436th CES leads the way to multiple AMC awards

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William Johnson
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 436th Civil Engineer Squadron has a reputation for leading the way and is now being recognized by Air Mobility Command for their accomplishments.

The 436th CES racked up four AMC awards and will go on to compete at the Air Force level. They won a squadron award, The Outstanding Civil Engineer Unit Award for the small unit category, and an Operations Flight Award, The Major General Clifton D. Wright Award. The 436th CES also won two individual awards, including the Outstanding Civil Engineer Civilian Manager and the Society of American Military Engineers Goddard Medal.

Lt. Col. Scott Bryant, 436th CES commander, said the awards represent the spirit of the 436th CES.

"Often we do not know what each day will hold in terms of emergency response or customer needs," said Bryant. "But regardless of what is placed in front of us, we accomplish the job in a thorough, professional and excellent manner."

The Outstanding Civil Engineer Unit Award for small units recognizes the most outstanding Air Force Civil engineer unit with fewer than 500 military and civilian personnel. The Major General Clifton D. Wright Award recognizes the most outstanding Air Force Civil Engineer Operations Flight that assured quality construction, maintenance, repair and demolition of Air Force base facilities and infrastructure. All Air Force Civil Engineer Squadrons, except for solely contracted operations flights, were eligible for this award.

1st Lt. Christopher Parks, 436th CES operations engineering element chief, was part of the team responsible for building the award package and said he was really proud of his team.

"We have a great team of military and civilians," said Parks. "I think our hard work really showed through with the squadron and flight awards and especially for the individual awards."

Richard Suwolitch, 436th CES water and fuel system maintenance foreman, was the recipient of the Outstanding Civil Engineer Civilian Manager Award. This award is awarded to the Air Force civilian manager who is recognized for their superior job performance.

"I was surprised at first that I won," said Suwolitch. "I have a lot of great people working for me and I feel good that our hard work is being acknowledged."

Master Sgt. James Stover, 436th CES infrastructure system superintendent and Suwolitch's supervisor, said Suwolitch does an outstanding job managing his section.

"Mr. Suwolitch is an outstanding performer and the award is spot on," said Stover. "He is always mentoring the Airmen here and a lot of Airmen look up to him."

Lastly, Master Sgt. Dennis King, 436th CES heavy repair superintendent, won the Society of American Military Engineers Goddard Medal. This annual award is given to enlisted Air Force members to honor their outstanding contributions to military engineering in military troop construction, base maintenance and contingency engineering.

"At first I was completely surprised," said King. "Now I am just happy that I was even considered for the award."

Maj. Matthew Hileman, 436th CES operations flight commander and King's supervisor, said King is an energized worker that is continually tackling issues to drive his section forward.

"King's leadership is crucial in his section and is contagious," said Hileman. "But they'll be the first to pass all the credit to their junior Airmen and all our long serving civilian tech experts."

Hileman also said the awards are reflective of the teamwork on base and that every unit on base played some role in the accomplishments of the 436th CES.

Bryant said the awards reflect and represent our Total Force Civil Engineering Air Force community.

"We enjoy the experiences brought to us by our Reserve brothers and sisters from the 512th," said Bryant. "Due to the quality of our active duty and civilian personnel, we have never wavered in our commitment to the mission of this Wing."