Raising morale while achieving the mission

Foreign object damage, destruction made by miscellaneous debris or loose objects on a flight line, can be catastrophic for an aircraft, for Laughlin, and for the Air Force.

Whether it’s cockpit debris, causing loose items to jam or restrict operations, or runway debris causing engine destruction, the threat is real and can cause grave aircraft damage and even loss of life.

In an effort to kill two birds with one stone, Laughlin’s maintenance directorate has taken initiative by implementing the Golden Bolt Award program where maintainers are recognized for finding foreign objects labeled with a “golden bolt” sticker on the flight line. This program maintains the flight line free of foreign object debris and boosts the maintainers’ morale.

“The Golden Bolt program is an incentive for our maintainers to look harder for [foreign debris] and also lets them know we are emphasizing [foreign object damage] prevention,” said James Kelly, 47th Maintenance Directorate director of maintenance. “The individual who finds the golden bolt is rewarded with a 4-hour [compensatory] time-off.”

Since the start of the award program, the Maintenance Directorate has awarded five maintainers and continues to reduce foreign object incidents while also boosting situational awareness and morale.

The 47th Maintenance Directorate’s morale programs, such as the Knuckle-Buster and the Golden Bolt awards, aim to improve morale while achieving mission success at one of the Air Force’s busiest airfields.

"Our main goal is to provide the Operations Group with safe and reliable aircraft in the right numbers to graduate pilots on-time, and the Golden Bolt program enhances our ability to accomplish that," said Kelly.