Air Force 449th Air Expeditionary Group Commander Colonel Gregory "Mudbug" Petrequin flew to Manda Bay, Kenya February 24, 2009 to personally recognize a single airman for his contributions to the United States' mission in Africa.

"Senior Airman Jovan A. Nieves bolstered camp security, increased personnel readiness and sustained troop morale by restoring critical airlift capability to Manda Bay," Petrequin said as he presented Nieves with the Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM).
Petrequin was so impressed with Nieves' effort that he specifically flew to Manda Bay to personally present the award.

"I wanted to award Senior Airman Nieves an AFAM for his outstanding work," Petrequin said. "In addition to recognizing his efforts in front of his peers there, I wanted to thank the members of the joint team and the Kenyan military who were instrumental in making this happen."

Neives, a 2002 graduate of Mauna Lua High School, Honolulu, went above and beyond expectations and his responsibilities to get the airfield re-opened.

"The Manda Bay Landing Zone was shut down January 17 due to overgrowth of the perimeter safety zones," said Major Jeffery "Gazoo" Schlueter, 449 Air Expeditionary Group safety officer.

"Airman Nieves received specific training prior to arriving at Manda Bay on performing Landing Zone Safety Officer (LZSO) duties," said Major Michael "Frodo" Bailey, 449th AEG air operations planner. "As a LZSO, Nieves' primary responsibility is to ensure that the airfield is safe, suitable and secure for our aircraft to perform operations."

Schlueter explained what defines an airfield as safe, suitable and secure."The perimeter safety zones around an airfield are kept low to permit safe operations of Air Force personnel and aircraft. When growth is too tall, numerous safety concerns arise," Schlueter said.

"First, if an aircraft has a malfunction and departs the paved runway surface, the low growth keeps aircraft damage to a minimum and maximizes personnel safety. Secondly, low growth allows crews to scan departure and landing areas of the airfield during critical phases of flight allowing more time to react to a possible runway incursion. Finally," he concluded, "approach and departure zones are kept low and clear to avoid skimming trees on aircraft departures and arrivals."

Once Nieves took on the task of clearing away the overgrown debris, he discovered another problem.

"The clearing areas around the airfield were based on incorrect data," Bailey said. It was originally mis-measured and it needed to be extended.

Nieves performed multiple surveys of the area and continually provided feedback to the principle decision-makers at Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA).

"Whether through a comprehensive slide show or a telephone update, his daily feedback was critical to getting the airfield opened as quickly as it did," Bailey said.

It was necessary to get the airfield reopened as quickly as possible for two reasons; force protection and mission effectiveness," said Lieutenant Colonel Shawn "Muddcatt" Goodlett 449th AEG deputy commander.

Bailey said, "We knew he was the right airman for the job and we had complete confidence in his abilities to quickly and safely re-open the airfield,"

The airfield reopened February 11, less than a month after being closed.

Nieves said it was important to him to get the airfield operational because, "cargo is the lifeline for the camp [Manda Bay.] It is vital to receive our food, mail and morale items," he said. "It is very critical to the mission to keep the airfield maintained."

"Senior Airman Nieves exemplifies the Airmen we have in our Air Force today," Petrequin said. "Smart, extremely talented and with a can-do attitude to go above and beyond to keep the mission moving.

"Our senior leadership at CJTF-HOA placed our total trust and confidence in this junior enlisted member's information and observations to help us make correct and timely decisions about this airfield," said Petrequin. "His leadership and outstanding work, with members of the joint services and the Kenyan military were instrumental in completing this project as quickly as we did.

"We could not have gotten through this as well as we did without him."

"I was very surprised to see Colonel Petrequine getting off the plane," Nieves said. "It was a nice surprise to get the award."

The mission of CJTF-HOA is to conduct unified action in the combined joint operations area of the Horn of Africa to prevent conflict, promote regional stability, and protect Coalition interests in order to prevail against extremism.

The service members of CJTF-HOA focus on military-to-military training, civil-military operations and senior leader outreach engagements. They aim to provide short-term assistance by providing clean water, functional schools, improved roadways and improved medical facilities.