18th LRS duo to claim Kadena Energy Warrior Award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Maeson L. Elleman
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Each year for the past few years, executive order has pushed Department of Defense installations to decrease overall energy consumption by three percent.

While Kadena has had little to no problem meeting the objective each year, this year 18th Wing took a new stance; the Shoguns not only met the challenge - they shattered it.

Based on statistics generated in the end of August and beginning of September, Kadena personnel met a 5.9-percent decrease since 2011, saving the Air Force nearly $5 million in energy bills.

According to Michael Gilbert, 18th Wing energy manager from the 718th Civil Engineer Squadron, two individuals from the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Management Flight, Staff Sgt. Ancele Prince and Tamotsu Arime, both facility managers for their shop, took great strides to set the Vehicle Management Flight apart and earn them both the Energy Warrior Award.

Arime said the Power Nap, a daily effort, as well as other energy consumption initiatives were vital to the shop's achievement.

"We perform the Power Nap every day," he said. "We also turn off the lights in the shop and office when on breaks or lunch, as well as large equipment whenever they're not in use."

"The Kadena Shogun Energy Warrior Award was created to reward energy conservation by an individual or group that is over and above normal duty," said Gilbert. "It is awarded when conservation actions are brought to our attention. In this case, a Process Energy Audit of (the Vehicle Management Flight) highlighted the exceptional load profile of this building and the conservation measures championed by Staff Sgt. Prince and Mr. Arime."

A few years ago, the 18th Wing adopted the slogan "TSOB4UGO (Turn Stuff Off Before You Go)" which asked service members and government employees on the base to stop the use of appliances and other energy-using devices as they leave a room or building.

However, this year Kadena took an additional approach to energy saving by employing the "Power Nap" initiative between the months of June and September. The innovative program was set to highlight Kadena's high energy usage between the hours of 1-4 p.m., when energy consumption costs peak on Okinawa, by giving all major appliances and electronics in shops and base residences a break, or "power nap."

Gilbert said the efforts of the Vehicle Management Flight were essential to the overall success of the 18th Wing.

"The efforts of the men and women that work in building 268 represented by Arime and Prince are directly responsible for this reduction in energy," said Gilbert. "If we could operate all facilities on Kadena this efficiently Kadena would have no problems meeting the three percent annual energy goal mandated by Executive order. Unfortunately, many missions on Kadena do not allow for such a beautiful load profile, but we can all operate our processes a little more efficiently and help save energy."

Lt. Col. Robert Henderson, 18th LRS commander, said he's proud of the efforts by the shop, and he feels the team performed exceptionally well.

"We're thrilled with the success of our Vehicle Management team and their ability to smartly reduce energy consumption," the commander said. "Staff Sgt. Prince and Mr. Arime, and the rest of the team used innovative strategies and plain-old common sense to curb energy costs. We're proud of all of them."