Three Altus Airmen win Outstanding MAF Tactician of the Year Award Published May 2, 2014 By Airman 1st Class J. Zuriel Lee 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 97th Air Mobility Wing congratulates three Airmen for their contributions for the Outstanding Mobility Air Forces Combat Airlift and Tanker Tactician Officer and NCO of the Year Awards. The award recognizes the top airlift officer and NCO and tanker officer and NCO tacticians in the field of combat tactics development at the wing level or below. The winners of this award are: Maj. John Hancock, 97th Operations Support Squadron assistant flight commander of wing weapons and tactics, Capt. Sean McConville, 58th Airlift Squadron tactics flight commander and Tech. Sgt. James Snyder, 97th OSS flight chief of wing weapons and tactics. To be nominated for this award, the individual must have been assigned to combat tactics duties or worked in the field of tactics within the previous six months and for at least one year. The nominated Airmen have contributed in the development of tactical techniques, procedures, and methods that contributed significantly to the MAF's wartime preparedness, enhancements to existing tactics techniques, procedures, and methods, or towards promotion of combat, wartime-oriented thinking and preparedness throughout the MAF community, as specified in the Air Mobility Command instructions. Winner of the Outstanding MAF Tanker Officer Award, Maj. Hancock said, "It feels pretty humbling. I know the guys I am going up against and they are really sharp guys. They deserve it as much as I do, if not more." Hancock contributed by being the head tanker planner for a series of exercises at Seymour-Johnson AFB, coordinating between four or five tankers during each exercise. He also tested the tankers' tactics for coping with global positioning system jamming. At Altus, Hancock taught basic tactics for operations in theater and dealing with threats to boom operators and pilots. Along with that, he arranged for the Basic Aircrew Tactics Studies classes to be combined for the U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III and the U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crews to better integrate their capabilities. Winner of the Outstanding MAF Combat Airlift Officer Award, Capt. McConville said, "It is an incredibly gratifying experience. I'm proud. I'm honored." One part of McConville's contributions was adding context to his lesson on low-level flight in the C-17. He built several scenarios with simulated threat systems to aid his students' understanding of this flight tactic. Another part of his contributions was rewriting two chapters in two of the C-17s tactics manuals. He also created ways to use the existing systems to reduce the possibility of being detected in a semi-permissive environment. Winner of the Outstanding MAF Tanker NCO Award, Tech. Sgt. Snyder said, "It's nice to be recognized by your leadership. It's a reflection on my guys. They are doing a great job." Snyder added one slot to the OSS manning document in tactics, adding to the efficiency and continuity of the drop-zone control officer duties. This change added 204 training days a year to the 58th. The change also made it easier for the OSS by having a drop-zone control officer at the drop location to investigate if anything goes wrong or malfunctions. The drop-zone control duties include inspections of the platforms before and after they arrive on the plane. These inspections caught four parachute-timer malfunctions, saving each $25,000 platform. Snyder also coordinated with Hickam AFB to update eight Airmen's qualifications on dual-row drops. Altus AFB congratulates these Airmen and their respective teams for their contributions to tactical development and training.