DOD’s Mason award presented to OC-ALC Published Jan. 19, 2012 By Brandice J. O'Brien Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- It was a worthy sight for a special occasion. On the afternoon of Jan. 11, more than 400 personnel from the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group gathered at Bldg. 3001's Dock five-and-a-half. They stood, dressed in blue jeans, T-shirts and personal protective equipment, for the 2011 Robert T. Mason Depot Excellence Award presentation ceremony officiated by John B. Johns, deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Maintenance at the The Department of Defense. Ross Marshall, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center executive director, officially accepted the highly-regarded Department of Defense award for Team Tinker's outstanding efforts on the KC-135 Stratotanker Programmed Depot Maintenance line in fiscal 2010. Mr. Johns said it was an honor to be with the Tinker workforce, which knows and takes its role in the maintenance community seriously. "There is no doubt in my mind that you all know what role you play," Mr. Johns said. "You're producing readiness. By producing readiness, you technically produce airpower, which keeps us flying across the world. I have no doubt that the performance on this line, and by the attitudes and responses I've heard, you know exactly your role. "It's people that make a team work and it's people that make a production line work," Mr. Johns said. "That's what this is about; it's what distinguishes you from every other depot maintenance facility." The award is named for Robert T. Mason, a former assistant deputy under the secretary of defense for maintenance policy, programs and resources. In August, Tinker received word that it had won the prestigious honor. In November, the award was presented to several OC-ALC officials at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards banquet in Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. "It's an outstanding award and I'm proud to be a part of it," said Brian Crowell, 564th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft mechanic. "It's a great recognition for the depot maintenance world." Keith Carver, 564th AMXS electrician, agreed. "It's well deserved; a lot of people put in a lot of hard work," he said. "I'm not surprised we won the award, we're the best at what we do."