6/13/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
A member of the 59th Medical Wing is the recipient of the 2011 Air Force Medical Service Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership Award.
Master Sgt. Lorraine A. Hieskill, 59th Surgical Inpatient Squadron superintendent, was recognized May 29 at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, by top AFMS leadership for her outstanding contributions.
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Charles B. Green, Surgeon General of the Air Force and Chief Master Sgt. Charles R. Cole, Medical Enlisted Force chief, presented the first award of its kind to Hieskill. Other key leaders attending were Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Byron Hepburn, 59th Medical Wing commander, and Maj. Gen. Ted Wong, Brooke Army Medical Center commander.
"I couldn't be prouder that it happened down here at SAMMC, the place where we're integrating and bringing people together," Green stated.
The prestigious honor is awarded to only one senior NCO in the medical service. In the past, the awards program cited a winner in each of the 17 medical specialty career codes.
Cole described the award as something "given to those who develop and care for Airmen and their teams."
"We have over 2,000 senior enlisted members in the U.S. medical service, and to be the number one of those is pretty telling," Cole said. "It's what you do every day, the integrity with which you lead, that led to you being recognized at this level."
Hieskill was also previously recognized by Hepburn as the 2011 Senior NCO of the 59th Medical Wing.
"It's not about the uniform that we wear but who we bring to the fight and how we bring each other up," Hieskill said. "I couldn't be happier than in the section I work with."
"The soldiers taught me everything I needed to know to take care of the other soldiers and allowed me to teach them so they could take care of our Airmen. It has been an awesome experience and I wouldn't change it for the world," she added.
"I'm proud to be here and I'm proud to be in the Air Force."
Hieskill will continue her service as she prepares to take her leadership skills to the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.