The Department of Defense has named the winners of the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards. Each year the Secretary of Defense recognizes excellence in both field- and depot-level maintenance by presenting eight awards, including the Phoenix and the Robert T. Mason trophy.

The Secretary of Defense Field-level Maintenance Awards honors military maintenance organizations for outstanding performance. The awardees-two from each category of small, medium, and large organizations are chosen from active and Reserve organizations that perform unit- or field-level maintenance. One of those organizations is singled out as the best of the best and receives the Phoenix Trophy.

The Robert T. Mason Trophy, the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Award for depot-level maintenance, is made to one program at a major organic depot-level maintenance facility that exemplifies responsive and effective depot-level support to operating units. It is named after a former Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense for Maintenance Policy, Programs, and Resources Robert T Mason, who served as a champion for excellence in organic depot maintenance operations during three decades of government service.

The 2006 winner of the Phoenix Award for field-level maintenance is the 3D Materiel Readiness Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force, U. S. Marine Corps. This Okinawa-based battalion serves as a one-stop shopping center for virtually all the maintenance and supply needs of the III Marine Expeditionary Force, which in fiscal year 2005 had units deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and various training exercises and humanitarian relief efforts. Despite the challenges of having its personnel supporting so many diverse missions, the battalion completed more than 13,500 intermediate repair orders in an average repair cycle time of 27.8 days, resulting in III MEF having an overall ground combat equipment readiness of more than 95 percent. These accomplishments continue to cement the battalion's reputation of logistics excellence and make it a worthy recipient of the 2006 Secretary of Defense Phoenix Award for outstanding field-level maintenance.

Other field-level maintenance organizations receiving Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards: Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light 47, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, Navy, and 303d Intelligence Squadron, Air Combat Command, Air Force, in the small category; 297th Transportation Company, 2nd Chemical Battalion, Army, and 437th Maintenance Squadron/315th Maintenance Squadron (Reserve), Air Mobility Command, Air Force, in the medium category; and 3rd Maintenance Group, 3rd Wing, Air Force, in the large category.

The 2006 winner of the Robert T. Mason Trophy for depot maintenance excellence in support of DoD operating units is the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMVW) Recapitalization Program at Red River Army Depot, Texas. Through this program, the Red River Army Depot restored nearly 2,800 primarily battle-damaged HMMWVs to a like-new condition, exceeding planned output by 33 percent, while reducing average defects by 46 percent, shortening cycle time by 45 percent, and lowering the average cost by 42 percent. Its planned workload for fiscal year 2006 consists of another 3,500 HMMWVs, a 26 percent increase over the fiscal year 2005 workload. This outstanding performance has contributed significantly to meeting the equipment needs of our warfighters, and clearly warrants selection for the 2006 Robert T. Mason Trophy for Depot Maintenance Excellence.

The awards were presented to the winners at the Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards banquet during the 2006 DoD Maintenance Symposium and Exhibition in Reno, Nevada.