71st MSS takes honors

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt Jason Bishop
  • Public Affairs
Vance Air Force Base, Okla. --  Another Team Vance squadron received command-level recognition when the 71st Mission Support Squadron earned Air Education and Training Command's Outstanding Mission Support Squadron Award for 2003 in the small base category.
"It's a huge deal," said Maj Jeffrey Bomkamp, 71st MSS commander. "We all want to succeed and do well and be recognized for it. It says a lot for the folks here."
Major Bomkamp recognizes the Airmen in his squadron as playing a large roll in the squadron receiving this award.
"They come to Vance [AFB], and we throw more responsibility on them," he said. "They continually meet those expectations."
However, the Airmen aren't the only people who excelled in the 71st MSS in 2003. Major Bomkamp also recognized his "super" NCOs and officers as well as some "awesome civilian leadership."
According to the award nomination, the 71st MSS has "superior" Personal Support for Contingency Operations (PERSCO) teams whose "robust and realistic training sessions placed them on the leading edge within the command." The teams were also rated "outstanding" by the AETC Operational Readiness Inspection team.
Also in the award nomination, the 71st MSS had no category one discrepancies (those involving issues that affect someone's assignment) noted by the Air Force Personnel Center in 2003. Additionally, the squadron perfectly executed more than 500 student pilot assignments.
The squadron also provided free Air Force-approved car seats for Team Vance members having their first child, according to the award nomination.
On the volunteer side, members of the 71st MSS supported the annual Special Olympics, Rebuilding Together Through Christmas in April, Habitat for Humanity, Camp Tomahawk, Adopt-A-Highway, a local school reading program, Vance Against Drunk Driving and contributed more than 500 hours of service to Vance Air Force Base's Honor Guard.
All of this was accomplished with small shops where many positions are "one deep," Major Bomkamp said.
"It's the attitude that sets these folks apart," he said.