2006 Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Maintenance Awards

1. THE REF ESTABLISHED THE SECDEF MAINTENANCE 
AWARDS PROGRAM TO RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MAINTE-
NANCE MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTION, TO ENHANCE MAINTENANCE AWARE-
NESS, AND TO ENCOURAGE MAINTENANCE EXCELLENCE. THERE ARE SEPARATE 
AWARD CATEGORIES FOR FIELD-LEVEL UNITS AND THE DEPOT-LEVEL MAINTE-
NANCE PROGRAM.
 A. DEPOT-LEVEL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. THE DEPOT-LEVEL COMPETITION
IS FOR PROGRAMS WITHIN THE DOD'S MAJOR ORGANIC DEPOT FACILITIES
(I.E., THOSE FACILITIES HAVING MORE THAN 400 EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN
DEPOT-LEVEL MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS). ONE PROGRAM FROM ONE OF THE
DOD ORGANIC DEPOT-LEVEL MAINTENANCE FACILITIES SHALL BE AWARDED THE
ROBERT T. MASON AWARD FOR DEPOT MAINTENANCE EXCELLENCE. ALL
PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION WITHIN THE DEPOT-LEVEL
MAINTENANCE FACILITY FOR AT LEAST ONE HALF OF THE COMPETITION PERIOD
(6 MONTHS) ARE ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE.
 B. FIELD-LEVEL UNITS. ANNUALLY, SIX FIELD-LEVEL MAINTENANCE
UNITS WILL BE AWARDED SECDEF MAINTENANCE AWARDS, TWO FROM EACH COMPETITIVE 
CATEGORY (LARGE, MEDIUM, AND SMALL). ONE OF THESE SIX WINNERS IS
THEN RECOGNIZED AS THE "BEST OF THE BEST" AND IS AWARDED THE SECDEF
PHOENIX TROPHY. ACTIVE AND RESERVE FORCE UNITS (TO INCLUDE MARINE CORPS
AIR-GROUND TASK FORCES AND SUPPORTING/BASE UNITS) WHOSE PRIMARY MISSION
IS TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE (BELOW THE DEPOT LEVEL) ARE ELIGIBLE. 
UNITS HAVING RESERVE ASSOCIATE UNITS SHALL RECOGNIZE THE ASSOCIATED UNIT'S 
CONTRIBUTIONS IN THEIR AWARD SUBMISSION. COMPETITIVE CATEGORIES
ARE; 
LARGE: OVER 1000 AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL; MEDIUM: 301-999 AUTHORIZED 
PERSONNEL; AND SMALL: 25-300 AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL.
2. THE 2006 SECDEF MAINTENANCE AWARD COMPETITIVE PERIOD IS THE 
12-MONTH PERIOD, 01 OCT 04 THROUGH 30 SEP 05 (FY 05). COMPETITIVE
UNITS MUST HAVE OPERATED UNDER AN AUTHORIZED STRUCTURE FOR AT LEAST HALF 
OF THE COMPETITIVE PERIOD IN ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES TO BE ELIGIBLE
TO COMPETE.
3. NOMINATION PACKAGES MUST BE RECEIVED AT HQMC NLT 31 MAR 06. 
NOMINATION PACKAGES RECEIVED AFTER THIS DATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED
FOR COMPETITION. THE MAILING ADDRESS AT HQMC IS:
 COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS 
 HEADQUARTERS, U.S. MARINE CORPS
 2 NAVY ANNEX (LPC-2, ROOM 2319)
 WASHINGTON, DC 20380-1775
RECOMMEND EACH MEF AND MARFORRES PUBLISH SUBMISSION SCHEDULES 
IN ORDER TO SCREEN, EVALUATE, AND RANK EACH NOMINATION PACKAGE 
RECEIVED AND FORWARD THEM THROUGH THEIR CHAIN OF COMMAND IN 
SUFFICIENT TIME TO HAVE THE PACKAGES ARRIVE AT HQMC (LPC-2) NOT LATER
THAN 31 MAR 06. SUBMIT NO MORE THAN 2 NOMINATION PACKAGES PER 
CATEGORY. MARFORLANT AND MARFORPAC WILL PROVIDE FORWARDING 
ENDORSEMENTS FOR THEIR MEFS' PACKAGES. SUPPORTING ESTABLISHMENT 
ORGANIZATIONS NOT UNDER THE OPERATIONAL COMMAND OF A MEF OR 
MARFOR MAY FORWARD NOMINATION PACKAGES DIRECTLY TO HQMC. 
NOMINATION PACKAGES FOR THE DEPOT-LEVEL AWARD WILL BE SCREENED, 
EVALUATED AND ENDORSED BY LOGCOM PRIOR TO FORWARDING TO HQMC. 
