ANDREWS AFB, Md. -- –
The 459th Air Refueling Wing completed its Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection which was conducted by an Air Mobility Command Inspector General team from September 19-21.
"This inspection brought the wing together like never before," said Col. William T. Cahoon, commander of the 459th ARW. "The men women with the 459th gave up a lot of time with their families and really rose to the occasion."
The purpose of the week long NORI was to see if the 459th's units performed their duties, and if so, were they completed at a satisfactory level and in compliance with all Air Force regulations.
The 459th was briefed of the AMC IG team's findings Wednesday at the 459th Aero Medical Evacuation Squadron auditorium here at Andrews. The inspection team's finding focused on four major graded areas which were unit generation, employment, mission support, and safety & defensive counter information.
While an overall grade could not be handed down at this time, the 459th did receive fantastic marks for all the subordinate units that fell under the four major graded areas. All units that received grades Wednesday performed satisfactorily with several receiving marks of Excellent and two receiving a grade of Outstanding which is the highest possible rating. Those two were security forces from both the 316th and 459th wings and intelligence which fell under the Mission Support graded area.
There were seven teams from the 459th Wing and two from the 316th Wing that were specifically recognized for their performance as well as a number of individuals who showed exemplary work ethic and leadership during the inspection.
Also recognized were the 316th Wing and the 89th Airlift Support Group for their outstanding support.
What makes the results of this inspection so impressive is that the 459 ARW received notification of this inspection in June and had a number of its members return from deployments in September, said Col. David Post, commander of the 459th Maintenance Group.
"This truly required everyone working together at a high level when it really counted while also having to reintegrate themselves back at home," said Col. Post.