BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Members of the Headquarters Individual Reservist Readiness and Integration Organization team earned top honors in Air Force Reserve Command’s annual manpower and personnel (A1) competition.
HQ RIO Detachment 2, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, was named A1 Special Recognition Team/Program of the Year and the Force Support Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year award went to Senior Master Sgt. Warisar Villarreal, HQ RIO Detachment 6, Hurlburt Field, Florida.
Speaking on behalf of her team, Detachment 2 commander Lt. Col. Sharon A. Stehlik said her Hawaii-based team sets customer service as one of their primary team goals every year. With a diverse and geographically separated area of responsibility and customer base, quality service is key to ensuring Detachment 2 Individual Reservists are fully mission ready.
“We’re all greatly humbled,” said Stehlik. “The Det. 2 team really goes above and beyond with responsiveness and customer service, in addition to excelling at their duties.”
Col. Carolyn A. Stickell, the HQ RIO commander, praised the Det. 2 staff for their hard work supporting the IR community.
“The team at Det. 2 has put forth tremendous effort in getting our IRs where they need to be, when they need to be there,” said Stickell.
Villarreal, HQ RIO’s individual A1 award winner, is no stranger to the competition and took the same award in 2013. She credited the support of her team at Detachment 6, her family, and her mentors with enabling her most recent accomplishment.
“I am so pleased and honored to have won the Force Support Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year (ARC). This is a huge accomplishment and I know the competition was tough,” she said.
The HQ RIO commander also noted that Villarreal is well known for going the extra mile and making a difference for the Individual Reservists she supports. “Her selection as the Force Support SNCO of the Year is truly deserved.”
“HQ RIO has a superb team of professionals who support our IR force on a daily basis,” Stickell added.
AFRC A1 award winners will now compete at the Air Force level.
HQ RIO is responsible for seamlessly integrating the Air Force Reserve's Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMA) and Participating Individual Ready Reservists (PIRR) into the 50+ active component organizations and government agencies they support.