Awarded to an individual under the age of 30 for outstanding achievement and endeavour in any field of aviation.
2020 Awarded to: Technical Sergeant Zane Romick USAF
Technical Sergeant Zane Romick is a Special Mission Systems Technician, Quality Assurance Inspector, and an EC-130H Scanner, serving at Detachment 1, 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron, Waco, Texas. He led teams of military, civilian, and contractor personnel in sustainment and modification efforts for the EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack aircraft. Throughout this past year, he made profound contributions to the unit’s assigned programmes by providing a fresh and warfighter-based perspective. Utilising his recent deployments overseas, he was able to convey real-world priorities and expedite them through the acquisition process. Earlier this past year, as a Special Mission Systems Technician, he led a 90-member team to analyse the wavelengths of the EC-130H’s Radio Frequency spectrum. Based off changes to the newly-modified equipment and material, the EC-130H required signal optimization. Sergeant Romick leveraged his experience to work with Mission System engineers to analyse and devise new baseline standards for the upgraded systems. Once the standards were defined, he led a Depot Field Team to retrofit the remaining fleet of aircraft at their home station, under tight time constraints, with many of them poised to deploy around the globe. His work directly contributed to the EC-130H maintaining its status as the most-utilized electronic warfare aircraft and C-130 variant, with more than 3,000 combat hours in operations overseas.
Furthermore, as a Quality Assurance Inspector, Sergeant Romick frequently reviewed maintenance manuals for accuracy and efficiency. Upon analysing an Electronic Warfare Pod upload procedure, utilizing a new equipment stand, he noticed inaccuracies in the processes required for the task. Sergeant Romick drafted new procedures and coordinated them with all required officials, resulting in enhanced safety of maintenance technicians and a more efficient process for rapid pod maintenance. His process equated to more than 152 maintenance
man-hours saved each year. Additionally, Sergeant Romick’s experience was also highly valued as an instructor. Realizing the newly modified EC-130H systems would require practical operations knowledge and troubleshooting, he was dispatched to instruct 12 maintenance technician cadres over 24 hours of hands-on experience. The exemplary instruction was then imparted to 100+ technicians throughout the unit that were continually deploying in support of Operation FREEDOM’S SENTINEL.
Finally, Sergeant Romick expanded his resourcefulness by becoming an EC-130H Non-Rated Aircrew Scanner. As a Scanner, he ensures the safety and effectiveness of the aircraft during test and training flights. Most recently, Sergeant Romick was able to augment the Airborne Maintenance Technician position during the newly-integrated Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast system ground and flight test. Sergeant Romick flew three test missions and led military and civilian ground maintenance teams, during the two-week test deployment. The impact of this new system greatly enhances aircrew situational awareness and provides precise information to allow de-confliction air traffic in highly-congested airspaces. Sergeant Romick’s efforts led to the successful completion of the test, as well as the certification for integration and use across the EC-130H fleet all around the globe.
For his outstanding outstanding achievement and endeavour in the field of aeronautics, Technical Sergeant Zane Romick is awarded the Grand Master’s Medal.
1962/63 M P Glegg Esq
1963/64 D A Martin Esq
196465 T A Henderson Esq
1965/66 P G Hadgett Esq
196667 J W D Robertson Esq
196768 R J Barbour Esq
1968/69 A J E Tiley Esq
1969/70 C Redrupp Esq
1970/71 R G P Taylor Esq
1971/72 D Smethurst Esq
1972/73 G G Leask Esq
1973/74 J F Rothwell Esq
1974/75 G J Bressey Esq
1975/76 J F Nash Esq
1976/77 M J Thrower Esq
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1992/93 M D W Bowker Esq
1993/94 R Ka Fuk Cheung Esq
1994/95 W S Gilmour Esq
1995/96 Jamal Jamal Mohammed Jamal
1996/97 Matthew J Clatworthy Esq
1997/98 Emma Joanne Phelps
1998/99 Captain W I E Anderson
1999/2000 Pilot Ofiicer J S Clayton
2000/01 Nicholas Chan
2001/02 Flight Lieutenant Nicola Thomas
2002/03 Daniel Fonseca MEng (Hons) GradRAeS
2003/04 Philip Gareth Donovan
2004/05 Peter Charles Edward Nye
2006 - 2010 Not awarded
2010/11 Isabelle de Montet-Guerin
Captain Robert Shoenberg USAF
2012 - 2014 Not awarded
2014/15 Flight Lieutenant Christopher Gonzalez RAF
2016 Flight Lieutenant Colin Bostrom MSc RAF
2017 Captain Matthew A Shipp USAF
2018 Captain Alexander Horrell USAF
2019 Aaron Keith Pearce
2020 Technical Sergeant Zane Romick USAF