AFN Det. 7 brings home the hardware

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Brian Jones
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
The motto of the American Forces Network is "We bring you home." In 2006, Incirlik's AFN Detachment 7 brought home more than great radio and television programming.

In the last couple of months, AFN Incirlik has been recognized for their efforts of the past year by claiming Air Force News Service's Directors Excellence Award for best broadcast operations, best small maintenance workshop and first place in AFNEWS' 60th Anniversary Television Spot Production contest. In addition, Staff Sgt. Ryan Johnson, an AFNI broadcast technician, was named the Lt. Gen. Leo Marquez Technician/Supervisor of the Year and Europe's Maintenance Professional of the Year. Master Sgt. Bobby Herron, AFNI detachment chief, was selected as AFNEWS' Worldwide Senior NCO of the Year and is the news service's SNCO nominee for the 12 Outstanding Airman of the Year.

From coverage of the avian flu in Turkey and a special ten-minute Sexual Assault Response Coordinator production, which was distributed throughout U.S. Air Forces in Europe as well as aired on the Pentagon Channel, to moving their entire shop to a new building and having the lead story on nearly every major news program in the Department of Defense within 24 hours of the arrival of the first American citizens who departed Lebanon, the AFNI team had a banner year.

"In my opinion, we have the best crew in AFNEWS," said Sergeant Herron. "Although we've been challenged with a high PCS and TDY tempo, this team just continues to get it done."

While producing radio and television segments may seem glamorous to some, the detachment chief insists it's more than just using a video camera and speaking into a microphone.

"That person who does a three-hour radio show is also producing radio and television spots, scheduling and out working a news story," said Sergeant Herron. "They're always doing something."

While AFNI's broadcasters were busy telling Incirlik's story, the detachment's maintenance team was at work behind the scenes ensuring the $2.4 million in equipment is working properly allowing the stories to hit the airwaves.

"We have a lot of electronics and something is always breaking," said Sergeant Herron. "We'd be off the air if it weren't for our tech support team."

The value of the maintainers was especially prevalent when the detachment moved into their new building in March.

"Our maintenance staff had to relocate an entire T.V. and radio station from one building to the next in less than a month," said the detachment chief. "They accomplished the entire move with minimal interruption to our service."

Often, it's the opinions of your peers that are more telling of your shop's success than annual awards.

"We're a tight-knit community and will often call each other for advice," said Sergeant Johnson. "We get a lot of calls here so it shows how much we're respected."

As with any successful organization, achievement starts at the top, or in AFNI's case, with the detachment chief.

"He gets involved when he needs to, but doesn't micromanage," said Senior Airman Alex Griffin, AFNI broadcast producer. "He's there when you need him, but gives us the creative freedom to do our jobs."

But when it comes down to it, it's all about the team.

"Some people win awards and others don't," said Airman Griffin. "But nobody would be recognized if we didn't all contribute."