I Own This: December 2022 Nominees

PS Magazine’s “I Own This Campaign” is designed to recognize Warfighters who exemplify the highest standards of care for their assigned vehicles and equipment and contribute in meaningful ways to their unit (s) overall maintenance and supply posture. In short, they live and breather readiness.

For December 2022, we had eight (8) individuals nominated for this program—the most we've ever had. All are deserving of this recognition. One was selected at random to get the spotlight placed on them. This month that individual is CW4 Scott J. Quiros from Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
     
How did you come to know/observe the nominee's actions? CW4 Quiros and I were assigned to the 1-25^th at Ft Wainwright and we both worked together in battalion-level positions (I have subsequently been reassigned). We discussed, collaborated and developed solutions and ideas to help the commander accomplish training objectives.

I recognize that any AMO has a difficult job when it comes to fleet maintenance and aircraft readiness. I will attest that being a material officer and maintenance test pilot (MTP) of an attack aviation battalion stationed in the coldest part of the USA (Fairbanks, AK) presents many challenges.
 
Why does this individual deserve recognition? Chief Quiros developed a unique procedure to ensure maintenance is completed. He refined a program to train and certify MTPs and to conduct maintenance test flights (MTFs) at night due to extreme environmental conditions. He also gathered and compiled three (3) years of data to help shape and rewrite the AH-64 operations in extreme cold environments AWR (airworthiness release). This data helped remove self-imposed restrictions of flying in extreme low temperatures and enabled the battalion to conduct year-round training.   

Any additional comments? Chief Quiros makes sure the unit’s NCOs and maintainers are properly trained to perform maintenance tasks. He also makes sure their training is properly documented accountability. He is a consummate professional and always provides the battalion commander a true and accurate assessment for an answer. I would want him on my team if our unit was to go to war.  
   
Warfighter's Name:  CPL Jacob E. Amesquita​   
Unit:                           HHB, 1ID DIVARTY, Ft Riley, KS   
Position/Title:           Retrans Team Chief    
Component:              Army/Active       
NSN or End Item:     5895-99-155-1466
Nominated by:          SSG James Miller
Justification:            I served and deployed as his platoon sergeant and NCOIC. CPL Amesquita led our brigade’s integration into the Baltics. He was the first US soldier to utilize a tactical voice bridge (TVB) between US forces, Canadians and Latvians. He also led our brigade’s lower technical inspection on deployment while being the lone 25U in our brigade.                              

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Warfighter's Name:   SFC Raymon H. Armitage
Unit:                            HHC, 32nd IBCT, Camp Douglas, WI
Position/Title:            Transportation Logistics NCO
Component:                Army/National Guard   
NSN or End Item:      TO7679
Nominated by:          LTC Bill Barthen
Justification:            SFC Armitage transferred to HHC, 32nd IBCT from the Indiana Army National Guard as an 11B when I was the Brigade S-4. He was assigned to my team as an 88N, which is the duty position assigned as the S-4’s driver. SFC Armitage and I drove several thousand miles together as we prepared for a major exercise at Camp Grayling. Our vehicle’s generator never had operational maintenance issues. That’s because SFC Armitage’s attention to preventative maintenance kept the HMMWV mission-ready over a four-year period. He was exceedingly disciplined in making sure the vehicle was always mission ready. He performed vehicle PMCS, loaded equipment, prepared the JBC, radios and communicated our status to enable me to focus on other administrative and operational tasks for the latest movement that maximized my effectiveness.

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Warfighter's Name:  LCpl Carter Landers
Unit:                           Weapons and Field Training Battalion
                                   Edson Range, Camp Pendleton, CA
Position/Title:            Armorer
Component:              Marines/Active   
NSN or End Item:     M16A4
Nominated by:         CW02 Shawn Daley
Justification:            I am the Battalion’s Maintenance Management Officer. I observe LCpl Landers dedication and impact to the mission daily. LCpl Landers is an effective and trusted armorer selected to provide range support for 600 recruits across five different ranges each week. For this task, he must work well with the range OICs and thoroughly know the weapons being fired. With a parts kit and tools, LCpl Landers arrives at the range able to diagnose weapon malfunctions and ensure continuity of training for 1,800 recruits, allowing each recruit to rifle qualify and become a US Marine. He takes great initiative and shows inspirational dedication with the sole intent to maintain 100% combat-ready mission-essential equipment.           

