Maintainers secure PACAF awards

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Two members of the 18th Maintenance Operation Squadron recently won Pacific Air Force awards.

Master Sgt. Latoya Guardia won the Maintenance Training Manager of the Year Award and Tech. Sgt. Michael Lydko won the Maintenance Training Instructor of the Year Award.

These awards are designed to recognize the best maintenance training personnel providing outstanding training in support of the unit's mission and PACAF. The awards are based solely on duty performance, demonstrated professionalism, and consistent performance in support of PACAF training and readiness.

Guardia is recognized for managing the maintenance training program for the largest PACAF combat wing. She trained and equipped more than 2,300 18th Maintenance Group warriors for Kadena's mission. She also supervised 1,300 18th MXG members in upgrade training and ensured completion of 550 Career Development Course sets which resulted in 475 members upgraded with a 98 percent total pass rate, besting the PACAF 95 percent goal.

"I was thrilled but certainly not shocked to learn Master Sergeant Latoya Guardia was recognized by PACAF for her outstanding maintenance training leadership and accomplishments for 2011," said Lt. Col. Bryan Ford, 18th Maintenance Operation Squadron commander. "Her expertise was critical in providing training to over 2,300 maintenance warriors assigned to the Air Force's largest combat wing. ... The results of her many maintenance training efforts were felt across the Air Force and will continue to play a significant role in our maintenance training management future."

Lydko is distinguished for delivering training classes to the largest Air Force combat wing, which included ensuring six squadrons and two tenant units were prepared and trained and logged over 1,000 instructional hours. He presented 136 training events, achieving an outstanding 100 percent demand-response rate, shattering the 90 percent PACAF goal. He is a dedicated crew chief of F-15 Eagle training aircraft valued at $28,000,000 and streamlined on-equipment class requirements which returned 340 combat sorties to the 18th Wing.

"This award comes as no surprise," Ford said, "as his outstanding maintenance leadership and knowledge was showcased during the award period when his engine run class was featured on American Forces Network. ... His expertise was instrumental in his delivery of more than 1,000 instruction hours while maintaining an impressive 98 percent instructor utilization rate, 50 percentage points higher than Combat Air Force's standard."