Kadena's 18th CS earns four Air Force-level awards

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zackary A. Henry
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Kadena's 18th Communications Squadron was recently awarded four different Air Force level awards.

Being the best in the Air Force is no easy task, but with great leaders and strong Airmen, it's no wonder the 18th CS added four more AF level awards to their list of achievements.

Among the awards received were two individual AF level winners, Senior Master Sgt. Harold Terrance and Staff Sgt. Jack Schultz.

Schultz, 18th CS client systems journeyman, won the 2014 Air Force Information Dominance Outstanding Client Systems Airman of the Year award for his outstanding performance, at Kadena and while deployed, as well as for his community outreach efforts to bridge language barriers here in Okinawa, Japan.

Terrance, former 18th CS cyber systems section chief, won the 2014 Air Force Outstanding Cyberspace Operations Senior NCO of the Year.

He lead the Pacific Air Force's largest communications flight in executing over 16,000 system upgrades and headed the Air Force's first 24/7 cyber patching service which eliminated over 113,000 network risks.

"Although I appreciate the prestige of this award, I know that it also reflects the hard work and dedication of all the men and women of the 18th CS," said Terrance. "It's truly an honor to be a part of such an awesome team."

One of the other AF level awards earned by the 18th CS was the best large post office for the second consecutive year.

One of the senior leaders of the post office, Senior Master Sgt. David L. Braun, 18th CS postal operations superintendent, said it took commitment to put the team first and to each individual on the team.

"We are a strong team, and strong teams focus on the strengths of each other not the faults," said Braun. "This built an atmosphere of appreciation for one another."

Braun also said that this award is the result of not just his leadership, but leadership at all levels.

Kadena's post office oversaw PACAF's busiest finance section. They conducted 24 audits with $3.5 million in revenue and processed 23 million pounds of postage throughout the year.

The 18th CS was named the Air Force's best large communications unit. This was their second consecutive year.

This year, 18th CS bolstered the best overall command cyber readiness inspection score in the Air Force and the best secret internet protocol router CCRI score in the Air Force as well.

One of the senior leaders, Chief Master Sgt. Rongi R. Langham, 18th CS squadron superintendent, accredited this award to the strong leadership, teamwork and Airmen confidence throughout the squadron.

"Our Airmen are stakeholders in the squadron," said Langham. "Success is driven by their work ethic and dedication to be the best in the Air Force."