Niagara nurse, leader recognized for outstanding service

by Tech. Sgt. Ian Carrier
914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

10/22/2012 - NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- A member of the Niagara family has been recognized for outstanding contributions to the care and treatment of others.

Lt. Col. Kathleen Fay, Medical Readiness officer and Critical Care Air Transport team nurse for the 914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, was selected as a recipient of the Brigadier General Beverly S. Lindsey Nursing Leadership Award for fiscal year 2011. Fay was notified of the award during her recent 6-month deployment to Afghanistan.

"I was surprised, really surprised," she said. "It seems like there are more people doing more stuff. It's an honor, it's special to say I got it."

While at Bagram Airfield, Fay was the Intensive Care Flight Commander.

"We took care of everyone there," she explained. "Kids, our guys, NATO forces. There is nothing better than taking care of our troops. They deserve the best, that's why I don't complain when I go. I volunteer."

Lt. Col. Fay, who came to the Air Force Reserve in 2000 from the Army, has deployed numerous times. As well as the recent Bagram rotation, she has worked in Germany, Balad and Baghdad, Iraq, in addition to other Southwest Asia locations.

"I love my deployments. I want to go one more time before I retire," she said.

In the civilian sector, Fay works at Erie County Medical Center, a level-one trauma center in western New York. Working as a charge nurse in the Medical Intensive Care Unit helps keep her skills up, said Fay.

The award was named for the first nurse general officer selected from any of the military reserve forces. Col. Beverly S. Lindsey was selected for brigadier general on July 1, 1985. She was the Mobilization Assistant to the Chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps Reserve from 1985-1989.