The 97th Air Mobility Wing Anti-terrorism office wins "Best Anti-terrorism Program in AETC, 2009"

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Cherice Bryant
  • 97 AMW/PA
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla.-- --  The 97th Air Mobility Wing Anti-terrorism office (ATO) is the "Winner of the Best Antiterrorism Program in AETC, 2009".

"The strength of a program is determined by the continuity of it and the hard work that goes into perfecting it," said Teena Duffy, 97 AMW Antiterrorism Officer.

Some of the major achievements of the ATO that went into this award were their strong support of the base Crisis Action Team, and their help with maintaining a comprehensive & robust installation notification and warning system at Altus AFB. In addition to this, the office was recognized by Headquarters Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Inspector General as a "Professional Performer" for being highly organized functional representatives during the wing's 2009 unit compliance inspection.

In additon to this, the ATO's list of achievements includes some innovative ideas put into action. For example, they created the extensive Community of Practice website for base Anti-terrorism program. This highly informative website was the first one created in the AETC, and is a comprehensive site that features one-stop-shopping for AT monitors.

The Altus ATO is also being recognized for their training efforts and their awareness management program. They also developed an AT contractor's pamphlet, which helped to provide AT guidance for all contractors. They conducted an AT newcomer awareness briefing for all military and civilian personal, and have taken the initiative to partner with the base publics affairs office in order to provide weekly AT tips to all base personal utilizing all available outlets including the base website, computer pop-up notices, and the commander's access channel.

Other significant contributions the office has provided to the wing are a highly organized Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Management system and their intelligence program. They conduct weekly intelligence briefings at the wings commander meetings where they are responsible for updating base leaders on current threats and partnered with OSI, Intel, FBI and local PD's to inform them on local threats as well. Their threat assessments have been highly utilized throughout the wing and community.

"We treat the force protection issues and projects seriously," Duffy said.

This is why the ATO's level of professionalism, efficiency, innovation and organization has provided a sense of security and awareness to the 97th Air Mobility Wing, and all the hard- working men and women at Altus AFB.

"We don't feel that our personnel are any less a target or less important than any other location. Also, with the constant change in personnel, it is important to be informed on what your co-workers are involved in and to meet regularly to stay on top of the office responsibilities," said Duffy.