Misawa receives an "excellent " during Operational Readiness Inspection

Published March 20, 2007
By Staff Sgt. A.C. Eggman
35th Fighter Wing public affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- The Pacific Air Forces inspector general announced Tuesday the 35th Fighter Wing received an "excellent" grade for their recent Operational Readiness Inspection.

During the out brief, PACAF IG members said Misawa was "more than ready to attack to defend." The inspection was held March 12-17 and was the first since 2003.

Contributing to the 35th Fighter Wing's overall score of excellent, the wing also received excellent in the four-graded categories of initial response, employment, mission support and ability to survive and operate.

At the out brief, 52 individuals and 11 teams were recognized as outstanding performers during the inspection.

Brig. Gen. Joseph Reheiser, 5th Air Forces vice commander, said he'd never seen a base face so many challenges and still do so well.

"Thank you for a job well done," he said at the out brief. "In my 29 years in the Air Force, I am not aware of any wing that has had the challenges placed in front of them that the 35th Fighter Wing has had for the last four months."

Deployments into and out of the area of responsibility and training for those deployments were some of the difficulties the wing faced, said the general. "How do you put all of that together? How do you keep that straight and expect to do well in an ORI?" the general asked.

"I don't know what to say, other than congratulations from the bottom of my heart," said General Reheiser. "Understand, this was more than an inspection. It was a validation of this wing's combat readiness. It was, no question, a team effort. You attacked to defend. You took it head on with a positive attitude."

Col. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, 35th Fighter Wing commander, who flew back home the day before the out brief for the birth of his first child, recorded a message to the wing.

"As your commander, I would like to thank each of you for the role you played; and most importantly, the warrior attitude you displayed throughout the entire inspection," said Colonel O'Shaughnessy. "You all worked incredibly hard to prepare for this inspection and your performance reflected your extreme dedication. I am proud of what you accomplished and I am honored to be a part of this incredible team of warriors."

The following individuals and teams were recognized at the out brief:

Superior Performers
The PACAF inspector general singled out the following as superior performers during the ORI:
 Chaplain (Captain) Matthew Boarts, 35th Fighter Wing
 Capt. Ruth Monsanto-Williams, 35th Medical Support Squadron
 Capt. Teresa Sullivan, 35th Fighter Wing
 1st Lt. Stanley Wong, 35th Operations Support Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Michelle Bligen-Cox, 35th Medical Group
 Tech. Sgt. David Bruce, 35th Maintenance Group
 Tech. Sgt. Brian Davis, 35th Maintenance Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Ronald Falany, 35th Maintenance Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. George Greene, 35th Communications Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Antoinette Flores, 35th Maintenance Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Rex Hinkamper, 35th Communications Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Cory Mayberry, 35th Maintenance Operations Squadron
 Tech Sgt. Jennifer Nesbitt, 35th Fighter Wing
 Tech. Sgt. Bradley Powers, 35th Fighter Wing
 Tech. Sgt. John Rogers, 35th Contracting Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Chris Straight, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Jessy Acosta, 35th Medical Support Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Andrew Bonjour, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. David Camacho, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Garrett Faust, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Graham Fitzpatrick, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Eric Moses, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Robert Head, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Karl Hemerlein, 35th Medical Support Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Nickolas Kennedy, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Don Lackey, 35th Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Chul Lee, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Staff Sgt. LesShawn Garrett, 13th Fighter Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Jesus Marrujo, 35th Maintenance Group
 Staff Sgt. Eric Moses, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Angela Revilla, 35th Security Forces Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Joshua Teeters, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Mark Tross, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron
 Staff Sgt. Nathan Truijillo, 35th Maintenance Operations Squadron
 Senior Airman Judy Peterson, 35th Medical Support Squadron
 Airman 1st Class Jeremy Gephart, 35th Communications Squadron
 Airman 1st Class Christopher Grimes, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Airman 1st Class Cassandra Riggs, 35th Communications Squadron
 Airman 1st Class Daniel Santell, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Airman Benjamin Nelson, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Mr. James Fogerty, 35th Fighter Wing
 Ms. Yukie Niwata, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron

Outstanding Teams
The PACAF inspector general singled out the following as outstanding teams during the ORI:
 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Unit Control Center
 13th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Generation Team
 35th Maintenance Squadron Quality Assurance Team
 35th Maintenance Squadron Crash Recovery Team
 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
 35th Communications Squadron Quick Fix Team
 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Support Team
 35th Operations Support Combat Intelligence Cell Day Shift Team
 35th Fighter Wing Threat Working Group
 35th Operations Support Squadron Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Operations Team
 35th Operations Support Squadron Airfield Management and Weather Night Shift Post Attack Reconnaissance Team

Exceptional Performers
The following Airmen were given coins from the Pacific Air Forces inspector general for exceptional individual performances during the Operational Readiness Inspection:
 Maj. Cameron Caroom, 35th Operations Support Squadron
 Maj. Anne Marie McCain, 35th Medical Support Squadron
 1st Lt. Christina Sheets, 13th Fighter Squadron
 Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Mical, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
 Master Sgt. Phillip French, 35th Communications Squadron
 Master Sgt. Richard Robinson, 35th Maintenance Squadron
 Tech. Sgt. Don Hoobler, 35th Fighter Wing Command Post
 Staff Sgt. Theresa Newell, 35th Fighter Wing Chapel
 Staff Sgt. Charice Roberson, 35th Logistics Readiness Squadron
 Senior Airman Sergio Rangel, 13th Fighter Squadron