Maj. Scott Hall and SMSgt. Anthony Smith have received the 2010 Gen. Lew Allen Jr. Award, recognized for their excellence in aircraft sortie generation. “This is about fixing machines and maintaining platforms, and doing it better than anyone else in our Air Force,” said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz during Tuesday’s award ceremony in the Pentagon. Hall was honored for his work during his previous assignment as maintenance operations officer with the 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Shaw AFB, S.C. Among his accomplishments, he led the first F-16 satellite communications modification for operations in Afghanistan that resulted in a 50-percent increase in precision strikes. Among his stand-out activities, Smith, F-16 aircraft maintenance unit superintendent with the 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., helped reduce the aircraft cannibalization rate by 10 percent while maintaining an 86-percent mission-capable rate. (SAF/PA report by TSgt. Jess Harvey)
Congress is making moves to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, but lawmakers have only a few days left to clear the procedural hurdles necessary to ensure troops get paid Nov. 14. The issue is particularly pressing for tens of thousands of uniformed personnel in the Air National…