4. NOMINATION PACKAGE FORMAT SHALL BE PER THE REF. FORMAT 
INSTRUCTIONS MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE OSD WEBSITE AT THE FOLLOWING
ADDRESS:
 A. HTTP:/WWW.ACQ.OSD.MIL/LOG/MPPR/INDEX.HTM.
 B. SELECT DOD INSTRUCTION 1348.30 IN PARAGRAPH 1.
5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR SUBMISSION PACKAGES:
 A. PACKAGE SHOULD NOT EXCEED 20 PAGES OF TEXT.
 B. COPIES OF THE UNIT'S COMMAND CHRONOLOGY ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE.
 C. THE NARRATIVE MUST CLEARLY RELATE TO MAINTENANCE ACTIONS OF 
THE UNIT. THE FOCUS OF THIS AWARD IS MAINTENANCE, NOT OPERATIONS.
 D. DOLLAR AMOUNTS IDENTIFIED AS SAVINGS OR COST AVOIDANCE, 
PERCENTAGES, AND OTHER EMPIRICAL DATA TO SUPPORT THE PACKAGE 
SHOULD BE INCLUDED WHERE APPROPRIATE.
 E. RECOMMEND PACKAGES BE SUBMITTED IN NEWSLETTER FORMAT WITH
PHOTOGRAPHS IMBEDDED WITHIN THE TEXT. THE CONTENT OF THE PACKAGE 
IS WHAT WILL BE EVALUATED, NOT THE FORMAT.
 F. WRITE SECTION 2 IN FOUR PARTS USING THE REF AS A GUIDE. 
START EACH PART ON A NEW PAGE. WEIGHT THE EMPHASIS ON EACH PART 
BASED ON THE SCORING VALUE DESCRIBED IN THE REF. THE TEXT IN 
SECTION 2 SHOULD BE WRITTEN IN CAUSE AND EFFECT STYLE, I.E., 
"SUCCESSFULLY MAINTAINED X, RESULTING IN Y". USE BOLD TYPE FOR 
THE ACTION AND RESULT WORD IN THE TEXT.
 G. IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS AS TO FORMATTING, CONTACT THE 
POINT OF CONTACT LISTED ABOVE.
6. IN ORDER TO ALLOW REPRODUCTION AND STANDARDIZATION OF PACK-
AGES, UNITS SHOULD NOT BIND OR PERFORATE THEIR SUBMISSIONS. IN 
ADDITION TO THE PAPER COPY OF THE PACKAGE, AN ELECTRONIC COPY 
SHOULD BE PROVIDED ON A LABELED COMPACT DISK. 
7. UNIT AND PERSONNEL DATA SHALL BE CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE 
TO MILITARY AND CIVILIAN NEWS SERVICES. NO CLASSIFIED INFORMATION 
WILL BE SUBMITTED.
8. ALL NOMINATIONS RECEIVED WILL BE REVIEWED BY A SELECTION BOARD 
CONVENED AT HQMC. TWO NOMINEES PER CATEGORY FOR THE FIELD-LEVEL
AWARD WILL BE SELECTED TO REPRESENT THE MARINE CORPS IN COMPETITION
WITH THE OTHER SERVICES. THE SECDEF MAINTENANCE BOARD WILL SELECT
TWO WINNERS IN EACH CATEGORY AND FROM THOSE SELECTIONS ONE WILL BE
NAMED AS THE OVERALL WINNER AND RECIPIENT OF THE 2006 PHOENIX
TROPHY. 
ONE PROGRAM / PRODUCTION LINE FOR EACH DEPOT WILL BE SELECTED TO 
REPRESENT THE MARINE CORPS IN COMPETITION WITH THE OTHER SERVICES. 
THE SECDEF MAINTENANCE BOARD WILL SELECT THE WINNER OF THE ROBERT 
T. MASON AWARD FOR 2006. ALL WINNERS WILL BE PRESENTED AWARDS IN A
CEREMONY 25 OCT 06 AT THE RENO HILTON, RENO NEVADA. THE PHOENIX
TROPHY AND THE ROBERT T. MASON TROPHY WILL REMAIN IN PLACE
PERMANENTLY IN THE PENTAGON AND WILL BE DISPLAYED SO THAT THEY ARE
AFFORDED SUITABLE PUBLIC ATTENTION WITH THE NAME OF THE CURRENT
HOLDER AND PREVIOUS WINNERS APPROPRIATELY INSCRIBED THEREON. 
REPLICAS OF THESE TROPHIES SHALL BE PRESENTED TO THE WINNING UNITS.
9. REQUEST WIDEST DISSEMINATION.