FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Fort Rucker recently garnered Army-wide recognition as a community of excellence and the installation took time to recognize its own during a ceremony Aug. 2 at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum.
Fort Rucker earned silver in the 2016 Army Communities of Excellence Award May 24 at the Pentagon, and Davis D. Tindoll Jr., Installation Management Command Atlantic Region director, attended Tuesday's ceremony to congratulate the garrison locally and express his pride in Fort Rucker for the job it's done to achieve such a feat.
"We are here today to recognize this team for achieving excellence," he said during the ceremony. "This award is a direct reflection of the workforce here and the dedication that it takes to run Fort Rucker from a base-ops perspective on a day-to-day basis.
"The Army Communities of Excellence program is based on the principle of continuous improvement … and this is not something that's won (lightly)," said Tindoll. "It is built on sustainable years. Year after year of continuous improvement, and the fact that you won the Gold Award just a couple years ago, now followed by the Silver Award, (shows that) we're starting to see the trend."
During the ceremony, Tindoll presented the silver award streamer to be added to the garrison colors, which Col. Shannon T. Miller, Fort Rucker garrison commander, accepted and attached on behalf of the garrison.
Certificates were also presented to different directorates and garrison organizations for their contributions in creating the atmosphere that made Fort Rucker worthy of recognition as a community of excellence.
"Today, we have the opportunity to recognize the garrison team for the many contributions of hard work that they have provided, which culminated in us receiving (this award)," said the garrison commander. "I'm extremely proud of each and every one of you, and while I know that the few of you who were represented up here today receiving certificates, I'd like to also recognize those behind-the-scenes professionals striving for that excellence every day.
"We won the silver award because it's a true team effort," said Miller. "What truly matters is the excellence that we provide day in and day out to our Soldiers, the families and to our civilians."
The ACOE award honors the top Army, National Guard and Reserve installations that have achieved high levels of excellence in building a quality environment, outstanding facilities and superior services, and throughout the year-long process, ACOE applicants are assessed and evaluated against the Army priorities and Malcolm Baldrige Criteria, according to Deena Jones, plans, analysis and integration office director.
One of the areas where the installation excelled was customer focus. Fort Rucker typically sustains a greater-than 90 percent of customer satisfaction rating, said Jones, exceeding the IMCOM standard for customer satisfaction.
That level of satisfaction wouldn't be possible without the efforts of the entire garrison team and its ability to perform with the resources it is provided, according to Col. Thomas R. Drew, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker deputy commander.
"We're in a resource-constrained environment right now, so these awards that you get really come down to innovation, and how to make the most out of every day and every dollar that you're getting," he said. "I can tell you that this staff and the community is really why we're getting this award."
"Fort Rucker has overcome their obstacles they have identified and improved processes where they needed to," said Tindoll. "They've rolled up their sleeves and did the hard work. I'm extremely proud of your accomplishments. I know you work hard each and every day to provide extraordinary services for Soldiers, family members, civilians and retirees."
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