Wilford Hall flight commander honored with Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Award Published July 23, 2009 By Senior Airman Nicole Roberts 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Lt. Col. Jacqueline Mudd, Operating Room Flight, 59th Surgical Operations Squadron, commander was selected for the 2009 recipient of the General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Military Award, field grade officer category, by the Tuskegee Airman Incorporated. Colonel Mudd will receive with the award at the 38th Annual National Convention Aug. 7 in Las Vegas, Nev. "I am definitely going to attend the convention, even in the middle of a permanent change of station move," Colonel Mudd said. The General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., Military Award is given to a field grade officer who has exhibited outstanding performance in both professional and community service. More than 250 nomination packages competed from across the Department of Defense for the award. Colonel Mudd's professional accomplishments include being the number one choice for flight commander of the operating room at Wilford Hall Medical Center after being assigned to the wing for less than a year. In this position, she directs all nursing activities in a 21-room surgical suite performing an average of 900 procedures a month. She is readiness certified and has analyzed requirements for five Air Expeditionary Force cycles and eight humanitarian missions. Her community service during the award period, weighing heavily in the selection criteria for the award, included sponsoring eight members for the 26.2-mile Bataan Memorial Death March honoring World War II veterans. She also hosted Reserve Officer Training Corps, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, Civil Air Patrol, Air Force Academy 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 who this award is in honor of definitely leaves me awe struck." General Davis, Jr., was the commander of the WWII Tuskegee Airmen and the first African-American general in the Air Force. He flew more than 60 missions with the 332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe