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379th ELRS earns first ‘Daedalian’ award

  • Published
  • By By Tech. Sgt. Nathan Allen
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
The 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron received the “Daedalian” award during a ceremony Feb. 11, 2019, declaring them the best LRS unit in U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Air Combat Command.

The Daedalian Maj. Gen. Warren R. Carter Logistics Effectiveness Award, first presented in 1962, is given to the base level unit with the best supply, effectiveness record, and support of mission aircraft and weapons.

Brig. Gen. Tom Miller, ACC director of Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection, presided over the ceremony. While speaking, Miller commended the unit, which consists of 500 Airmen, Soldiers, and civilians from 13 career fields and 37 military installations worldwide, for earning top honors.

“It’s the biggest, the largest, and the most dynamic, this LRS,” he said. “What’s really incredible is to do all that with a team that comes together on the field of battle.”

Miller credited the unit’s success to the Air Force’s enlisted culture and the technical proficiency it creates within its Airmen.

“What’s the difference between just ‘making it’ and high performance? It’s the Senior NCO and the NCO culture,” he said. “I’d offer to you that the difference with Airmen, is that they want to know ‘why.’ ‘Why do I need to be ready to move this many short tons of cargo? Why do we have to be ready in hours versus days? Why is it important that all the processes are followed?’ If you explain ‘why,’ as a supervisor, and then you’re not there when a question comes up, the Airman knows why. Thus, you’re brought into a high performing team.”

Lt. Col. Kellie Courtland, 379th ELRS commander, shared a phrase to illustrate what she believes earned the “One-eyed Jacks” their first Daedalian award – teamwork.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” she said. “In this world, you can have the greatest players, but it doesn’t guarantee a great team. The only thing in the world that guarantees a great team is teamwork. That’s exactly what the One-eyed Jacks do every single day.”