MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION, Minn. -- Peter Grant, the Munitions Accountable Systems Officer for the 934th Airlift Wing, has won the 2016 Civil Servant of the Year Award. Grant is an Air Reserve Technician (ART) with the 934th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and was one of seven personnel selected from 24 bases nationwide to participate in a rapid improvement event. Grant was honored on May 5 at the Doubletree in Bloomington, MN, in a ceremony for the Civil Servant of the Year award winners for the state of Minnesota.
One of five winners from the 934th at the annual event, Grant was honored for his contribution to a report that detailed a severe manning shortage in his career field across the Air Force Reserve Command.
“Our career field is dangerously undermanned, and we had to bring it to the command’s attention,” said Grant. “In our line of work, based on what we do, that could lead to a catastrophic incident."
As an ART, Grant is responsible for maintaining, inspecting, securing, and resupplying an inventory of munitions valued at approximately $1.56 million. The inventory of munitions requires constant inspection and maintenance, and is always fluid and changing depending on the needs of not only the 934th Airlift Wing, but also the AFRC overall; supplies are continuously being shipped out or received.
Grant is a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, and joined the 934th Airlift Wing in 2010. He left active duty suddenly after a 16-year career as a munitions troop. His son Brayden was diagnosed with cancer, and the prognosis was serious enough that Grant walked away from active duty to be with his family and care for his son. Grant still speaks highly of the 934th Airlift Wing, and how they helped him through a hard time.
“The wing reached out to me and told me I could finish out my time until retirement in Minneapolis,” Grant said. “They were wonderful; they told me ‘go take care of what you need to do’. This is what I always thought active duty should be like; it’s a real family. I love it.”