Commendation from Lieutenant General Lawrence O'Donnell in March 1990 for the deployment to Namibia. In April 2012 the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison, approved a recommendation for the award of the first Honour Distinction to 17th Construction Squadron. This is a new (2012) award that provides recognition for outstanding service in operations in other than declared theatres of war. The citation for the award reads: The award was presented to the unit on 11 May 2013 by the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce. Commanders The following officers have served as the squadron's Officer Commanding (OC): E. Phillips (1949); M. van Gelder (1968–69); J. Wertheimer (1969–70); K Park (1970) John Sanderson (1970–71); J. F. Koek (1977–78); R. Weber (1983–85); David Crago (1988–89); B. Sowry (1989–90); Ahmad Mostafa (1991–92); Stephen Day (1993–94); Shane Miller (1997–98); Mark Shephard (1999–2000); N. Beutel (2001–02); Paul Hobbs (2003–04); J. Miezio (2005–06); J. Taylor (2012–14); J. B. K. Plimmer (2015–1?); A. Buenen (2019–). Notes References Military units and formations established in 1949 Army engineer units and formations of Australia Company sized units of the Australian Army Engineer companies Military units and formations disestablished in 1973 Military units and formations established in 1977 Military units involved in UN peacekeeping missions