Teamwork makes the dream work

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Aubrey White
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The notion of teamwork is engrained in the minds of Service members from the day they set foot into basic military training. They are taught to overcome obstacles and accomplish the mission as one.

Two groups of Airmen assigned to the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron embodied the teamwork concept and recently received Air Force-level awards for outstanding performance in civil engineering.

First up is Master Sgt. Tracy Passerotti, 4th CES explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) NCO in-charge of logistics, and his team of EOD technicians.

Passerotti earned the 2012 Major General Eugene A. Lupia award for his outstanding contribution to the EOD career field as a civil engineering NCO.

During a recent deployment to Afghanistan, Passerotti and his team were attached to the U.S. Army 1-2 Infantry Battalion and provided direct support for three forward operating bases.
The Airmen functioned as a quick-response force for their Army brethren, conducting more than five incursions by air in search of high-valued targets and rid villages of approximately 2,200 pounds of explosives and 51 improvised explosive devices.

"[The team] really understood what they needed to do, communicated it to the Army units and we were able to get things done," Passerotti said. "It's a brilliant testament to how well they picked things up and ran with them."

Although only he was presented the award, Passerotti affirms that he wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without the help of his team.

"Master Sgt. Passerotti is very humble," said Senior Airman Justin Beasley, 4th CES EOD craftsman. "All he cared about was if we were safe. The first thing he thinks about when he's doing anything is the welfare of his team. He's awesome."

Next is the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron operations flight, comprised of approximately 300 Airmen.

Flight members earned the 2012 Major General Clifton D. Wright award for their superior performance of quality maintenance, repair and improvement of installation facilities and infrastructure.

"[The flight consists of] craftsmen that maintain all of the infrastructure and facilities on this base," said Maj. Matthew Deufemia, 4th CES operations flight commander. "If something goes down, we're there to fix it and [this accomplishment] was a compilation of what we've done on the installation."

Requirements included in the performance criteria for the award are energy reduction and savings in addition to the fulfillment of Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Environmental Compliance Assessment and Management Program requirements.

Contracts for custodial and grounds maintenance service were reduced after funding was cut by 40 percent. Flight members took on some of the responsibility for grounds preservation and implemented the Pride Team, a group of Airmen new to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., who help to uphold the installation's appearance by pruning weeds and bushes as well as cleaning various buildings.

According to Deufemia, the flight also saved money with the installation of solar panels above the Oak Forest gate and solar powered crosswalk signs in front of the Consolidated Support Center and by reducing the amount of water used on base by developing a new system to perform water supply leak tests and flushing.

"Great ideas for saving and great attitudes came from all the members in the flight," Deufemia said. "Winning this award just proves that it was a team effort."

While the actions which led each group of Airmen to be recognized differed greatly, the 4th CES operations flight members and EOD Airmen both functioned as teams to support one common goal; the Air Force mission to "fly, fight and win."