Air Force names analyst lifetime achievement award after exceptional analysis leader

  • Published
  • Air Force News Service

The Dr. Jacqueline R. Henningsen Air Force Analyst Lifetime Achievement Award was established by Kevin Williams, Director, Air Force Studies, Analyses and Assessments, and presented at the 2014 Analysis, Assessments, and Lessons Learned Awards ceremony, held in Alexandria, Va., June 25.

The award was previously known as the Air Force Analyst Lifetime Achievement award and recognizes Air Force Operations Research Analysts who have demonstrated an enduring standard of excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) with significant and lasting effect on the Air Force mission.

The newly named award honors the leadership, dedication to mission accomplishment and moral courage that Henningsen demonstrated throughout her distinguished 29-year career in service to the Air Force, the Department of Defense and the nation.     

“From starting as an analyst at Strategic Air Command in 1985, to Program Analysis and Evaluation in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to leading the Air Force Studies and Analyses Agency and finally the first Director of Studies and Analyses, Assessments and Lessons Learned on the Air Staff, Dr. Henningsen displayed the highest level of care for people and delivered “gold-standard” results in every challenge,” Mr. Williams said. “As a result of her tremendous knowledge, passion and leadership; repeatable, defendable, and rigorous analysis is now permanently woven into the fabric of the Air Force’s strategic decision-making process.”

Williams and Henningsen unveiled the lifetime achievement plaque at the end of the annual awards ceremony. 

“The analysts and lessons learned professionals have been the inspiration for me to want to do all the things we can to give you that future,” Henningsen said. “It is a tremendous honor – it means so much.”

The plaque with the names of the annual award winners starting in 2015, will be on display at the Pentagon.