51st Fighter Wing deemed "Excellent"

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Foster
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  As the word "Excellent" was read, members of the 51st Fighter Wing erupted into cheers and applause, celebrating the results of two years' preparation.

After completing nine operational readiness exercises since the 2009 Operational Readiness Inspection, the 51st Fighter Wing gathered on Osan Air Base, Korea, for a commander' s call and post-ORI debriefing, or "hot wash," April 11.

The 2011 Korea Pacific Air Forces Command ORI began April 3 and concluded April 7.

An ORI is conducted to evaluate and measure the ability of units with a wartime, contingency or force sustainment mission to perform operations plans and assigned tasks. Inspectable areas include positioning forces, employing forces, sustaining forces and Ability-to-Survive and Operate in a chemical environment.

The 51st Fighter Wing earned an "Excellent" rating in all areas.

Lt. Col. Steve Harrold, 51st Fighter Wing Plans and Programs office, said the wing became focused on the ATSO portion of the inspection in the last couple of months and made the adjustments needed to earn the excellent rating.

"The ATSO portion is one of the more difficult areas to succeed in, because every Airman on base is a part of it," he said. "The wing really came together in the past couple of months and sent a message to our inspectors that we are indeed ready to fight tonight."

Col. Patrick Malackowski, 51st Fighter Wing commander, said the results weren't just a reflection of how the wing did on the inspection, but also how the wing goes about their daily business.

"This isn't about our operational readiness inspection and all the things that our great evaluation team has put us through," he said. "It's about mission and it's about people and you were evaluated and you have achieved excellence."

Colonel Malackowski also reminded everyone of the teamwork involved to achieve success.

"I've not been able to stand anywhere and talk about the mission without talking about teams. I've had the great honor for about 40 years of my life to be a member of teams," he said. "I've had 30 years in the Air Force and I've never seen a team this size get universal excellent across the board. You are an amazing fighter wing."

Colonel Malackowski then closed by asking everyone to relish the moment and challenged them to take the next step.

"What comes next now for this great wing?" he asked. "I want you to breathe this in and I want you to celebrate. I want you to celebrate what we've done, what we've accomplished. We must now press to do our daily job to maintain and exceed our excellent standard."