Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Katie Eggers | Field Maintenance Shop 6 in Kenosha, Wis., was awarded the Fiscal Year 2024 Chief of...... read more read more
KENOSHA, Wis. – A Wisconsin Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop (FMS) has received national recognition for its superior maintenance program and outstanding support to Wisconsin Army National Guard units.
Field Maintenance Shop 6 in Kenosha, Wis., was awarded the Fiscal Year 2024 Chief of Staff, Army Award for Maintenance Excellence in the Army National Guard Tables of Distribution and Allowances category. Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Juga, the surface maintenance mechanic supervisor who leads FMS #6, alongside his team accepted the award from Brig. Gen. Matthew Strub, Wisconsin’s deputy adjutant general for Army, during a Sept. 24 ceremony at the shop.
“Every little detail that we do every day matters in this competition, and every single employee here did exactly what we needed of them,” said Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Juga, the surface maintenance mechanic supervisor who leads FMS #6. “I couldn’t be prouder of them. I don’t deserve this award as much as they do. They put in the work. I just assist the managing. I’ve got great NCOs, great Soldiers, great employees.”
The award came following an 18-month gauntlet with various inspections and a lengthy, substantial packet submission. In June 2023, FMS #6 earned first place in the Wisconsin Army National Guard AAME. The following month, they won the regional competition. In September 2023, they placed second at a National Guard Bureau AAME. In December 2023, FMS #6 took 3rd place in the Department of the Army AAME. FMS #6 was named winner of the national-level FY24 award in July following a Phase II evaluation at the Department of the Army level.
“Eighteen months of being under the microscope, that’s significant,” Strub said. “That’s a lot. It’s over, and over, and over again, and along that way, continuing to come out on top and close to the top and persevere to being at the very top of the nation. That’s a big deal. Truly, congratulations are in order.”
Nested under the 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, FMS #6 supports five units with eight employees. They provide maintenance support for more than 1,400 pieces of equipment from medical, military police, engineer, and field artillery units. One of the units they support is designated as a Quick Reaction Force for the National Guard Response Force, and must be ready to respond to any civil disturbance as required by our governor.
“It’s really hard to explain what they do here because there are so many different challenges involved,” said Lt. Col. Dan Hendershot, the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s deputy chief of staff for logistics. “We’re waiting on parts often times. Some parts are very complex and it takes a very long time to get them. They have to shuffle workload. Sgt. Maj. Juga and his team, I already know for a fact that they look for work, and a lot of our other shops look for work. When they are slow or project a slow period because they don’t have a lot of equipment in here, they take proactive steps to get some from some other unit or some other shop to keep the ball rolling and the employees actively engaged, and our equipment war ready.
“Without the shops down here, especially in Kenosha with the Military Police Company, it becomes very difficult for senior leaders like Brig. Gen. Strub and others to plan effectively and respond to the governor’s ask when we have to put Soldiers in those vehicles and move them down to the city streets.”
During the ceremony, many of the employees were accompanied by family members. For many employees, working at an FMS becomes a career with familial relationships developing not only among employees, but with their actual family members as well, Hendershot said.
Strub took a moment to recognize the support of the families in the audience.
“Thank you for allowing your Soldier to give the time and the commitment that they give to make us successful,” Strub said. “It’s no small feat.”
Strub added that Wisconsin’s entire maintenance community had to band together and prioritize vehicle maintenance to ensure the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team was successful at one of the largest Brigade-level exercises the Wisconsin Army National Guard has undertaken.
“Had we not been able to do that as a state and as a maintenance community, that rotation would not have been as successful as it was, and this shop is the premiere within the state,” Strub said. “If you think about the magnitude of what this unit has gotten done in a small element, you pack a big punch with the small unit that you are, and it’s really remarkable.”
The Army Award for Maintenance Excellence was established in 1982 by the Department of the Army to recognize exceptional accomplishment in Maintenance and provide added incentive to the competitive programs of Major Army Commands.
| Date Taken: | 10.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.23.2024 16:20 |
| Story ID: | 483794 |
| Location: | KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 254 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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