347th OSS captain earns AF Productivity Excellence Award for 2008 Published May 4, 2009 By 23rd Wing Public Affairs MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A member from the 347th Operations Support Squadron was awarded the 2008 Air Force Productivity Excellence Award at the Pentagon April 21. Captain Andrew Stark, 347th OSS intelligence officer, earned the award for saving the Department of Defense $2.1 million over a period of seven months while deployed with the 82nd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron to Djibouti in support of the Combined Joint Task Force- Horn of Africa. Captain Stark's actions significantly improved the ability of commanders to maintain real-time visibility of Marine Corps CH-53 helicopters that were directly involved in various rescue missions. Originally, the Marine Corps contract did not include satellite coverage of their aircraft over the concerned areas of operation; adding that coverage would have cost $300,000 per month and delayed installation and usage of the new equipment for 60 days. Captain Stark conducted research and discovered the Marine Corps helicopters were utilizing a commercial system, which was both unsecure and unclassified. Captain Stark created a way to utilize existing equipment from the 82nd ERS to help commanders maintain the real-time visibility they needed. The captain's method of attaching the equipment established a clear path between the antennas and the satellites. The device was attached before each mission and removed upon completion, allowing the helicopter's location to be tracked and eliminating inadequate satellite coverage.