Liberty Warrior awarded ACC chief of Flight Safety Award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristopher Levasseur
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Capt. Matthew Strohmeyer, 492nd Fighter Squadron flight commander, received the Air Combat Command Flight Safety Award of the Quarter for his work as the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing chief of Flight Safety.

According to the award citation, Captain Strohmeyer repeatedly contributed to flight safety through sustained superior performance and achievement.

"We were very busy from the moment we touched down due to two major class-A aircraft mishaps," said Captain Strohmeyer. "One of the mishaps shut down the only runway for a long period of time, requiring the use of an old taxiway for flying operations. We still needed to provide air support for the guys on the ground."

This was only the beginning of the deployment for Captain Strohmeyer though, as he discovered a safety risk that could potentially ground even more aircraft.

The award citation states that as the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program manager, Captain Strohmeyer organized the Bird Hazard Working Group and successfully executed a benchmark contract employing local falconers that reduced the flocking bird population at the primary daytime bird concentration areas and slashed bird strike rates during spring migration.

"On the average day, there were 10,000 to 20,000 birds flocking around the airfield," said Captain Strohmeyer. "These birds pose a very real threat to aircraft. When I first arrived, a contract was being worked to bring in a contractor to control the bird population, much like the falconers at RAF Lakenheath, but the cost was too high.

"Falconing is a pastime in the local area, so we decided to work with our local nationals to control the bird population. Not only did this assist us by reducing the bird population in key areas by 95 percent, but we were helping to win the hearts and minds of the locals by employing them on base."

Following two near catastrophic bird strikes at a forward operating base, Captain Strohmeyer deployed his flight safety NCO to establish a local BASH program with the Army, eliminating the BASH threat within 48 hours and preserving combat capability.

While there, Captain Strohmeyer did more than just cover flight safety. He was able to put what he was doing to practical use flying three to four combat sorties a week in support of the ground forces.

"Our efforts in Afghanistan, whether in the air supporting coalition forces or on the ground ensuring continuous air operations are critical to Operations Enduring Freedom," said Captain Strohmeyer. "It's the culmination of years of training in an effort to save coalition lives, protect civilians and take the fight to the enemy."