Excellence Earns Awards at Best Installations Ceremony

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 – Senior defense officials today hosted a Pentagon ceremony featuring five installations recognized as the military’s best for 2012.

Frank Kendall, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics, hosted the Commander-in-Chief’s Annual Awards for Installation Excellence ceremony.

“The commander-in-chief’s award is the highest award a military installation can receive,” Kendall said. “[But] it’s clearly about people more than it is about installations. Today we honor the best of the best from each of the military services and from the Defense Logistics Agency.”

“These [awards], are, I think, suitably called the commander-in-chief’s awards,” he continued,” because installations are so important to what we do and the success of the entire military and Department of Defense.”

Kendall provided some background on the Defense Department’s installation infrastructure throughout the world, noting it’s three times the size of Wal-Mart.

“Installations are the military infrastructure’s backbone,” he said. “The [Defense] Department’s 500-plus installations include more than 555,000 buildings and facilities with an estimated replacement value of nearly a trillion dollars.”

“These installations occupy more than 28 million acres of land in the United States and overseas,” Kendall added. “And now more than ever these installations provide direct operational support to our forces deployed in overseas operations.”

Kendall noted the accomplishments President Barack Obama talked about during his recent visit to Afghanistan are a direct result of “the fine work people do on installations throughout the country and overseas.”

Installations competing for the excellence award are evaluated on energy and environmental management, quality of life, unit morale, safety and health, communications, public relations, mission support, competitive activities, real property stewardship and asset management, Kendall said.

This year’s installations of excellence award recipients are:

-- U.S. Army Garrison, Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Hinesville, Georgia;

-- Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.;

-- Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.;

-- Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz.; and

-- The Defense Logistics Agency’s Defense Distribution Depot, San Joaquin, Calif.

Dr. Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, who also attended the ceremony and introduced Kendall, praised the five installation winners.

“Today, we will celebrate five installations that have excelled at both accomplishing their military missions and improving the quality of life for men and women who serve our nation,” she said. “To this year’s winners I offer my most sincere congratulations.”