Klein selected as top logician in AFRC Published May 5, 2006 By SrA Jonathan Jones 434th ARW Public Affairs GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind -- "There was no rest."That's how Maj. Jim Klein summed up 2005, a year that kept him plenty busy and helped him be named the Air Reserve Component Logistics Readiness Field Grade Officer of the Year. This Air Force level award encompasses the entire air reserve component to include all officers in the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard. In addition, the award is named after Maj. Gen. Alice Astafan, who is the first female to make the rank of major general in the Air Force Reserve. After receiving the award, Klein, the operations officer of the 434th Logistics Readiness Squadron thanked all the staff in the 434th LRS. "It was a great to be acknowledged in a difficult year of challenges," Major Klein said. "There is no way I would have been competitive for this award without their efforts," he said. He has had a busy year. The culmination of all of his accomplishments throughout the past year is responsible for him receiving this award, he added. He earned the Bronze Star in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II, while assigned to the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq from December 2004 to April 2005. "To wrap the whole year up in a nutshell there were no lulls. As soon as I got home from Baghdad there was Operational Readiness Inspection, as soon as I was done with ORI it was straight into a Guam deployment, then the 4th Air Force Logistics Compliance Inspection," he added. Even without rest, he has numerous achievements which include ensuring the tactical development of Iraqi forces while he was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq during the national election in January 2005, successful planning as the lead wing planner for the ORI in August 2005, and directed deployment operations of three hurricane Katrina support missions, moving 15 personnel to three different relief effort locations. Major Klein feels his achievements and awards received throughout his military career were made possible by working alongside dedicated senior non-commissioned officers and commanders. In addition, he believes the four men who left the greatest impression on him are his dad, who was a Purple Heart recipient for his service in World War II, his uncle, who served in WW II, his great grandfather, who served in World War I, and another uncle who served in the Korean War.
