SAN DIEGO – The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) was recently announced as one of the recipients of the 2024 Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Maintenance Award for the field-level, large category.
The annual SECDEF Maintenance Award recognizes the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most outstanding field-level and depot-level military maintenance units.
“This award is huge for Makin Island,” said Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Burrows, Makin Island’s maintenance officer. “It is a testament to the hard work that the Sailors and Marines put in daily to meet the mission regardless of location, scope, and complexity.”
The field-level winners are divided into three categories: small, medium, and large. Two commands are chosen to represent each category.
“The award recognizes all of the hard work that our Sailors and Marines execute every day,” said Burrows. “Every department contributed to this award. This includes self-sufficiency, cost savings, out-of-the-box thinking, building on our capabilities with additive manufacturing, using all available resources and process improvement, not just performing standard maintenance tasks.”
Of the six field-level winners, only one will be selected as this year’s recipient of the Phoenix Award. Phoenix award winners are considered to be the best of the best as the top-performing field-level maintenance units in the entire DoD.
“The Phoenix Award is the highest-level maintenance award in the DoD,” said Burrows. “Winning the overall Phoenix Award would show that MKI Sailors are the 'best of the best' in the DoD.
Makin Island will be presented the DoD Maintenance Award at a ceremony, on December 11, 2024, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The ceremony is in conjunction with the annual DoD Maintenance Symposium, where the overall Phoenix Award winner will also be announced.
Makin Island is currently in a selective restricted availability while homeported in San Diego.