Two Chicago-Area National Guard Units Compete in Army Award for Maintenance Excellence

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Sgt. Kelly Sounthala, of Glen Ellyn and Spc. Anthony Cotto of Chicago, both with the 1244th Transportation Company perform a preventive maintenance and service check on a humvee Jan. 13.

• Chief Warrant Officer (4) Williams Lyles, of Fort Lee Va., with Combat Arms Support Command based in Fort Lee inspects the cabin of vehicle Jan. 12 at North Riverside.
• Spc. Anthony Cotto of Chicago, with the 1244th Transportation Company checks the bolts on a tire while performing a preventive maintenance and service check Jan. 13 at North Riverside.

CHICAGO, IL (01/18/2012)(readMedia)-- Two Chicago-area Illinois Army National Guard units are competing at the national level for a prestigious award for excellence in maintenance.

Both the 108th Sustainment Brigade (Sust. Bde.) in Chicago and the 1244th Transportation Company (Trans. Co.) in North Riverside are semifinalists in the Army Award for Maintenance Excellence (AAME) competition. They recently received visits from AAME evaluators from Fort Lee, Va., for onsite supply and maintenance inspections in the final phase of this prestigious award.

The 108th is competing in the large-unit category. Evaluators visited its facilities in both North Riverside and the Northwest Armory near Humboldt Park Jan. 12. The 1244th is competing in the medium-unit category and hosted AAME evaluators Jan. 13 at its facility at North Riverside.

"The process is very thorough. It inspects a lot of different areas of the unit not just maintenance, but also supply, training and overall unit readiness," said Chief Warrant Officer (4) Michael Kitts of New Castle Del., with the Delaware National Guard.

The AAME competition is divided into two phases. In the first phase, both units won maintenance competitions at the state, regional and National Guard Bureau levels. Each unit then won at the Department of the Army level to complete phase one and ranked as semifinalists for the award. The second-phase onsite evaluations now have the units competing against other National Guard units for top honors in the respective categories.

Competition categories are determined by the number of personnel assigned to a unit or command, said Chief Warrant Officer (4) Williams Lyles, of Fort Lee Va., leader of the AAME evaluation team from the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) in Fort Lee. Units with 300 or more compete in large category and units with less with compete in the small category.

The 108th Sust. Bde. commands roughly 2,100 Illinois National Guard Soldiers in its subordinate units across the state, while its subordinate company the 1244th Trans. Co., commands roughly 170 Soldiers.

The 20-page narrative nomination packet required to enter the AAME competition captured a solid picture of the unit's maintenance programs and Soldier readiness, said Lt. Col. Drew Dukett, of Roodhouse, deputy commander of the 108th Sust. Bde. He said it was a great accomplishment for the Soldiers of 108th, 1244th and the Illinois National Guard to reach the AAME semifinals. The 108th Sust. Bde. is the first unit in the Illinois National Guard to reach this stage in the large category since the 232nd Combat Support Battalion in Springfield in 2001.

While the AAME is just a competition, the 108th as brigade is the largest combat service support unit in the state, making maintenance and unit readiness a must for both traditional and full-time Soldiers said Dukett.

"The AAME gives recognition and improves overall readiness," said Dukett. "When you have a checklist of stuff and it's all regulatory you have maintain a high-level of readiness and maintenance. This is a competition that maintains the efforts and progress the 108th has already made in its stride toward efficiency."

Several subordinate units in the 108th have received awards and citations for excellence in supply, maintenance and combat support operations over recent years. The 1244th is at the forefront of these marks of excellence, with several Supply Excellence awards, top finishes in active duty competitions in Kuwait, and the Transportation Corps Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for 2010.

The 1244th compiled its achievements for entry into the AAME competition while deployed conducting convoy logistics missions for the drawdown of U.S. and coalition forces from Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn. The unit began preparation for the AAME's phase upon the unit's September homecoming.

Sgt. 1st Class Steven Richardson of Streator, with the 1244th Trans. Co., said reaching this level in the competition represents the efforts and mission focus of 1244th Soldiers showed during their deployment and since their return.

Capt. Shawn Nokes of Quincy, 1244th Commander, noted that while the unit compiled an outstanding record of maintenance initiatives and results that brought success in the AAME competition, more importantly the unit's efforts enabled the 1244th to efficiently and successfully complete 219 convoy missions covering more than 3.8 million miles and return all Soldiers home safely.

"That's what this is really all about: being prepared for the mission," Nokes said.

Richardson said it was the team effort that brought the 1244th recognition while deployed and to the semifinals of the AAME.

"We had motor pool of the month six times against active duty units," said Richardson.

While deployed, the 1244th shop raised the bar on maintenance throughout its Task Force and improved overall vehicle condition, mission readiness and safety and mitigating material waste.

"You got the standard and once you exceed that standard it just something you have to maintain. It's hard to do," said Richardson.

Lyle said both units were very organized and did well during the evaluation. The official results will not be published until early April when the department of the Army announces the 2011 AAME winners for each category.