I Own This: July 2020 Nominees

PS Magazine’s I Own This campaign is designed to recognize Warfighters of all services 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 breathe readiness.
 
This month, we had six Warfighters nominated for this program. All are deserving of this recognition. One was selected at random to get the spotlight placed on them. This month, that Warfighter is SPC Bradley A. Heaton.
   
Nominated by: SSG Riccarrdo Young

How did you come to know/observe the nominee's actions? I have supervised SPC Bradley Heaton for two years now. He is a 15E UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) Maintainer. He has always been very dedicated to his profession and continually conducts tasks above his pay grade. His actions have led him to perform above his peers in the quality control section for the UAS Platoon.

Why does this individual deserve recognition? His dedication to maintenance readiness has kept 7th SFG (A) as the top-performing UAS detachment for the entire USASOC UAS program of record, and arguably the US Army. SPC Heaton completed critical and time-sensitive parts orders, while maintaining expeditionary communication architecture for the ACN (Aircraft Notebook). He also ensured we had the most current updates, while managing personnel during operations.

Any additional comments? Most of the tasks he’s taken on—without being told to do so—are driven by his outstanding motivational drive. He's a great leader, serving selflessly in a position higher than his current grade.
 
Soldier's Name:           SPC Gavin R. Connor
Unit:                              FSC 5th Eng Bn, Ft Leonard Wood, MO                     
Position/Title:              91F10 Small Arms/Artillery Repairer               
Component:                 Army/Active                      
NSN or End Item:        1005-00-322-9715          
Nominated by:            SGT Garrett Morgan               
Justification: SPC Connor demonstrated tactical and technical proficiency of the 91F MOS by walking the brigade (Bde) Commander and Bde CSM through a service packet procedure, as well as inspection criteria for the M2A1 .50 caliber weapon system. Inside and outside of work, he demonstrates outstanding leadership ability, while maintaining proficiency in his MOS. 

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Soldier's Name:           SPC Eduardo De Oliveira
Unit:                              584th Support Maintenance Co., Ft Campbell, KY
Position/Title:              Technical Inspector                 
Component:                 Army/Active           
NSN or End Item:        AM/3-D printing        
Nominated by:            SSG Phillip Breton              
Justification: SPC De Oliveira or “Deo” is our unit’s senior 3-D printer operator and a subject matter expert in the field. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Deo worked with Blanchfield Army Community Hospital on Ft Campbell, KY, to design and build face shields to mitigate personal protective equipment shortfalls in the medical community. Over the past five months, Deo designed and created over 30 replacement parts for Humvees, MTVs, engineer equipment, CROWS weapons systems, NVDs, and various pieces of equipment. SPC Deo, through his printing knowledge and capabilities, has saved the Army well over $10,000 in repair parts and has lowered the wait time on parts by several months.  

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Soldier's Name:           PFC Alexander Duranpinales
Unit:                              B Co, 6th BEB (A), 4-25 IBCT (A), Anchorage, AK
Position/Title:              Combat Engineer                  
Component:                Army/Active                 
NSN or End Item:        M160 Robotic Mine Flail         
Nominated by:            1LT Christopher Boehnlein
Justification: PFC Duranpinales went to a 2-week course at Fort Leonard Wood to train on the mine flail. The M160 is a very unique piece of equipment and PFC Duranpinales is now an expert on it. He’s dedicated to taking care of this piece of equipment and takes personal ownership of it. He has taught the entire platoon how to operate the M160 and conducts PMCS on it each week.     

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Soldier's Name:          SSG Charles E. Jones
Unit:                             HHC, 128th Avn Bde, Ft Eustis, VA
Position/Title:             Training Developer for the Systems Integration Division                  
Component:                Army/Active                   
NSN or End Item:       CH-47F and UH-60M         
Nominated by:            Guy A. Randall                 
Justification: SSG Jones ensures the TMs for the CH-47F, UH-60A/L, UH-60M, and UH-60V are accurate and usable by the target audience Soldiers. He is very meticulous in the TM reviews to ensure they are in compliance with the appropriate military specifications. SSG Jones has participated in almost 40 separate verifications, whether they are for an entire aircraft (UH-60V) or new systems or upgrades to systems. SSG Jones is responsible for the safe maintenance of over 2,400 helicopters.   

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Soldier's Name:           SPC Alberto Saucedo
Unit:                              50th MRBC, 5th Eng Bn, 36th Eng Bde, Ft Leonard Wood, MO
Position/Title:              91B Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic                  
Component:                 Army Active                    
NSN or End Item:        M17/M16 Interior bay and ramps         
Nominated by:            WO1 Jonathan Dominguez                 
Justification: I witnessed SPC Saucedo working diligently through the COVID -19 pandemic as mission-essential personnel. He has always taken great pride in his work and executed every assigned task, while filling the roles of an NCO without hesitation. His initial inspection of a few vehicles raised concerns that led to inspecting the entire fleet. He helped identify common problems with and on our interiors and ramps, which has gotten our fleet up to required standards.