CSAF recognizes Air Force team excellence award winners Published Sept. 17, 2009 WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The Chief of Staff of the Air Force presented his Team Excellence Awards at a ceremony during the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition Sept. 15. The awards recognize teams who used a systematic approach to enhance mission capability, improve operational performance, and create sustained results. Five teams were selected for the 2009 Chief of Staff Team Excellence Awards. The selection was made from 22 major command award winners, picked from 114 submissions. Improvements made by all of the award nominees combined may save the Air Force as much as $1.5 billion in the first year, officials said. "Your efforts lay the foundation for further improvements," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. "This is what we need to do as a matter of routine. Because these efforts do make a difference and help continue to make a better Air Force we all aspire to have." The five 2009 award winners are: -- The Enhanced Use Lease Team at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. This team is also an Air Force Best Practice recipient. -- The Individual Protective Equipment Team at Kadena Air Base, Japan. This team is also an Air Force Best Practice recipient. -- The Formal Training Distributive Training Team at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. This team is also an Air Force Best Practice recipient. -- The KC-135 Periodic Inspection Team at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. -- The C-130 Isochronal Inspection Team at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The judges also recognized the following teams as Air Force Best Practices: -- The AFSO21 Area 2 Divestiture Team at Aviano AIR BASE, Italy. -- The Team Eglin Out Processing Team at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. -- The AFROTC Field Training Team, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. "Want to feel good about the future? Just five minutes with any one of these teams and you'll know that the innovation, imagination, and commitment our Air Force needs for tomorrow is alive and well today," said Maj. Gen. Duane Jones, the Director of Resource Integration, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Installations and Mission Support. General Jones served as the senior judge for the CSAF Team Excellence selection panel. Rounding out the major command nominations were: -- Recognitions Service Team, Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center (AFRC), Denver, Colo. -- Special Operations Tanker Recapitalization Team, Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Hurlburt Field, Fla. -- Current Operations Team, 97th Operations Support Squadron (AETC), Altus Air Force Base, Okla. -- Avionics Section Improvement Team, 315th Maintenance Group (AFRC), Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. -- Military Satellite Communications Capabilities Team, Headquarters Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. -- Distributed Mission Operations Team, Air Forces Northern (ANG), Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. -- Communications and Information Support Contractor-to-Civilian Team, 341st Missile Wing (AFSPC), Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. -- Air Force Housing Privatization Program Management Team, Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment (FOA), Brooks City-Base, Texas -- Enterprise Information Management Team, Headquarters Air Mobility Command (AMC), Scott Air Force Base, Ill. -- SUDDEN SPIRIT Team, Headquarters Air Force/Air Force Intelligence Analysis Agency (FOA), Washington, D.C. -- Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division Team, 11th Air Force (PACAF), Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska -- Major Validation/Verification Team, 105th Maintenance Squadron (ANG), Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y. -- F-22 Raptor Increment 3.1 Modification Team, 412th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AFMC), Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. -- Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver Trainer Team, United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Ramstein Air Base, Germany