442nd Fighter Wing members received Lieutenant General Leo Marquez Award

Extracted from The Mohawk, official newspaper of the 442nd Fighter Wing (July 2010 public online PDF issue):

This award recognizes base-level military and civil-service aircraft, munitions and missile maintenance personnel who perform hands-on maintenance or manage a maintenance function.

Tech. Sgt. James Gum, 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief

Sergeant Gum received the 2009 Air Force Crew Chief of the Year in recognition for his outstanding contributions while assigned as an A-10 crew chief at the 442nd Fighter Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. While serving as a critical en-route support team member, he ensured the successful employment of 12 aircraft to Bagram Air Base in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. His expertise contributed to more than 900 hours of combat-effective flight. His initiative, while deployed, led to significant improvements in crash-recovery capabilities. At home, his unequaled expertise proved critical to the successful response to a ground emergency on aircraft 79-111. His resourceful decisions led to a rapid and safe recovery with zero injuries and no further damage to the aircraft.

Airman 1st Class Matthew Bounds, 442nd Maintenance Operations Flight production controller

Airman Bounds received the award as the Outstanding Maintenance Management Production Technician of 2009. Early in 2009 the A-10 fleet was critically diagnosed with severe wing cracks. Airman Bounds worked with the maintenance teams who pioneered many of the time-compliance technical order wing crack repairs and then scheduled and completed all repairs in house ahead of the entire fleet. Numerous management innovations continue to produce outstanding savings in time and resources and solidify the 442nd Maintenance Group as a leader in the A-10 maintenance community.

Capt. Lisa Gaines, 442nd Maintenance Group munitions flight commander

Captain Gaines received the award as the Outstanding Company Grade Manager of 2009. During this period, Captain Gaines simultaneously recovered personnel, aircraft and equipment from the unit's air expeditionary force deployment, hosted an international A-10 gunnery competition, directed munitions maintenance activities and prepared for an Air Combat Command-directed operational readiness inspection. Her leadership was a key factor in the buildup and successful delivery of more than 206,000 munitions. While preparing for the unit's upcoming operational readiness inspection, Captain Gaines quickly identified deficiencies in the unit's highly visible nuclear mishap reporting procedures and immediately resolved them by developing a quick-response "dull sword" checklist.

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