Medical Group takes home nine national awards

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio --      The 178th Medical Group received nine national-level awards June 25 at the 2011 Air National Guard Medical Service Annual Awards Ceremony in San Antonio.
In addition to being presented the Theodore C. Marrs Award for outstanding medical unit of the year, eight 178 MDG Airmen received individual awards.
     "Their outstanding accomplishments have directly contributed to the mission of the ANGMS to 'provide force health protection for all assigned personnel and to deliver competent medical forces to combatant commanders and a homeland response capability to states and territories.' Celebrating the achievements of our outstanding Airmen is truly an honor!" said Col. Brett Wyrick, the air surgeon director of ANGMS.
      The ceremony took place during the annual Readiness Frontiers conference, which provides ANG health care professionals the opportunity to attend training sessions and network. Twelve Guardsmen were in attendance to accept awards and represent the unit at the conference.
     "When you're shaking [the generals'] hands...it's like, 'Wow, these two-star and three-star generals are proud of me!' It was really cool to have that experience," said Tech. Sgt. Sarah Jarnagin, who was awarded Outstanding Dental NCO of the Year.
     1st Lt. Holly Hogsett, who received The Brigadier General Peter C. Bellisario Young Health Care Administrator of the Year, was also able to attend the conference and ceremony.
     "Overall, it was an outstanding experience. I would have liked to stay longer...to have gotten a breadth of everything else that was going on. There were a lot of the different courses offered through the week," said Hogsett of the conference. "I look forward to [attending] next year."
     Other individual award winners include: Lt. Col. Patrick Baker, The Brigadier General Donald B. Wagner Administrative Excellence Award; Lt. Col. Bill Brown, Outstanding Resource Management Award; Lt. Col. Steven Weekes, Colonel Floyd M. Morris Field Grade Officer Optometrist of the Year; Maj. Janice Davis, Nurse Practitioner of the Year; Maj. Amy Hensel, Health Care Integrator of the Year; and Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Ahles, Public Health Airman of the Year.
     Col. (Dr.) Matthew Moorman, of the 178 MDG, commented on the unit's achievements.
     "I don't need to say anything because the awards speak for themselves--but, it is a nice culmination of all of the hard work and expertise that we possess in the 178th," said Moorman. "We are an exceedingly deep organization from the standpoint of job knowledge and experience."