Mental Health Service Awards
Mental Health Technician
Technical Sergeant Ethan A. Aldaco distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as Mental Health Technician, 439th AeroMedical Staging Squadron, 439th Air Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts. During this period, the professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Sergeant Aldaco contributed to the effectiveness and success of Air Force mental health services. He demonstrated a history of service, from escorting patients in a crisis, counseling Junior Enlisted Airmen back from deployment, and training mental health staff members on the duress alarm system. In addition, he analyzed more than forty outpatient records for critical mental health information and completed more than one hundred background clearances for the Family Advocacy Office, improving situational awareness and efficiency in hiring. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Aldaco reflect credit upon himself, the 439th AeroMedical Staging Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Staff Sergeant Adrian E. Aguayo distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as Mental Health Technician, 319th Medical Operations Squadron, 319th Medical Group, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. During this period, Sergeant Aguayo was tasked with implementing the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) program and established the program within one week of completing training, exceeding the Department of Defense deadline. In addition, he briefed over 300 members on crucial mental health coping skills and debriefed 30 members following a tragic suicide, increasing psychological and mission resiliency. Moreover, as the Flight Government Purchase Card Approving Offical, he oversaw over sixty thousand dollars in purchases in support of outreach efforts for 1800 installation members. Finally, his attention to detail and meticulous administrative oversight contributed to the Behavioral Health Flight rating of Outstanding during the Health Services Inspection and the Medical Group's rating of Excellent during the Operational Readiness Inspection. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Aguayo reflect credit upon himself, the 319th Medical Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Senior Airman Heather M. Foster distinguished herself by meritorious service while serving as Mental Health Technician, 436th Medical Operations Squadron, 436th Medical Group, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. During this period, Airman Foster delivered over 200 Wing level briefings on a variety of mental health services. She briefed more than 380 Airmen, younger than 25 years old, on alcohol abuse and screened an additional 110 members, leading to her being named the Lewis w. Dunlap Airman of the Year. In addition, she successfully triaged over 80 mental and substance abuse patients, providing accurate analysis, relevant treatment, and achieving an eighty percent return to duty rate. Furthermore, she was selected to brief the Health Services Inspector General, the Air Mobility Command Surgeon General, and the Commander In Chief Installation Excellence Award team on critical medical group and mental health services. Her efforts directly contributed to the Mental Health Flight's Inspector General rating of Outstanding and Dover Air Force Base receiving the Commander In Chief Installation Excellence Award for Air Mobility Command. The distinctive accomplishments of Airman Foster reflect credit upon herself, the 436th Medical Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
OIC/NCOIC Mental Health Flight
Major Zachary Y. Thompson distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as Mental Health Flight Commander, 31st Medical Operations Squadron, 31st Medical Group, 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy. During this period, Major Thompson led a 21-member team in the delivery of behavioral health care services to over 9,000 joint service members and their families. Faced with an outpatient clinic decimated by multiple provider and technician deployments, he reorganized three programs and 123 clinic functions, piloting the Mental Health Flight from a previous Health Services Inspection rating of "Satisfactory" to "Outstanding". Additionally, as Personnel Reliability Program manager, he revised clinic surety processes, resulting in "Excellent" Defense Threat Reduction Agency and "Outstanding" Nuclear Surety inspection ratings. Furthermore, Major Thompson deployed in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, and treated over 4,000 joint service members at seven remote Forward Operating Bases. Finally, his efforts were integral to the 31st Medical Group capturing the Air Force Medical Service Top Performing Overseas Hospital, as well as the Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence for Special Recognition awards. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Major Thompson reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Major Chelsea Arnold distingished herself by outstanding achievement as Commander, Mental Health Flight, 20th Medical Operations Squadron, 20th Medical Group, 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. During this period, the outstanding professional skill, leadership, and ceaseless efforts of Major Arnold resulted in significant contributions to the effectiveness and success of the Unit Compliance Inspection resulting in an unprecedented 99.1 percent rating. In addition, Major Arnold accepted a short-notice back-fill deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Her leadership and expeditious management was indispensable to meeting a six week deadline to accomplish Suicide Prevention Training for 3300 Fighter Wing and 2500 Geographically Separated Unit personnel. The distinctive accomplishments of Major Arnold reflect credit upon herself, the 20th Medical Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Technical Sergeant Phillip B. Beserra distinguished himself by meritorious service while serving as NCOIC, Mental Health Flight, 92d Medical Operations Squadron, Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. During this period, Sergeant Beserra served as Traumatic Stress Response Team Chief for 12 months and authored the first 92d Wing inject and Operating Instruction which was used to train 20 new team members. In addition, he implemented the first Air Mobility Command BATTLEMIND program and debriefed 70 redeployers. Moreover, Sergeant Beserra developed the 92d Wing suicide and violence prevention program which reduced man hours and led to a fifty percent increase in trained Squadron Representatives. Further, he was selected to serve as the base Victims support liaison and coordinated follow up treatment for three sexual assault cases. Finally, he established the first 92d Wing Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics testing center where more than 500 deployers were evaluated for brain injuries. The distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Beserra reflect credit upon himself, the 92d Medical Operations Squadron and the United States Air Force.
Major Jacob P. Larsen distinguished himself by outstanding achievement while serving as Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high-yield Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) physician, 156th Medical Group, 156th Airlift Wing, Muniz Air National Guard Base, Carolina, Puerto Rico. During this period, Major Larsen served as the officer in charge of the two day Emergency Post-Traumatic Mental Health Assessment of the 156th Airlift Wing Maintenance Group after the unfortunate crash of one of their carriers in Savannah, Georgia in May, 2018. Major Larsen worked with and directed four other health care professionals to ensure the mental well being of the affected Airmen. He personally coordinated on-the-spot pastoral and psychological help for those in need of such services. Due to his ceaseless efforts, leadership, and professional skill, 154 Airmen, over ninety five percent of the Maintenance Group, were adequately evaluated. The remaining five percent were identified and further assisted after they reached Muniz Air Force Base. After consolidating efforts with his counterpart in Operations, he collected all the information needed to prepare statistics and recommendations that ultimately lead to a comprehensive after action report. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Major Larsen reflect great credit upon himself, the 156th Medical Group and the United States Air Force.