KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- Army logisticians from the 635th Movement Control Team took home top honors during the Deployment Excellence Award 2012 competition year.
The 21-Soldier unit, part of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 39th Transportation Battalion, was presented with the coveted Best of the Best trophy during an awards ceremony Feb. 5 on Rhine Ordnance Barracks.
"I'm extremely proud of all of my Soldiers," said Capt. Raymond Beard, 635th detachment commander and a native of Lorain, Ohio. "They put in all of the hard work, the dedication [and] the time away from their families, not only before the deployment but during the deployment."
The DEA is one part of the annual Combined Logistics Excellence Awards Program, also known as CLEA, which honors the top three units that have contributed significantly to Army readiness in the fields of deployment, supply and maintenance. Presenting the CLEA for deployment excellence to Soldiers of the 635th was Lt. Gen. Raymond Mason, U.S. Army G-4 (Logistics) deputy chief of staff.
"They beat out literally hundreds of small, medium [and] large units; Active, Reserve and National Guard," said Mason during his remarks. "A million-plus Soldiers in our Army [and] 21 Soldiers stood out above the rest. It's an absolutely phenomenal accomplishment."
For Army logisticians, the award ranks up there with winning a Super Bowl ring, which Mason alluded to in his remarks.
"These guys are the Seattle Seahawks of deployment," he said.
While 635th Soldiers took home the Army's top deployment trophy, they also won in the Small Unit Active-Army category at both the Department of the Army and U.S. Army Europe levels. Overall, they bested 48 units, garrisons and installations across a diverse competition field.
Most notably, 635th Soldiers were recognized for providing transportation movement control support at Ramstein Air Base to thousands of service members on deployment and redeployment status. In 2012, they coordinated buses and security for more than 3,000 personnel deploying to Afghanistan. Additionally, the unit received, processed and shipped more than 2,000 short tons of cargo to 60 missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The 635th MCT joins the Nebraska Army National Guard and the Fort Leonard Wood-based Fleet Management Expansion Team, recipients of the supply excellence award and maintenance excellence award respectively, as the Army's top three logistical units.
"The entire Army team is so very proud of each and every one of you," said Mason. "You are an incredible group of Warrior logisticians."
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