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Warfighter's Name:  SGT Muritala T. Olanrewaju   
Unit:                           Kentucky Army National Guard
                                   Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site, Ft Knox, KY
Position/Title:           Surface Maintenance Mechanic   
Component:              Army/National Guard       
NSN or End Item:     HMMWV, PLS, MTV, HEMTT
Nominated by:         CW4(P) Chris Kehl
Justification:            I supervise SGT Olanrewaju. He’s a top-notch mechanic who’s fantastic at troubleshooting faults on heavy- duty military equipment. Olanrewaju attends every course he can that pertains to military equipment and also uses time off to attend classes for mechanical engineering. He also works on military equipment on his day’s off. SGT Olanrewaju goes far and above the call of duty.                                

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Warfighter's Name:   PFC Jennifer Quinones
Unit:                            F FSC, 1-319th Airborne FAR, 3BCT, 82nd ABN DIV, Ft Bragg, NC
Position/Title:            Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic
Component:                Army/Active   
NSN or End Item:      Forward Repair System (FRS)
Nominated by:          1LT Christopher Duncan
Justification:             I served as the maintenance control officer for the unit where PFC Quinones serves. She was assigned the responsibility of “owning” the Forward Repair System (FRS) during the FORSCOM ground readiness evaluation assessment and training (GREAT) inspection. PFC Quinones received a 100% score for her graded portion. Further, the COMET team inspector stated that it was the most impressive FERS he had seen in any of his inspections. PFC Quinones goes above and beyond her position and grade for MOS tasks and additional duties.              

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Warighter's Name:   1SG Charles Ramsey
Unit:                           Kansas ARNG Readiness Center,
                                   Field Maintenance Shop, Wichita, KS
Position/Title:           Inspector
Component:              Army/National Guard   
NSN or End Item:     Various
Nominated by:         SSG Shane Haberlein
Justification:           I started working with 1SG Ramsey a few months ago as a technician and quickly learned he’s the type of soldier I look up, am inspired to work with and want to be like. 1SG Ramsey is one of those individuals who’s exceptional in every aspect of his life, whether it’s coming to work and doing everything by the book, staying in shape or helping others. He’s one of the best soldiers I’ve met over the course of the 14 years that I’ve been in the Army. He deserves this recognition.

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Warighter's Name:    SrA  Wolfgang J. Vanwie
Unit:                           55th Rescue Generation Squadron, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
Position/Title:            Inspection Section Journeymen
Component:              Air Force/Active   
NSN or End Item:     HH-60G Pave Hawk
Nominated by:         TSgt Riley Smith
Justification:            I am SrA Vanwie’s supervisor. He performs maintenance at the highest level and is a top performer in the phase section. He takes time to train new members of the unit to become quality maintainers. Vanwie is an excellent maintainer on the HH-60G platform and his devotion to quality maintenance is critical to the unit and combat search and rescue missions. He identified a gouged and out-of-limits tail gear box and acted quickly by sourcing 18 components for a gear box rebuild. His invaluable expertise led to training and qualification of four members on the rebuild task. Because of his leadership, the tail gear box was replaced in a record time that crushed the timeline by two days. Vanwie’s maintenance abilities sealed a Zero-Defect Quality Assurance Key Task Listing rating that allowed the FCF to release two days ahead of schedule. The early release allowed the aircraft to complete a TDY that enabled 16 aircrew members to qualify on two weapon systems. SrA Vanwie’s was hand-selected to lead a 600-hr phase inspection where he trained two crewmembers, increasing the life expectancy of the airframe by 24 months. His HH-60G knowledge was vital to the early completion of the section, allowing him to assist with 300 remaining maintenance tasks. His actions contributed to the completion of the 600-hr inspection four days early. Vanwie’s bolstered the unit’s duel deployment that enabled six aircraft to cover two different AORs. And finally, Vanwie expedited 13 tail rotor paddle “one-time inspections” that helped train three members on the task. The completion of the critical inspection returned $1.3 million of assets into the supply system and across the Department of Defense. SrA Vanwie sets himself apart by performing superior maintenance on the HH-60G platform while training members on major tasks. SrA actions directly sealed the highest FMC rate in the HH-60G across the Air Force.