Looking forward to a great 2012; some wing standouts Published Jan. 17, 2012 By Col. Lenny Richoux 6th Air Mobility Wing commander MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The year 2011 has come and gone, and as we look forward to what 2012 holds as we operate the finest Air Mobility Wing on the Face of the Planet in concert with 37 other partner units on MacDill Air Force Base. Chief Master Sergeant Vickie Gamble and I will honor the 6 AMW's best of the best at this year's Annual Awards ceremony on Jan 27th. I encourage each of you to come out and pay tribute to our Airmen and Civilians. This is an extremely competitive competition. You are all amazingly talented Americans charged with the responsibility of defending our nation. Have you ever sat down and thought about all the work you do in a year? Just look at these numbers. Remember, there are only 365 days in a year when you look at these numbers. You supported 2,845 sorties and offloaded 27,051,000 pounds of fuel this year. You deployed to countries all over the world. You supported 156,034 medical appointments, and filled 586,261 prescriptions. You also saw another 24,817 visits in the dental lab. You also processed over 34,000 travel vouchers, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is truly a tough job to single out the best of the best, and I want to personally thank you for everything that you do every day. As we look ahead to what 2012 holds, Chief Gamble and I have designated this as the "Year of Conspicuous Compliance". In 2010 and 2011 you showed the IG how well you perform your operational missions, having exceeded all standards. This year, we will be asked to demonstrate how well we follow federal, state, and local laws and policies throughout all 6AMW mission areas. While we will be tested periodically throughout the year, the Wing is preparing for a series of very big inspections this Fall, one of which is the Air Mobility Command Compliance Inspection. We will hit a home run again. "Conspicuous Compliance" means that any guest who enters your work area will know, with a doubt, that you and your fellow Airmen are in full compliance with all regulations and technical orders. It's an attitude backed by practice. This past weekend my wife, Michele, and I had the honor of hosting several civic leaders on base. It was incredible to see the amount of support and respect that our community leaders have for you. Every one of them had nothing but praise for all of the wonderful things that you have done for the Tampa Bay community. The people of Tampa are truly honored to have us as their guest, and I make it a point to let them know that we are grateful for their hospitality. They welcome us into their schools, churches, hospitals and everywhere else. Tampa is an Air Force town, and hopefully they will be recognized for their undying support to MacDill. Community leaders are submitting a package to win the Abilene Trophy awarded to the community in Air Mobility Command that is most supportive of its local Air Force Base. No matter which community ultimately wins this award, the men and women of MacDill are the real winners with a community like Tampa Bay. Good luck Tampa Bay, you're the best! Speaking of the best, there are a couple of people that I want to mention for going above and beyond. Tech. Sgt. Heidi Torres-Curry is the 6th Medical Group Unit Deployment Manager. In the last 11 months, she solely managed the deployment section processing 50 medics to 8 geographical locations with at 94 percent fill rate. Way to go Heidi, I really appreciate all the long hours and dedication. Also, members of the 6th Security Forces Squadron won seven of 16 squadron level HQ AMC/A7S Functional Category awards. Master Sgt. Patrick McNally, AMC Outstanding Support Staff SNCO; Master Sgt. Nancy Hinostroza, AMC Outstanding SF Flight-Level SNCO; Master Sgt. Ernest Stephens, AMC Security Forces SNCO Augmentee; Master Sgt. Michael Chickadel, Outstanding Flight-Level NCO; Keith Turney, Outstanding Support Staff Civilian; Jesse Gabbert, Outstanding Flight-Level Civilian; and Senior Airman Kevin Eells, Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson, First-Term Airman Expeditionary Award. Our defenders do it year in and year out...they are the best of the best! Well done! In closing, I want to reiterate my three priorities for the 6th Air Mobility Wing and MacDill AFB: Readiness, Installation Growth and Maintenance, and Community Outreach. To our partner units, to include USCENTCOM, USSOCOM, JCSE, NOAA, NOSC, and the 927ARW, we are here to support your missions, let me know how I can help. Thank you all for a great 2011; looking forward to an amazing 2012!