JEFFERSON BARRACKS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mo. -- Three Airmen from the 131st Medical Group have received National Guard Bureau awards.
These awards are given to Airmen who displayed outstanding performance and dedication in their field.
“It is phenomenal for three members from our unit to receive NGB level awards,” said Chief Master Sgt. Barbara Johnson, 131st Medical Group senior enlisted advisor. “It’s evidence of what smart, hard-working professionals we have in the 131st Medical Group.”
The recipients and their awards are:
Capt. Matthew Greaves, ANG Clinical Dentist of the Year Award
Master Sgt. Matthew Morris, ANG SNCO Operational Medicine Excellence Award
Senior Master Sgt. Brian Scheer, ANG SNCO Organizational Management Excellence Award
“It was a bit of a surprise to find out that I had won the award,” said Senior Master Sgt. Brian Scheer, 131st Medical Group aerospace medicine superintendent. “I try to always lead by example and do what’s best for our unit. It felt good to hear that I was nominated and won this award, but it was definitely a team effort. Our unit has been working really hard to make sure we are taking care of people, improving processes, and providing quality training within our organization.”
These awards come during a time of increased mission requirements and unforeseen challenges for the group.
“I really want to highlight the resiliency of the medical group,” said Scheer. “We’ve gone long periods of time with full time positions vacant, activated for COVID-19 [state emergency duty] support, supported the Afghan evacuation, deployed to [U.S. Air Forces Central], multiple command changes within a year, preparing for a [unit effectiveness inspection], and we’ve been moved out of our building… and set up operations elsewhere. It’s not always pretty or convenient, but our people always find a way to execute the mission.”
The award winners will move on to compete at the Air Force level.