Lackland officer wins Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Award

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nicole Roberts
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  The operating room flight commander at the 59th Surgical Operations Squadron here recently was selected the 2009 recipient of the Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Military Award at the field grade officer category by the Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated.

Lt. Col. Jacqueline Mudd will be presented with the award at the 38th Annual National Convention Aug. 7 in Las Vegas.

The award is given to a field grade officer who has exhibited outstanding performance in both professional and community service. More than 250 nomination packages were received from across the Department of Defense for the 2009 award.

In her position as the operating room flight commander at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Colonel Mudd directs all nursing activities in a 21-room surgical suite that has an average of 900 procedures a month.

She is readiness certified and has analyzed requirements for five air and space expeditionary force cycles and eight humanitarian missions. She has also been deployed twice in her career.

Her community service during the award period, which is a very important part of the criteria for being selected for the award, included sponsoring eight members for a 26.2-mile Bataan Memorial Death March that honored World War II heroes. She also hosted cadets, operating room cross-training applicants and children of Wilford Hall staff for a career day.

"I feel tremendously honored to receive this award," Colonel Mudd said. "The caliber of the man that this award is in honor of definitely leaves me awe struck."

General Davis, Jr. was the commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen and the first African-American general in the Air Force. He flew more than 60 missions with the 332nd Fighter Group that escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe.