143d Civil Engineering Squadron Receives 2015 Founders and Patriots Award

  • Published
  • By Technical Sgt Jason Long
  • 143 AW/PA
12/05/2015 --  For the year 2015, the 143d Civil Engineering Squadron was recognized as the Founders and Patriots of America honoree at a ceremony held on December 5th at Quonset Air National Guard Base. The Rhode Island Society of the Founders and Patriots presents a variety of awards each year to outstanding National Guard units, ROTC programs and Cadets.

The Rhode Island Society of the Founders and Patriots is a patriotic and historic organization founded in 1896. They are comprised of 1200 members across the United States that can trace their ancestry back to the first colonist and whose forefathers in the same male line that served in the American Revolution. In attendance from the Rhode Island Society of the Founders and Patriots of America were Mr. Carlen Booth, Mr. John Eastman, Mr. Herbert Adams and Mr. Robert Baxter, who presented the award.

This year's recipient, the 143d Civil Engineering Squadron distinguished themselves through several outstanding accomplishments. One of the many responsibilities of the 143 CES is to manage all military construction ventures and all base maintenance projects to include sustainment and renovations. The unit has excelled and has been awarded 115.7 million dollars over 3 years to complete these projects.  In recent years, the unit has deployed 74 members in support of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom as well as numerous federal stateside and overseas missions. Additionally, the squadron has answered the call for state support by responding to multiple state emergencies. The 143 CES has also supported our state partnership program by sending 38 members to Coral Harbor Base, Bahamas to assist in the construction of several facilities. In 2015, the Airmen of the 143d Civil Engineering Squadron conducted their annual training at Quonset Air National Guard Base, completing 34 work orders, saving the state of Rhode Island 28,000 dollars.  The unit revamped the base environmental program to the top 10 in the Air National Guard, eradicating 54 deficiencies in one year and was found to be in full compliance by external auditors.  They also provided support for the New England chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosive enhanced response force package.  While supporting the New England CERF-P mission, they participated in the three exercises and hosted three evaluations. The team received a 100% compliance score on all methods of operations.

Major Jeremiah Buckenberger received the award on behalf of the men and women of the 143d Civil Engineering Squadron. During his remarks, he thanked the Airmen for their hard work and dedication to the 143d Airlift Wing and the mission. He said "to see a base that is transformed from the old ways to the new" is a direct result of the hard work of the Airmen of the 143d Civil Engineering Squadron.