An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line at Hurlburt Field, Fla., May 3, 2014.The MQ-9 Reaper is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft that is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Staff Sgt. John Bainter)

Commentaries

Excellence mindset fuels mission success

  • Published
  • By Maj. Grisel Mundo
  • 919th Services Flight commander
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  What is your job in the Air Force Reserve? Our job at the 919th Services Flight is to train and equip our personnel to be ready to deploy and fight. 

We are a warfighting organization tasked in the core areas of food services, lodging, fitness and recreation, and mortuary affairs. Additionally, we are tasked with providing home station sustainment. Every unit training assembly and throughout the year we train toward our goal of being ready to fulfill these tasks. 

In order to be current on the various core areas, we complete classroom and hands-on home station training in addition to meeting all requirements on ancillary training, physical fitness, and medical readiness. Our personnel also augment Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field services programs and we participate on exercises with other units and bases to sharpen our skills. 

All these activities are indeed important areas of support to our service members and their families. You are probably most familiar with our personnel at the Dining Facility. 

Prior to the UTA, they are busy ordering and receiving the supplies and ensuring the facility is ready to serve the meals for the weekend.  A fine group of our Airmen reports to duty at 4 a.m. on UTA mornings to do the prep work and serve you breakfast. They also function as quality assurance evaluators for our contracted personnel. 

At the end of the day, they work on the inventories, reconciling paperwork and preparing reports for higher headquarters. These taskings might not seem very glamorous but they are necessary. 

We recognize that we are doing our part in the fight--Excellence In All We Do.  The Airmen of the 919th Services Flight have pride in their work and believe that whatever your job is you must perform it to the best of your ability and with the goal of excellence. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed. 

This year, and for the fifth time, we were recognized with the John L. Hennessy Award for excellence in food service and management. This year's team was smaller in size and younger in rank than teams in previous years.  

They had kept up with their programs prior to the inspection and performed superbly while the inspector was visiting. They set a goal of excellence and their outstanding performance led them to win the Hennessy Award. 

Many of us don't have ritzy duty titles and we don't always get recognized with awards, but we are all part of the Total Force. Work with excellence in mind regardless of what is your job.