UCI: Thunderbolts earn 'excellent' rating Published May 14, 2009 By 1st Lt. Bryan Bouchard 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- Five Thunderbolts were awarded coins and 291 were singled out for their superior performances as the Air Education and Training Command Inspector General gave the "excellent" results of the 56th Fighter Wing's Unit Compliance Inspection General, May 13. "It's always a challenge to prepare for one of these inspections, and it's always a challenge to pull it off," said Brig. Gen. Kurt Neubauer, 56th FW commander, following the release of the results. "Thunderbolts be proud of yourselves; this is an achievement for all of you." During the UCI, inspectors evaluated common core compliance based on Defense Department, Air Force and AETC instructions and rated each unit with grades of outstanding, excellent, satisfactory, marginal or unsatisfactory - there were none of the last category throughout the inspection. Inspectors arrived at Luke Air Force Base the first week of May and immediately went to work, putting the men and women of Luke through the ringer. Thunderbolts met with inspectors and showcased their various programs and procedures to show that overall Luke is not just in compliance, as the inspection's title would imply, but is also exceeding the standards in most areas. "This is a team effort," said Col. Monty Brock, AETC Inspector General, "and it was very evident when we hit the ground that Luke was ready for the IG team." Over the course of the inspection, Luke Airmen also tested their mettle in a Major Accident Response Exercise, showing that Luke's Airmen could respond in the event of any emergency - a category in which Luke garnered an "outstanding" rating. The 56th Operations Support Squadron also earned an "outstanding" rating, with its intelligence operations team earning "top team" honors. General Neubauer said that while the inspection itself is enough of a task to accomplish, being able to prepare for it while maintaining Luke's operations tempo made the excellent rating even more sweet. "It's amazing to be able to pull off an inspection of this scope and go through what we've been through the last several months," the general said, noting that the open house, various high-profile visitors and flying "more sorties in one day than most fighter wings fly in a week" added to the pressurecooker already applied by the IG team's presence. The five Thunderbolts singled out and coined for their performances were: Capt. George Watkins, 309th Fighter Squadron Michele Coit, 56th Communications Squadron Master Sgt. Jason Ford, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron Tech. Sgt. Robin Vaden, 308th Fighter Squadron Airman 1st Class Courtney Ramstead, 61st Fighter Squadron Five teams were also noted as top teams for their efforts and the recognition went to: F-16 Intelligence Operations Team, 56th Operations Support Squadron Munitions Inpection Team, 56th Equipment Maintenance Squadron Air Terminal Operations Team, 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron Refueling Maintenance Team, 56th LRS F-16 Aircraft Egress Team, 56th CES