Supply sergeant orders up 506 AEG Diamond Sharp Award

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Allen
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
Staff Sgt. Mario Alvarez, 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron combat operations supply journeyman, earned recognition here as the Diamond Sharp Award winner for the week of May 27 - June 2.

Sergeant Alvarez deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and hails from Miami. He has served in the Air Force for seven years and this is his second deployment; his first was to another location in Southwest Asia.

His duty performance highlights include averaging a one-day parts turn-around during the month of May, four times faster than the five-day Air Force standard. His vigilance enabled his unit's maintainers to sustain their radar's fully mission capable rate at 99.98 percent for the month.

Master Sgt. Ty Jarry, 727 EACS maintenance superintendent and first sergeant, praised the staff sergeant's performance, focusing on his drive and determination.

"His positive 'can-do,' and 'will-do' attitude is something I hope rubs off not only on our relatively small unit, but throughout (Kirkuk) and Forward Operating Base Warrior," said Sergeant Jarry.

Sergeant Alvarez's dedication aided his squadron in expediting four major radar maintenance repairs. Those repairs directly contributed to his unit's ability to provide a command and control picture to U.S. Central Command Air Force war fighters, thereby facilitating the successful completion of more than 2,770 air sorties since his rotation began in May.

His expertise also carries over to his duties as the unit weapons custodian. He improved the squadron's ability to arm its members by tweaking old procedures, resulting in an almost 67 percent reduction in arming time.

While he has only been at Kirkuk a short time, Sergeant Alvarez looks at his experiences with a broad focus, summing up his contributions with a quote by Edward E. Hale.

"I am the only one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."