Emergency Room Citations
Emergency Services Medical Technician
Senior Airman Sauntino J. Adams distinguished himself by meritorious service as Emergency Services Medical Technician, 81st Healthcare Operations Squadron, 81st Medical Group, 81st Training Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. During this period, Airman Adams was selected as the top Keesler medic among 169 peers to represent Keesler in the Air Force Medic Rodeo. He demonstrated advanced trauma care, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, and field readiness honed through 78 hours of training. His performance helped Keesler's first team in six years achieve a top-10 Air Force finish and earned him recognition as Medical Group Airman of the Quarter. Additionally, he responded as lead medic to a high speed crash, provided lifesaving care, performed spinal immobilization, and ensured rapid transfer to Keesler Medical Center. His actions earned him the Wing's Warrior of the Week and proved his composure under pressure. Lastly, he enabled the response to 272 9-1-1s, 783 admissions, 204 transfers, and 13,000 patient encounters, supporting the hospital's 120 million dollar mission. His efforts led to the Emergency Department securing the Squadron's 2024 Team of the Year and Group's 2023 Team of the Year awards. The distinctive accomplishments of Senior Airman Adams reflect great credit upon himself, the 81st Healthcare Operations Squadron, and the United States Air Force.
Emergency Medicine Physician
Major Kristen Bert Dowdy distinguished herself by outstanding service as a Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) and Emergency Medicine physician from 21 July 2023 to 21 July 2026. During this period, Maj Dowdy served over 7,000 hours TDY in an on-call posture, ensuring access to life-saving medical care for 605,000 beneficiaries across 44 countries. Additionally, Major Dowdy served as medical education director from July 2025 to July 2026, writing, delivering and editing biweekly lessons for PACAF CCATT, as well as visiting reserve, Guard and deployed CENTCOM members, ensuring exposure to high yield Joint Trauma Committee objectives. Additionally, she was a valued physician at Tripler Army Medical Center, where she logged over 2,000 clinical hours, instructed resident physicians in 11 specialties, expertly managed two mass casualty events, and was recognized for saving the life of an 11-year-old with a rare, frequently fatal heart complication. Moreover, Major Dowdy served as the en route care subject matter expert for two multination interoperability exercises, working with medical teams from six nations to highlight any pertinent discrepancies in clinical practices and optimize our ability to care for injured service men and women. Further, Doctor Dowdy was the lead physician for a White House support medical mission comprised of 13 medical professionals, ensuring the safety of Vice President Vance and his family during a diplomatic visit to Agra, India. Finally, Major Dowdy provided leadership opportunities for her flight, training 12 Stop the Bleed instructors and certifying nearly 200 community members as a Stop the Bleed provider. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Major Kristen Dowdy while serving her country reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.
NCOIC, Emergency Department
Technical Sergeant Timothy M. Johansen distinguished himself in the performance of outstanding service to the United States as the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Emergency Department, 959th Inpatient Operations Squadron, 959th Medical Group, 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. During this period, Sergeant Johansen trained 500 staff on COVID-19 procedures, guiding 702 specimen collections and base-wide quarantine algorithms. As an Emergency Medical Technician trainer, he validated 16 Tactical Combat Casualty Care instructors, saving 270,000 dollars in costs. Additionally, Sergeant Johansen drove the Continuing Medical Readiness Program by developing 42 qualifications for 303 medics, recouping 2.4 million dollars. Furthermore, he merged emergency medicine platforms, establishing a novel interoperability with 96 medics, maxing the Defense Health Agency market by 200 percent. Finally, Sergeant Johansen streamlined prehospital responses by rewriting 69 protocols, improving competencies for 76 bases and earning the Group Top 3 Leadership Award. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Johansen reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Emergency Department NCOIC
Master Sergeant Brandi A. Mendoza distinguished herself by meritorious service as Emergency Department NCOIC while assigned to the Craig Joint Theater Hospital Emergency Department, 455th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, from XXXXX XXXXX to XXXXX XXXXX. During this period, Sergeant Mendoza supervised a 12 member team in providing around-the-clock emergency medical care to over 900 major trauma resuscitations and 2,200 United States military, coalition, and local national patients in the busiest level one trauma facility in Afghanistan. Her vigilant analysis and foresight prepared the emergency department for all challenges and her effort was evident during 11 patient surges, resulting in movement to a higher echelon of care within 15 minutes and zero lives lost. Additionally, she was an essential team member whose combined contributions led to her department winning the Expeditionary Medical Group and Air Expeditionary Wing Team Award. Finally, as a member of the Quick Reaction Force, she provided perimeter security for 123 members and one million dollars in assets during 19 post attack sweeps. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Sergeant Mendoza reflect great credit upon herself, the 455th Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron, and the United States Air Force.