said Master Sgt. Andrea Campbell, 89th APS first sergeant. “Fortunately we have high-caliber Airmen to execute this important mission. As a first sergeant, I’m fortunate to have this professional enlisted team, and our NCOs are very driven, which inspires excellence down the ranks.”
The 89th APS is one of nine squadrons in the 89th AW, including a Wing Staff Agency, and the port supports every spectrum of the wing. Without their tireless work, not a single VC-25A ‘Air Force One’ mission would launch. In total, the 89th APS supports seven 89th AW aircraft types, including the VC-25A, C-32A, C-40B, C-37A, C-37B, C-20B and roll-on, roll-off assents. They also support transient aircraft.
“The 89th supports a wide array of aircraft types which are unique to our port. Aerial port Airmen rarely see them at other bases, so the learning curve for newly assigned Airmen can be steep. Couple that with the ‘no-fail’ level of excellence required to support the president and other national and world leaders, and you get an operating environment that can be quite challenging. But our team is sharp and proves on a daily basis that they’re certainly up to the challenge,” Bruegger said.
The 89th APS’s contributions to AMC and the White House have been tremendous, and leadership has taken notice. Brig. Gen. Stacey Hawkins, AMC director of logistics, engineering and force protection, notified the 89th APS on Jan. 19, 2017, that they were named the Air Mobility Command Large Terminal of the Year, lauding them as, “tremendously talented Airmen.”
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| Date Taken: | 02.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2017 17:22 |
| Story ID: | 223297 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 306 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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