Age: 32
Years in Aviation: 13
Born in Guam, Isaac Cruz is a civilian industrial engineering technician at the Robins Air Force Base. He was nominated by Cayatana Palumbo, Robins Air Force Base.
Palumbo says, “His years of hands-on aircraft experience makes him a major player, critical to ensuring programs are executed on time and within budget to provide warfighters the necessary capability to perform the C-5 mission. His strong organizational commitment acquiring, revising, documenting technical procedures, planning a “first-ever” removal/replacement of cracked primary structural fittings (a.k.a. BATMAN Fitting), and a major load bearing fitting, resulted in meeting the Air Force’s demand for additional C-5 airlift capability to support redeploying (millions of tons) cargo from Iraq to Afghanistan.
He won the Civilian of the Year Award in 2014 for category GS-05.
He was hired at Robins AFB through the Cooperative Education Program (co-op) with Middle Georgia Technical College, training as a C-5 aircraft mechanic in March 2002. He spent the next 11 years perfecting his skill in heavy maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the C-5, the Air Force’s largest aircraft, distinguishing himself as a leader among mechanics. In May 2013 he was promoted to the position of aircraft maintenance industrial engineering technician in the 402d Aircraft Maintenance Group.
Cruz has an innate ability to clearly communicate with a wide range of program managers, engineers, finance and contract professionals, and maintenance personnel. He independently led process improvement events institutionalizing lessons learned. The production line was able to reduce repair time from 90 to 60 days, resulting in a cost avoidance savings of $118,085,000.
Cruz credits his dad as his being his best mentor. Isidro Cruz was a building electrician in Guam, on Anderson Air Force Base. Cruz remembers going to Christmas parties on base and seeing these aircraft. Ever since then, he knew he wanted to be a part of this aviation family.
The way Cruz gives back to the industry “is to do my job to the best of my abilities, being opened minded, and always willing to give it 100 percent every time.”
His current goal is to finish his industrial engineering technician training program and long term he would like to be a team lead to train future industrial engineering technicians.
