SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. - The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing was recently awarded the Air Force Meritorious Unit Award in recognition of the wing’s recent record of performance in support of combat operations.
"Across the wing, in every single squadron, individually and as a team, our Airmen are simply the best,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. John Slocum, the wing commander. “It is difficult to find adequate superlatives to describe the performance of our [Airmen].”
According to award criteria, the award is presented only in cases where “superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks set [the unit] apart and above other units with similar missions. Superior performance of normal mission will not alone justify award of the [award]." Additionally, the service in performed must be directly related to the combat efforts.
In 2015 more than 500 Airmen and more than a dozen aircraft from the unit were deployed in the largest single, sustained deployment of the wing since the Korean War.
Airmen from the wing engaged in combat operations in Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. military’s operations against ISIS, including more than 1,700 combat sorties in the wing’s A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
During that same time, aircrews from the wing’s 127th Air Refueling Group flew numerous aerial refueling missions in the KC-135 Stratotanker and were among the highest performing refueling units in theatre.
Additionally, Airmen from the refueling group also earned a 100 percent score for both command and control procedures and general knowledge testing during a major operational readiness inspection at home station while a significant portion of the group's Airmen were deployed overseas.
The award acknowledges the high level of performance of the wing’s Airmen, said Slocum.
"Your work is being recognized at the highest levels of our military," he said, adding Airmen from the unit are “ready to meet the next challenge.”