27th SOCES nominated for AFA award Published June 24, 2008 By Airman 1st Class Elliott Sprehe 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- The 27th Special Operations Wing earned the privilege of having the 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron as one of just three candidates across the Air Force to be nominated for the Theodore Von Karman Award, recommended to the Air Force Association by former Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley. Theodore Von Karman, a Hungarian-American aerodynamicist, helped in the upstart in the field of Air Force research and development. Named after him, the award has been presented annually since the late 1940s to recognize the contribution to national defense in the field of science and engineering by an Airman, Air Force civilian employee, units or groups. "We were the nomination from the 27th (SOW)," said Lt. Col. Stephen Wood, 27th SOCES commander. "We competed at (Air Force Special Operations Command) and were then sent to Air Staff." There were a number of nominations sent to the Chief of Staff, but only three were selected. The two other units also nominated are the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron, Air Mobility Command, and the B-52 Aircraft Fischer-Tropsch Fuel Management Demo Team, Air Force Material Command. According to Colonel Wood, one of the 27th SOCES' accomplishments over the calendar year was that they, "awarded 73 projects for $37 million in Operation and Maintenance funds to enable the special operations beddown," smoothly transitioning from Air Combat Command to AFSOC. Also included in the nomination package was the squadron's oversight of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives training for more than 3,000 warfighters, and the squadron was hand-picked by Air Combat Command for a 2007 CBRNE challenge. Although this is an annual requirement, it shows the readiness of Cannon AFB, said Colonel Wood. The 27th SOCES also initiated a Military Construction program for the AFSOC mission valued at over $350 million, which identifies the squadron's long-term transition requirements. "I'm proud of the squadron for working as a team to enable the transition from ACC to AFSOC," said Colonel Wood. The accomplishments of Cannon's civil engineer squadron go above and beyond, resulting in them being nominated for the Air Force Association's Theodore Von Karman Award, he added. The AFA's awards committee met June 12 and is currently informing those that have won in their respective award nominations. The Air Force Association presents approximately 60 awards over the course of the year to different individuals and organizations, each representing a category different from the other.