HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Air Force Materiel Command officials recently announced that the 66th Security Forces Squadron and 66th Air Base Group Chapel team here received command-level awards for 2018.
Security Forces won the command’s best small unit award and the Chapel team received the Robert P. Taylor Award as the command's best small chapel.
"These command-level awards, and the others that have already been announced, illustrate that we have remarkable professionals at Hanscom Air Force Base and in the 66th Air Base Group working hard to support the warfighter," said Col. Chad Ellsworth, 66th Air Base Group commander.
Other Air Base Group units, including the 66 ABG Public Affairs Office, received similar recognition as ‘best in AFMC’ for 2018.
Best Small Security Forces Unit of the Year
The win for SFS is the unit’s fourth command-level award in a row dating back to 2015 when they won best in Air Force.
“I am convinced we have some of the best and most highly motivated military and civilian security forces personnel in the Air Force,” said Maj. Brett Skates, 66 SFS commander. “They are responsible for the success of this organization and I am honored to serve as their commander.”
The squadron also rapidly met an Air Force Chief of Staff directive to bolster perimeter and entry control security standards.
“We take the safety of our service members, civilians, and their families who support them very seriously and continuously look for ways to make our installation safer while enabling the greater Team Hanscom missions,” said Skates.
Additionally, SFS personnel responded to a potential active shooter scenario on the installation during a visit to the base by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson last spring. The incident proved to be a false alarm.
“The team quickly responded to the situation and established proper protocols,” said Skates. “The situation was safely diffused in minimal time.”
The nomination also mentioned the renaming of the installation’s entry control points to honor two fallen SFS Airmen killed in Afghanistan in 2015.
In addition, the squadron hosted Hanscom’s first-ever National Night Out to promote police and community partnerships.
Small Chapel Team of the Year
Among the many accomplishments spotlighted in the award-winning nomination was outreach support.
"The Hanscom Chapel provided superior spiritual support last year through many religious activities that bolstered the spiritual fitness of our community," said Chaplain (Maj.) William Logan, base chaplain. “All of our programs are geared toward nurturing the spiritual fitness for all our military and civilian personnel and their families.”
Chapel officials provided outreach to the Hanscom community through a free Marriage Seminar and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, also known as ASIST.
“The Marriage Seminar was designed to support returning deployers and their spouses with managing expectations, improving communication and resolving conflict,” said Logan.
Chaplains also twice held a two-day ASIST workshop for members of the Hanscom community.
“This training equips personnel to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety,” Logan said. “People are our most valuable resource and we are committed to protecting them.”
Chapel officials also provided during full military honors for an Air Force pilot killed in action in Vietnam in 1965, according to the nomination.
Logan and his team also hosted cultural events, instructed chaplain candidates, overcame a 50 percent manning deficit and supported the families of military and civilian personnel who died.
Both organizations will now compete at Air Force level.