News

595th AMXS wins Unit Effectiveness Award for AFGSC

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Hammes
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs

The 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron was awarded the Unit Effectiveness Award in the Small Aircraft Maintenance category for Air Force Global Strike Command Jan. 4.

The squadron, which stood up with the 595th Command and Control Group when it was activated in October 2016, has only been aligned under AFGSC a year.

“For us to win this award in Global Strike in our first year as a Global Strike squadron is a big deal,” said Lt. Col. Douglas Dodge, commander of the 595th AMXS. “We’ve got a great team, no doubt.”

Master Sgt. Jared Sundell, the specialist section chief for the 595th AMXS, said the squadron had many accomplishments from the past year to choose from.

“When two of our planes were hit by a tornado, that was something the whole squadron had to come together on,” he said. “We were down to basically one aircraft, and that had to perform all of our missions. Keeping that one afloat plus trying to fix the other two at the same time was a heavy hitter in our awards package.”

Sundell said he hopes the award helps to shape the way the squadron grows as time goes on.

“I think the bullets establish a standard,” he said. “This was what we accomplished our first year as a squadron – there’s no reason we can’t maintain that. It’s kind of a culture setting.”

Dodge said he is proud of the work his squadron did.

“My name isn’t anywhere in the awards package, because I don’t think I did any of those bullets,” he said. “It was the 200 plus Airmen that we have. I couldn’t be prouder.”

The 595th AMXS is currently up for the award at the Air Force level.