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WHMC medic named one of the AF's 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Vincent Borden
  • 37th Training Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Disbelief. That's one of the feelings Senior Airman Linn Aubrey, a laboratory technician at the Lackland Blood Donor Center, remembers feeling when officials at Randolph AFB made an announcement on June 14.

Airman Aubrey had been selected as one of the 12 Outstanding Airmen of 2007.

"I've never joined a club or volunteered for anything with the intention of winning anything," said Airman Aubrey. "I work hard at self-improvement, and it's been a surprise how far working toward that can take you."

The Lackland Blood Donor Center, the only freestanding donor center in the Air Force, contributes to the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan daily by shipping much needed blood supplies to the area of responsibility. After 13 months of rigorous technical school training in chemistry and microbiology subjects, and 11 volumes of Career Development Course material, Airman Aubrey now contributes directly to the life saving effort drawing and testing samples of blood to send to medical facilities for injured troops overseas.

"The primary mission of the Lackland Blood Donor Center is to provide donor testing worldwide, and supply the Department of Defense with blood products for local, national and wartime support, without delay or failure, said Master Sgt. Thomas Russell, NCO in charge of the center.

"Airman Aubrey is our lead tester on our production shift, which performs 468,000 tests annually in support of 13 blood collection sites and six DoD blood donor centers," said Sergeant Russell. "(Her) job is to guarantee that America's fighting forces have a continuous source of safe blood supply in their time of need.

"She truly understands the Lackland BDC's wartime mission; more importantly she does a phenomenal job of executing those duties with little to no supervision," Sergeant Russell continued. "Her performance and leadership were integral in Lackland's selection as a U.S. Central Command reference lab."

After receiving substantial injuries, an estimated 98 percent of injured Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers and Marines are able to reach medical care in Landstuhl, Germany, alive as a direct result of blood supplied by the Lackland BDC.

As the Global War on Terrorism continues, and the injuries of service members steadily increase, so do the demands of vital blood supplies to hostile regions. But the Lackland BDC, and Airman Aubrey in particular, take it all in stride.

I am very proud of Airman Aubrey," said Staff Sgt. Destiny Clawson, NCO in charge of Blood Drive Operations. "She has excelled at everything she has done, and she will continue to accomplish whatever it takes to get the job done and more."

An Air Force selection board at the Air Force Personnel Center considered 33 nominees who represented major commands, direct reporting units, field operating agencies and Air Staff agencies for the achievement of Outstanding Airman of the Year. The board selected the 12 based on superior leadership, job performance and personal achievements.

The 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year will be honored in September during the Air Force Association Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition in Washington D.C. They will also serve as members of the AFA's Enlisted Advisory Council for the next year.