JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska —  The office of the Department of the Air Force Inspector General recognized an Alaska Air National Guardsman as the Lt. Gen. Howard W. Leaf Award winner in the wing-level officer category.

Lt. Col Eric Manewal, 176th Wing Inspector General director of Inspections, is the first Guardsman to earn the award that recognizes inspectors general across the Air Force who demonstrate exceptional performance.

Lt. Col. Daniel Ucthmann, 176th Wing Inspector General officer-in-charge, said highlights of Manewal’s award nomination include his duties as the National Guard Inspector General chair, his tenure as an Air National Guard IG Advanced Course instructor, and his exceptional efforts inspecting wing readiness for five complex mission sets.

“When the announcement was made for the Leaf award, it was obvious that Lt.Col. Manewal would be a strong candidate, as he has done so much for both the wing and the field as the chair of the National Guard IG Council,” Uchtmann said. “He has done a great job identifying actionable, meaningful deficiencies with the goal of improving lethality across the wing.”

Manewal, a Sitka native, joined the regular Air Force as a C-5 Galaxy maintenance crew chief at the age of 18 with the goal of earning a commission and becoming a pilot. He attended college classes at night and realized his goal earning an Air Force Reserve commission through Officer Training School and flying C-5s with the 326th Airlift Squadron, 512th Airlift Wing, until the unit converted to C-17 Globemaster IIIs which he also flew.

As much as he relished flying airlift aircraft with 326th AS at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, Manewal said the assignment was too far from Alaska.

“I was always looking for opportunities to get closer to home because my parents were getting older,” Manewal said. “I was going to go to McChord [Air Force Base, Washington], but then they reduced the crew ratio Reserve-wide for C-17s.”

Though there were no openings for C-17 pilots in Washington, there were vacancies for tactical air control party officers responsible for embedding with ground forces and directing close air support. Manewal was a TACP for five years, deploying for six months with 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard, to Iraq.

Manewal was the exercise planner for 194th Wing, Washington Air National Guard, before becoming the director of inspections for the same wing. Later, he held two jobs, one as the plans and policy officer and then deputy operations officer for 10th Region Homeland Response Force as an occasional active Guardsman while director of inspections.

Looking for a permanent active Guard position, Manewal’s search led him to the 176th Wing for his current billet.

“The wing director of inspections manages the inspection program for the wing commander, and we oversee the unit-level/squadron-level inspection programs,” Manewal said. “Additionally, we plan, execute and inspect readiness exercises, which validate all of our mission-essential tasks.”

METs are the building blocks of a unit’s readiness to deploy to combat with lethal effect. In addition to bedrock readiness expectations, the wing has aggressively pursued Agile Combat Employment, the Air Force’s initiative to innovatively prepare for peer nation conflict in austere Pacific environments.

“There are additional aspects of the job, especially with the ACE construct where not everything we do during a readiness exercise is related to a MET that we currently have,” Manewal said. “It could be testing concepts and providing feedback that could influence [concepts of operations] and even [operation plans.]”

Uchtmann said Manewal’s previous experience as an exercise planner, plans and policy officer, and operations officer postured him to excel in the wing IG office.

“Lt. Col. Manewal is a well-rounded operator and Guardsman who came to the wing with a wealth of exercise planning experience and knowledge,” Uchtmann said. “His ability to jump in and run the inspections side of the 176th Wing IG office definitely put us years ahead of where we would have been if we had hired an outside candidate without the IG experience.”

Uchtmann said Manewal has had an outsize effect on the National Guard IG community as a teacher of the IG craft.

“As an instructor for the Advanced National Guard IG Course, he has pushed the best tactics, techniques and procedures to dozens of IGs from across the 94 Air National Guard wings, which really helps all across the Air National Guard,” Uchtmann said.

Uchtmann hailed the award for its implications for the wing and the Air National Guard.

“As the first National Guard IG recipient of the General Leaf Award, it is great to see the years of work across the enterprise be acknowledged and supported through this honor,” he said. “Eric’s recognition identifies the contributions of the Air National Guard and the 176th Wing for the continued evolution of the Air Force inspection process, and how we continue to refine our lethality and readiness to get after the commander’s intent.”

Manewal said the recognition signifies the positive influence of his service.

“The award validates I am adding value and am having an impact to both the entire enterprise and here at the wing, so those are the things that matter to me,” Manewal said. “I have been very fortunate and honored to be part of some amazing teams here at the 176th Wing.”

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