OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The 55th Wing Command Post recently earned the 2020 Large Nuclear Command and Control Command Post of the Year award.
Selected from approximately 15 command posts across five different commands, this 22 member team resurrected the command post after the 500 year flood, rebuilding twenty programs and team morale.
“There could be no command post more deserving of this honor,” said Col. Gavin Marks, 55th wing commander. “They truly are a testament to the world-class standard of excellence the 55th Wing embodies.”
In 2020, the command post saved the Air Force $2.4 million by reallocating a critical NC3 aircrew alerting system and equipment from a condemned building to Air Combat Command.
They also created a training and reports program for Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, and were the first in ACC to adapt during the pandemic by designing the first ever university-style command post virtual training program.
“The team has worked unbelievably hard since 2019 and is still displaced from the flood, working in a basement with limited quality of life and limitations that require our team to go an extra mile to accomplish the mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Sharika Ceasor, 55th Wing command post superintendent. “So seeing the fruit of that labor was like finishing a triathlon.”
In addition, the command post continued executing the Johns Hopkins evaluation, helped shape the Air Force’s pandemic policy, and tackled a $7.5 million crisis warning system overhaul.
“This has been the greatest demonstration of teamwork, talent cultivation and management,” Ceasor said. “I believe we will walk away from this experience better leaders because that is the true reward for coalescing all of our differences and using them to propel us towards a common goal.”