Battle Creek’s National Guard 110th Attack Wing receives prestigious unit award
by NEWSCHANNEL 3
The 110th Attack Wing of the National Guard in Battle Creek received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. —
For it’s work with remotely piloted aircraft and cyber defense operations, the 110th Attack Wing of the National Guard, at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, received an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award.
“The 110th Attack Wing is honored to have received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, which clearly demonstrates the outstanding accomplishments of our incredible team of Airmen,” Col. Bryan Teff, commander of the 110th, said in a written announcement on the award.
“They’re performing more relevant work than ever,” Teff said.
The award was authorized by Department of the Air Force General Order 1, Jan. 6, 1954, and is given to units that perform exceptionally meritorious service. The Secretary of the Air Force selected the 110th for the honor, for the work the unit performed from Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2016. It’s the seventh time the 110th has received the honor in its 70-year history. The last award came in 2005 to recognize the Wing’s participation in homeland security missions following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The last time we received this type of recognition was over fifteen years ago,” Teff said. “There have been many ups and downs for our organization since then, but the Airmen of the 110th have always proven able to capitalize on our existing missions with elite performance. Receiving this award is just another sign that the future is bright for the 110th Attack Wing.”
Teff also said the award affirms the unit’s new, high-tech missions after a period of uncertainty. The base was projected to close in 2005 as a part of the Base Realignment and Closer commission (BRAC).
The 110th Attack Wing’s citation specifically mentions the organization’s superior performance in its two new mission sets – control of MQ-9 “Reaper” remotely-piloted aircraft, and cyber defense operations – despite fiscal adversity and manpower shortages. During this period of mission transition, the 110th Attack Wing continued to increase its operations tempo, flying more than 5,000 hours in the MQ-9 and more than 1,700 sorties. The Wing also prepared and deployed Airmen in various contingency operations supporting over 500 total deployment events, while maintaining high standards in Medical Readiness, Agile Combat Support, and multi-domain Command and Control.