ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
The 113th Operations Group of the 113th Wing, District of Columbia Air National Guard received an overall Outstanding during a recent Ninth Air Force Standardization and Evaluation Inspection.
This marks the third consecutive Outstanding rating for the 113th Operations Group, dating back to 1997 and 2004.
"That is a hard standard to continually achieve, especially with the alert mission and high ops tempo," said Brig. Gen. Linda K. McTague, commander, 113th Wing. "Yet, they did a fantastic job, as always."
The Ninth Air Force Air Combat Command standardization and evaluation team inspects components covering four major and 14 sub-items including combat readiness, pilot employment proficiency, training and records management.
"The inspection found the 113th Wing to have a robust capability of performance, instruction and evaluation of all doctrinally assigned combat missions," said Lt. Col. Kirk Pierce, commander, 121st Fighter Squadron.
Initial evaluations took place in October 2007 during the 113th Wing's deployment to RED FLAG at Nellis AFB, Nev. There, pilots from the 121 FS were evaluated on their knowledge and tactical execution. The 113th Operation Support Squadron played a vital role in life-support, intelligence and mission planning. All nine mission evaluations were conducted under realistic combat profiles and a complex threat environment.
During the month of March, the standardization and evaluation team concluded the inspection with a two-week visit to the 113th Ops Group here at Andrews. The team focused on F-16 pilot instrument and qualification evaluations, in-flight emergency procedure evaluations, in-house training and operations.
In addition to awarding the Outstanding rating, the standardization and evaluation team recognized Lt. Col. Timothy Madden and Master Sgt. Richard Clemes as superior performers.
Although the standardization and evaluation team focused on the operations group, the 113th Maintenance Group worked to generate aircraft for both phases of the evaluation.
"The maintenance group also deserves recognition for ensuring the pilots had safe and effective aircraft to fly during the check-rides," said General McTague.
The Wing was recently awarded its 13th consecutive Air Force Outstanding Unit Award while its Air Sovereignty Alert Detachment was awarded an Outstanding during its Alert Force Evaluation.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the 113th Wing has maintained a continuous alert posture. The Wing has deployed aircraft and personnel to MAPLE FLAG and have participated in Air Expeditionary Force rotations in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.